Skills for Prosperity in South East Asia Programme (SfP-SEA) – Malaysia - Terms of Reference (TOR) for International Consultant - Industrial Sectoral Situational Analysis

Skills for Prosperity in South East Asia Programme (SfP-SEA) – Malaysia

Terms of Reference (TOR) for

International Consultant - Industrial Sectoral Situational Analysis

1.0 Background

The Skills for Prosperity in South East Asia Programme (SfP-SEA) aims to contribute to increasing national capacity to achieve sustained and inclusive growth through the enhancement of skills development and technical and vocational education and training (TVET) systems in Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

To achieve this objective, the programme works with government agencies, employers’ organisations, trade unions, educational institutions and other partners in Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines to facilitate review and reform of the countries’ skills development and TVET system strategies and policies. In the region, the SfP-SEA provides opportunities for mutual learning among the three countries and the other ASEAN nations, and beyond—not only showcasing the results of the pilots and lessons learned from the programme but also facilitating the sharing of best practices in the region and other parts of the world.

In Malaysia, the Programme focuses on increasing skills development and TVET systems’ readiness to meet the skills needs of the future of work and those of vulnerable groups, through enhancing four areas of the TVET system and delivery:

• Equity:  Inclusiveness in skills development and TVET systems
• Quality: Future-ready & coordinated skills development and TVET systems
• Relevance: Demand-driven skills and TVET/skills recognition
• Cost-Effectiveness: Improved skills/TVET financing models

The SfP Malaysia Project focuses on TVET inclusiveness, quality, relevance and readiness whilst addresses skills mismatch issues in the area of critical needs for skills development and TVET to support the industry development and socio-economic progress. It intends to assist national partners in improving policies to ensure industry-led TVET in public and private sectors and increase employment and career progress opportunities for TVET students at national and sub-national levels. The national and sub-national activities at two states, namely Sabah and Kedah, will target:

• The primary beneficiaries: youths (ages 16-25) and women; and
• Other beneficiaries (vulnerable groups):
  • Members of the B40
  • Persons with Disabilities
  • Individuals Not In Employment Education or Training (NEET)
  • Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
  • Workers in the informal economy
  • Self-employed individuals
  • individuals employed in the gig economy

Under the Relevance pillar, the SfP Malaysia Project will conduct industrial sectoral situational analysis, aiming to have in-depth understanding of business environment and labour and economic challenges and opportunities, including those related to gender quality and social inclusion, in the two selected sectors. The results of this analysis will be utilized to conduct visioning exercises to develop industry upgrading maps in close cooperation with industry partners and sector skills strategies at a later stage. These activities will contribute to establishing policy and institutional mechanisms to enhance industry engagement in TVET.

2.0 Objective

The objectives of the industrial sectoral situational analysis are to:

• Understand current business environment, business performance (e.g. at least in last 5 years) and growth prospects/potential of the selected sectors, based on several growth scenarios, including mechanization, digitalization and other technology adoption as well as green transformation in next 5 years.
• Understand the overview of structure of the respective sectors, in terms of composition of sub-sectors, the number of enterprises, supply chains, employment and occupational categories, including mapping of occupations/jobs and corresponding qualifications/certifications.
• Understand the overview of skills demand and mismatch in the selected sectors and sub-sectors.
• Obtain recommendation to fine-tune the implementation plan in order to develop effective policies and institutional mechanisms for industry engagement in TVET under the Relevance Outcome of the project.

3.0 Scope of Work

Under the supervision of Chief Technical Advisor and with guidance from Senior Project Officers, regional specialists of the ILO, the main responsibility of the international consultant is to provide international perspectives on forward-looking sectoral analysis in terms of the research design, data analysis, and report drafting for national consultants, who will be separately recruited to conduct field research at the national level and in two selected states, Sabah and Kedah. National consultants should conduct the  analysis mainly focusing on two target sectors at the national level: (i) manufacturing (e.g. food processing industry); and (ii) construction (e.g. building maintenance and crane supervision). At the sub-national level, they may be requested to analyse another industrial sector beyond the two selected national sector/subsector, depending on the suitability of the sector focus in the sub-national context.

