Quarterly Progress Report
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Punjab Youth Workforce Development Project Quarterly Progress Report October 1 to December 31, 2017 (1st Quarter) January 26, 2018 Version: Final Contract Number: AID-391-C-16-00001 Project Start and End Date: May 18, 2016 to May 17, 2019 Submitted to: Waseem Ashraf, COR, USAID Submitted by: Qaisar Nadeem, Chief of Party Punjab Youth Workforce Development Project (PYWD) Tel: +92.334.389.7209 Email: [email protected] This report for USAID-Punjab Youth Workforce Development Project is made possible by the support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the sole responsibility of the USAID-Punjab Youth Workforce Development Project and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government. Quarterly Progress Report – October to December 2017 USAID-Punjab Youth Workforce Development Project Contents I. Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................. 4 II. Introduction .............................................................................................................................................. 6 III. Major Activities of the Quarter ........................................................................................................... 8 IV. Cross-Cutting Portfolio ...................................................................................................................... 31 V. Operational Activities .......................................................................................................................... 41 VI. Problems Encountered and Bottlenecks ......................................................................................... 44 VII. Proposed Solutions to Problems ...................................................................................................... 44 VIII. Next Quarter’s Planned Activities ................................................................................................... 44 IX. Environmental Status Report ............................................................................................................. 45 Annex-A: Progress Against the Workplan............................................................................................... 47 Annex-B: Progress Against Performance Indicators .............................................................................. 50 Page | 2 Quarterly Progress Report – October to December 2017 USAID-Punjab Youth Workforce Development Project ACRONYMS ADC Additional Deputy Commissioner ATM Automatic Teller Machine BCC Behaviour Change Communication CNIC Computerized National Identity Card CO Community Organization COP Chief of Party COR Contracting Officer's Representative CPI Community Physical Infrastructure DC Deputy Commissioner DIH District Industrial Homes DO Development Objective GOPb Government of Punjab GCTW Government College of Technology (Women) GTTI Government Technical Training Institute HVACR Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning Repair ICB Institutional Capacity Building IRM Institute for Rural Management LOE Level of Effort LOP Life of Program LTTA Long Term Technical Assistance M&E Monitoring & Evaluation MCCI Multan Chamber of Commerce and Industry MIS Management Information System MoU Memorandum of Understanding MPA Member Provincial Assembly NAVTTC National Vocational & Technical Training Commission NGOs Non-Governmental Organizations NOC No Objection Certificate PSDF Punjab Skill Development Fund PVTC Punjab Vocational Training Council PYWD Punjab Youth Workforce Development STTA Short Term Technical Assistance TEVTA Technical Education & Vocational Training Authority UCs Union Councils USAID United States Agency for International Development VTI Vocational Training Institute Page | 3 Quarterly Progress Report – October to December 2017 USAID-Punjab Youth Workforce Development Project I. Executive Summary The PYWD project’s quarterly (October – December 2017) performance demonstrates strong results across all components as well as strengthening of relationships with provincial/district governments and implementing partners. During the reporting quarter, 321 marginalized youth (72% women and 28% men) received recognized certification after passing their examinations with PYWD TVET partners. The transition of the project’s focus from enrollments to certifications and supporting self-employment, further enabled by provision of toolkits to all pass-outs, is a significant step towards reporting on the increase in youth economic opportunities. Alongside its strong focus on supporting youth for self and paid employment, the PYWD project, as part of learning from 1st year of project implementation, further refined its strategy for engaging vulnerable youth by adopting a more geographically concentrated approach to formation and engagement of communities within Union Councils (UCs). Clusters of UCs were formed around already identified and tapped placement opportunities, while also ensuring the availability of suitable PYWD partner training institutes within the circumference of selected clusters. Community engagement activities are now being implemented within the selected clusters of UCs (by also phasing-in new UCs over time) in each district. This is resulting in building a database and targeting of identified marginalized youth (for training, placement and microfinance components) and potential areas (villages/localities) for implementation of community engagement activities that can show demonstrable results to all concerned. As a result of the expanded efforts on community outreach, 35 new COs were partnered, and at minimum one comprehensive consultative session was convened with each newly mobilized CO. PYWD project identified 983 youth from the focus districts during the reporting quarter, and 835 youth attended PYWD supported 32 youth awareness sessions. Moreover, a hundred high-school children (male and female) attended awareness sessions at different technical and vocational training institutions of TVET sector in Bahawalpur district; detailed demonstration and orientation was given to the students regarding potential economic benefits and opportunities available for youth within the TVET sector. In November 2017, Ms. Elizabeth Kennedy Trudeau; U.S. Consul General Lahore and Ms. Lea Swanson; USAID Provincial Director visited Multan to participate in the first graduation ceremony for youth beneficiaries that successfully completed the six-month training course through TEVTA. They distributed toolkits and certificates to over 40 female/male trainees. The youth beneficiaries, especially women, shared their sincere gratitude with USAID and PYWD project personnel upon receiving the toolkits, displaying a strong commitment to utilize the same in generating income on a sustainable basis. The Deputy Commissioners (DC), Lodhran, Bahawalpur, Muzaffargarh and a female member of Provincial Assembly (MPA) Punjab, Ms. Khola Amjad also attended the Multan event, a further validation of the PYWD project’s acceptance at the local/district governments’ level. DCs also interacted with the trainees to assess the acquired skills, further motivated the youth and shared their satisfaction over the Page | 4 Quarterly Progress Report – October to December 2017 USAID-Punjab Youth Workforce Development Project project’s performance with a strong acknowledgement to USAID for its assistance to the marginalized youth of their districts. During the reporting quarter, 424 trainees participated in three-month institutional training, having inbuilt on-the-job training at private sector businesses. These trainees were enrolled in 13 different demand based, market-driven trades of tourism & hospitality, agriculture & livestock, textiles, gems & jewelry and services sector. The PYWD project has already liaised with more than 70 formal and informal sector employers for the eventual placement of these graduates. Following the completion of the final assessments planned for January 2018, the graduates will be placed in paid employment opportunities with these employers. On-training assessments, quizzes and competitions amongst the trainees are vital segments contributing to enhancing youth’s self-efficacy; in addition to the technical skills development covered under the PYWD project’s institutional training model. During the current quarter, PYWD project conducted two skills competitions amongst the project beneficiaries (for male and female) enrolled in TEVTA’s Government College of Technology at Bahawalpur and Multan respectively. The selected trades were Domestic Tailoring and Electrician, for female and male trainees, respectively. The active participation of youth in these skill competitions proved to be effective in encouraging self-initiative and healthy competition, attributes that are important for shaping constructive behavior. Capacity building is an integral component of the project, and as part of building capacity of local institutions, PYWD project developed capacity building plans for eight (8) Vocational Training Institutes (VTI) of PVTC during the quarter. Following on-site detailed capacity and trade gap assessment of each institute using the national institutional accreditation assessment framework as a guiding tool, PYWD project will uplift delivery capacity of these 08 VTIs in 5 demand-driven trades through provision of machines and equipment along with capacitating the staff/trainers