81322354-Promoting digital solutions in Technical and Vocational Education and training delivery in Benin

Kurze Beschreibung

Benin has a young population of 13.4 million. With an annual demographic growth rate of 2.7?% (2022), 42?% of the population is under 15. Every year, around 200,000 young people join the labour market. Despite economic growth of around 6?% per year (2017-2022), the labour market is not in a position to offer qualified employment to all young people. 84?% of the workforce works in precarious conditions in the informal business sector. And 72?% of the workforce (92?% of young people aged 15 to 24) is underemployed in terms of income or working hours. The result is a high poverty rate of 49.6?% and a highly unequal distribution of income (Gini coefficient of 0.48) (World Bank 2022).

The TVET system is not sufficiently capable of preparing young people for the labour market. The number of students registered in technical and vocational education and training (TVET) is low compared to the number of students in general secondary education. Currently, 30,000 young people, 31?% of whom are women, are enrolled in formal TVET, corresponding to 3.8?% of all secondary school students. The low enrolment in TVET can be explained by the lack of formal training opportunities of this type, the high entry requirements, the lack of information among families about the needs of the labour market, and the high fees for trainees" families.
Recognising the constraints of the national TVET system, the government has adopted a National Strategy for TVET 2020 - 2030, which aims for higher quality of technical and vocational skills and qualifications in priority sectors of the country's economy. The government is also committed to enhance the governance of the system, the modernisation of curricula and the certification of apprenticeships. In this way, it aims to contribute to the structural transformation of the economy as reflected in the Government Action Programme PAG2 (2021-2024).
The Federal Republic of Germany is supporting Benin in the operationalization of the reform of its vocational training system through, among other initiatives, the "Promotion of vocational training" Project (ProFoP). The project aims to improve the institutional framework for a formal vocational training offer aligned with the needs of the local economy. To this end, it encourages the establishment of systematic cooperative relationships between state structures in charge of vocational training and the private sector, as well as the piloting of cooperative training approaches in selected sectors. The project measures support practical, inclusive vocational training that meets the needs of the national economy. In this way, they contribute to increasing opportunities for decent employment and secure income, particularly for women.

The module is structured around four main outputs:
Output 1 aims to strengthen the steering and implementation capacities of public and private sector structures involved in the governance and coordination of vocational training.
Output 2 aims to improve cooperation mechanisms between state and private-sector players in the field of dual vocational training.
Output 3 is aimed at piloting dual vocational training provision in the selected sectors of renewable energies, agriculture, IT and other prospective sectors, which are relevant to the labour market. This means that parts of the training are carried out in a company.
Output 4 aims to improve career guidance, training support and integration measures for young people, particularly women and disadvantaged groups.

Beschreibung der Beschaffung

Benin has a young population of 13.4 million, with an annual demographic growth rate of 2.7% (2022). 42% of the population is under 15 years old, and every year, approximately 200,000 young people join the labour market. Despite economic growth of around 6% per year (2017-2022), the labour market cannot offer qualified employment to all young people. 84% of the workforce is employed in precarious conditions in the informal sector, and 72% (92% of young people aged 15 to 24) is underemployed in terms of income or working hours, leading to a high poverty rate of 49.6% and a Gini coefficient of 0.48 (World Bank 2022).
The Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) system in Benin is insufficiently preparing young people for the labour market. Currently, 30,000 young people, of whom 31% are women, are enrolled in formal TVET, which represents only 3.8% of all secondary school students. Low enrolment in TVET can be attributed to poor quality training, high entry requirements, lack of information about labour market needs, and high fees for trainees' families.
Recognising these constraints, the government of Benin has adopted a National Strategy for TVET 2020-2030, aiming to enhance the quality of technical and vocational skills and qualifications in priority sectors of the economy. The government is committed to improving governance, modernising curricula, and certifying apprenticeships to contribute to the structural transformation of the economy as outlined in the Government Action Programme PAG2 (2021-2024).
The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) is supporting Benin in reforming its vocational training system through the Promotion of Vocational Training Project (ProFoP). This project aims to improve the institutional framework for vocational training aligned with the local economy's needs. It encourages systematic cooperative relationships between state structures responsible for vocational training and the private sector, and pilots cooperative training approaches in selected sectors. The project measures support practical, inclusive vocational training to increase opportunities for decent employment and secure income, particularly for women.
The project, initially implemented from 06/2021-05/2024, has been extended until December 2027 with co-financing from the European Union. The objective remains improving the institutional framework for formal vocational training geared to private sector needs.
The project is structured around four main outputs:
Output 1: Strengthen the steering and implementation capacities of public vocational training institutions by involving private sector structures. Improved governance and steering capacities will enable the Ministry of Secondary, Vocational and Technical Education (MESTFP) to design frameworks to promote demand-driven vocational training in dialogue with the business sector and other ministries.
Output 2: Improve cooperation mechanisms between state and private-sector players in dual vocational training.
Output 3: Pilot dual vocational training in sectors such as renewable energy, agriculture, and IT, with parts of the training conducted in companies.
Output 4: Enhance career guidance, training support, and integration measures for young people, particularly women and disadvantaged groups.
Digitalisation is integrated across all the project"s outputs, notably through:
- Strengthening the digital skills of players at the macro, meso, and micro levels .
- Integrating digital solutions into career guidance, vocational training delivery, and labour-market integration services.
- Promoting innovative approaches to support partner countries in shaping structural change and adapting the TVET systems to the future of work.
- Providing self-paced e-learning courses on inclusive teaching skills for TVET teachers, focusing on digital accessibility in education and creating accessible digital products and online learning sessions.