The international consultant is required to provide additional technical inputs to the work of national consultants about research design and methodology, data collection and analysis methods, report drafting from the international perspective of forward-looking sectoral analysis through on-line meetings and/or telephone conversation. The international consultant should lead national consultants who undertake the following tasks:

1. Conducting desktop review on:

1. Industry outlook of the selected sectors, including: (i) overview of supply chain (e.g. procurement of materials, position in the global supply chain); (ii) current position in the value chain (e.g. progress of R&D); (iii) challenges in moving up value chain; and (iv) industry expansion plans and institutional support provided by government, employers’ organizations, or others.
2. Skills gap and shortages as well as employer skills needs in the particular selected sectors.
3. Overview, characteristics, and trend of national occupational skills standards in selected sectors.
4. Mapping of occupations/jobs and corresponding qualifications/certifications in selected sectors.

2. Collecting and analysing the following quantitative data on industry and labour market (10 year time series data)

1. Contribution (value-added) by the selected sectors to the national / state Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
2. Indicators that reflect the level of technology use in the selected sectors (e.g. high technology export, R&D investment or intensity) if available.
3. Employed population shares by industrial sectors, including selected ones, at national and subnational levels.
4. Labour force participation rate in the specified industrial sub-sectors (e.g. food processing and building maintenance and crane supervision) at the national level and the selected sub-sectors within the states of Kedah and Sabah. The disaggregated data by gender and skills and education levels is also required. Malaysia Standard Industry Classification (MSIC) should be used as the main reference for the classification of sector/subsector.
5. Average and median income (by gender, skill levels and states) within selected industry sub-sectors at national and sub-national levels.
6. Any other data that is relevant to the enrichment of the situational analysis, such as recruitment or vacancy data by industrial sector.

3. Analysing following qualitative data on the perceptions of key stakeholders, which should be collected through in-depth interviews with leading companies of the sectors, relevant industry/trade associations, relevant government units for the development of the sectors, as well as relevant representatives of the Malaysian Employer Federation (MEF), the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM), the Master Builders Association Malaysia (MBAM), and the Malaysian Trade Union Congress (MTUC) as well as employers in selected sectors:

1. Current business situation, including the structure of SCM.
2. Future business prospect and challenges in moving up value chain, including mechanization, digitalization and other technology adoption as well as green transformation in next 5 years.
3. Labour market trend, including the roles of female, youth, and PWDs.
4. Current skills demand and mismatch.
5. Future skills demand
6. Barriers to labour market entry and career progression, and the efficacy of existing practices to promote inclusion within the selected industry sectors.
7. Current industrial and skills policies and anticipation.

4. Compiling and providing analysis of:

1. National industrial policies and plans, such as 11th Malaysia Plan (MP), the Third Industrial Master Plan (IMP3),  sectoral master plans and blueprints, and state government industrial policies and plans in Sabah and Kedah.
2. Gaps between current industrial policies and employers’ needs.

5. Providing strategic advice and inputs on the Project’s industry engagement plan and implementation plan, including but not limited to the following matters:

1. The Project’s sectoral approach to skills development.
2. Identification of potential implementation partners for activities under the Relevance Pillar.
3. Identification of potential champion enterprises for the project activities.
4. Refinement of baseline indicators set in the logical framework.
5. Update risks for project activities in reference to the Project’s risk register matrix.

The international consultant is required to provide technical guidance on sectoral analysis for national consultants who should produce the following outputs:

1. The written interim report which includes:
   • Preliminary findings of industry and labour market analysis, regarding the data including supply chain analysis, skills demand and mismatch, employment, and key policies and regulations, in selected industry-sectors at the national and sub-national level (Sabah and Kedah).
   • Outline of strategic advice and inputs on the project strategies for the development of policies and institutional mechanisms for industry engagement in TVET by taking sectoral approaches.
   • Preliminary reports on consultation, including summaries of interviews and small group discussions with stakeholders.

2. The final written report which includes:

• Comprehensive sectoral situational analysis based on the data for the selected industrial sectors at the national and subnational (Sabah and Kedah) level.
• Strategic advice and inputs on the programme strategies.
• Full consultation summaries of interviews with stakeholders.

In addition, the international consultant should observe the predetermined interviews with key stakeholders via on-line if it is feasible to do so in terms of timing and Internet connection.

4.0 Methodologies

The study may apply multiple method as follows:

• Preliminary information gathering via desk / literature review.
• Quantitative research by analysing statistical data obtained from government agencies as well as survey data (if any).
• Qualitative research by engaging with industrial experts via on-line or physical interviews.

5.0 Outputs

The international consultant is required to produce the following outputs:

Interim Outputs

1. The written comments on the interim report submitted by national consultants in a suitable format which includes:
   • Review of research method.
   • Review of preliminary findings of industry and labour market analysis based on quantitative and qualitative analysis in selected industry-sectors at the national and sub-national level (Sabah and Kedah).
   • Review of draft strategic advice and inputs on the project strategies.

