Skills Needs and Labour Market Assessment for the ‘Economic Empowerment through Community-Based Skills Development and Literacy Training in Afghanistan’

1. Purpose of the Assessment

The purpose of this RFP is to conduct a localized Skills Needs and Labour Market Assessment in selected communities across Balkh, Baghlan, Kabul, Ghazni, and Nangarhar provinces. The assessment will generate evidence-based insights to:

1. Identify market-relevant and context-appropriate livelihood skills
2. Analyze local demand, feasibility, and income-generating potential
3. Assess barriers to participation, particularly for women and vulnerable groups
4. Inform the selection and design of skills training interventions under the project

The assessment will adopt a demand-driven and mixed-method approach, ensuring alignment with local economic realities and socio-cultural constraints, including the need for home-based and small-scale livelihood opportunities.

The findings will directly support programme design, implementation, and sustainability, ensuring that training provided leads to realistic and viable economic opportunities for beneficiaries.

2. Overall Objective

To conduct localized demand-driven Skills Needs and Labour Market Assessments to identify relevant and feasible livelihood opportunities in selected districts across Balkh, Baghlan, Kabul, Ghazni, and Nangarhar that inform the design of market-responsive skills development interventions under the project.

3. Specific Objectives: 

1. To identify livelihood skills that are already practiced within communities, socially acceptable, and suitable for immediate, low-cost, and home-based income generation, particularly for women and vulnerable groups.
2. To identify and assess emerging and market-oriented skills that respond to evolving local economic opportunities and have potential for income diversification, value addition, and longer-term economic resilience, while remaining feasible in the current context (low-cost and home-based).
3. To generate evidence-based recommendations on skills demand, labour market gaps, and feasibility conditions, including gender and inclusion considerations, to guide the selection, design, and implementation of relevant skills training interventions under the project.