Description of Services
Objective and indicators
The contractor will support the development and integration of digital contents and solutions in designing and delivering vocational training courses across all four outputs of the project.
The contractor will contribute to achieving the following indicators:
Module Indicator 2: 555 companies supported by the module will take on the training function in their own company.
Module Indicator 3: 2,100 apprentices out of 3,000 (70%), including 630 women (40%), will find a job within six months of completing their training.
Output Indicator 1.2: 100 representatives, including 30 women, from MESTFP and the private sector, will confirm they are very good or good at applying the knowledge acquired to implement the vocational training reform.
Output Indicator 2.2: 750 companies, including 225 women-led companies, will improve their capacity to train apprentices in-house.

Liste und kurze Beschreibung der Regeln und Kriterien

EN-A1: Principles for the execution of orders (Mit dem Angebot; Mittels Eigenerklärung): The eligbility criteria are not from the same category as stipulated above, as there is no suitable category.

1. Self-declaration: name of company and address, tax ID, registration and commercial register number or equivalent register in accordance with the legal provisions of the country of origin.
2. No grounds for exclusion pursuant to § 123, § 124 GWB, § 22 LkSG, EU-Russia sanctions

3. Declaration of bidding consortium and/or declaration of subcontractors (if applicable)

Liste und kurze Beschreibung der Regeln und Kriterien

EN-B1: Technical and professional ability (Mit dem Angebot; Mittels Eigenerklärung): 1. The technical assessment is only based on reference projects with a minimum commission value of 200000 EUR (net).
2. At least 3 reference projects in the technical field virtual reality in digital training and of those at least 2 reference projects in the region Africa in the last 36 months

Liste und kurze Beschreibung der Regeln und Kriterien

EN-C1: Economic and financial standing (Mit dem Angebot; Mittels Eigenerklärung): Average annual turnover for the last three years (last-but-four financial year can be included in case of tenders held within 6 months of end of last financial year), at least: 500000 EUR (net).

Liste und kurze Beschreibung der Regeln und Kriterien

EN-C2: Economic and financial standing (Mit dem Angebot; Mittels Eigenerklärung): Average number of employees and managers in the last three calendar years, at least 10 persons.

Genaue Informationen über Fristen für Überprüfungsverfahren

According to Article 160, Section 3 of the German Act Against Restraint of Competition (GWB), application for review is not permissible insofar as
1. the applicant has identified the claimed infringement of the procurement rules before submitting the application for review and has not submitted a complaint to the contracting authority within a period of 10 calendar days; the expiry of the period pursuant to Article 134, Section 2 remains unaffected,
2. complaints of infringements of procurement rules that are evident in the tender notice are not submitted to the contracting authority at the latest by the expiry of the deadline for the application or by the deadline for the submission of bids, specified in the tender notice.
3. complaints of infringements of procurement rules that first become evident in the tender documents are not submitted to the contracting authority at the latest by the expiry of the deadline for application or by the deadline for the submission of bids,
4. more than 15 calendar days have expired since receipt of notification from the contracting authority that it is unwilling to redress the complaint.
Sentence 1 does not apply in the case of an application to determine the invalidity of the contract in accordance with Article 135, Section 1 (2). Article 134, Section 1, Sentence 2 remains unaffected.