2. Summary of technical guidance provided for national consultants at the stages of research designing, preliminary data analysis, and interim report drafting.

Final Outputs

1. The final consultancy report in a suitable format which includes:

• Review of the structure of the final report
• Review of research method.
• Review of final findings of industry and labour market analysis based on quantitative and qualitative analysis in selected industry-sectors at the national and sub-national level (Sabah and Kedah).
• Review of strategic advice and inputs on the project strategies.
• Additional recommendation for the ILO in implementing relevant activities.
• Summary of technical guidance provided for national consultants at the stages of full data analysis, draft strategic advice on the programme’s industry engagement plan and the implementation plan, and final report drafting as annex.

6.0 Timeline

The estimated number of workdays for this consultancy is 35 days spreading over 3 months tentatively from 3 December 2020 until 2 March 2021. The starting date and workdays will be finalized after completion of the hiring process.

Below are the timeline and the targets dates to produce outputs:

Tasks - No. of days - Location - Output - Payment Schedule

1. Initial meeting with the ILO and national consultants to agree on the overall plan and ways of working. - 1 day   On-line

Work Plan

10% upon the submission of the work plan

2.  Review the draft outline of the report drafted by national consultants and provide them with technical guidance in refining the outline. - 2 days On-line

3. Provide technical guidance for national consultants in developing the quantitative and qualitative research methods. - 3 days On-line

4. Review the preliminary results of national consultants' quantitative data analysis and provide them with technical guidance for improving the quality of analysis.  - 3 days  On-line

5. Review the preliminary results of national consultants' qualitative data analysis and provide them with technical guidance for improving the quality of analysis.- 3 days On-line

6. Review the draft interim report submitted by national consultants and provide them with technical guidance for improving the quality of the report. - 3 days On-line

7. Review the interim report presented by national consultants and provide them with technical guidance for improving the quality of interim report and making action plans to draft the final report by incorporating the comments from the ILO SfP Malaysia team. - 4 days On-line

The written comment on the interim report by 10 January 2021

45% upon the submission of the written comment on the interim report.

8. Review the full qualitative and quantitative analysis provided by the national consultants and provide them with technical guidance for improving the quality of analysis. - 5 days  On-line

9. Review the draft strategic advice on the programme’s industry engagement plan and the implementation plan provided by national consultants and provide technical guidance for improving the quality of advice. - 3 days  On-line

10. Review the preliminary draft of the final report submitted by national consultants and provide technical guidance for improving the quality of the draft report. - 5 days On-line

11. Review the draft final report presented by national consultants and submit the summary report, which include the written comments on the report and recommendation for the ILO in implementing relevant activities. - 3 days On-line

The final consultancy report by 24 February 2021

45% upon the submission of the summary report.

Total : 35 days

7.0 Required Qualifications

The assignment should be carried out by an individual consultant who should have the following qualifications:

Education: Advanced university degree, desirably doctoral degree, in economics, social sciences, public administration or statistics, with expertise in the field of industrial development, labour market analysis, and TVET/skills development.

Experience:

• A minimum of 10 years of experience in working on industrial development and/or skills development and TVET.
• Experience in carrying out quantitative and qualitative research and publishing research in the area of skills development or industrial development.
• Experience in producing high-quality reports in English.
• Experience in working for international organisations.

Qualifications:

• Excellent understanding of situations related to industrial development and/or labour market analysis, and TVET/skills development in area of skills development in Malaysia or Southeast Asia.
• Excellent analytical and writing skills in English.
• Solid understanding and skills on qualitative and quantitative research methods.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills to engage with national consultants and stakeholders.
• Ability to use a variety of computer applications and software to carry out data collection and analysis

Languages: Excellent command of English.

8.0 Documents to be Submitted

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/ information to demonstrate their qualifications.

• Curriculum Vitae
• Proposal describing how he/she will approach and conduct the work including the number of days (3 pages maximum)
• One writing sample, such as a research report or working paper.
• Estimated budget (financial proposal), i.e., professional fees (daily rate and expected number of working days) and additional expenses (e.g. transportation costs), for completing the work.

The interested consultants are requested to submit the above documents electronically to jmori@ilo.org and mohdbadrin@ilo.org by 25 November by 4:00 pm MYT. 

The short-listed candidates will be contacted and be asked to submit the outline of the final report.

9.0 Contract duration

The contract will commence tentatively from 3 December 2020 – 2 March 2021. The actual date will be finalized after completion of the hiring process.

Attachment

• Terms and conditions applicable to contract for services