QUARTER 2 REPORT USAID/EGYPT WORKFORCE IMPROVEMENT AND SKILL ENHANCEMENT PROJECT
YEAR 4
CONTRACT NUMBER AID-263-C-16-00002
May 30, 2019
This publication was produced for review by the United States Agency for International Development. It was prepared by MTC International Development Holding Company, LLC. QUARTER 2 REPORT USAID/EGYPT WORKFORCE IMPROVEMENT AND SKILL ENHANCEMENT PROJECT YEAR 4
CONTRACT NUMBER AID-263-C-16-00002
MAY 30, 2019
AUTHORS:
JOSEPH GHANEM MOHAMED FAWZY WALID QORISH PETER ILICK JEENA MITRY RANIA SALAH BONNIE BARHYTE
This report is made possible by the support of the American People through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents of this report are the sole responsibility of the USAID/Egypt Workforce Improvement and Skill Enhancement project and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government. USAID/EGYPT WORKFORCE IMPROVEMENT AND SKILL ENHANCEMENT PROJECT
CONTENTS Contents ...... i Acronyms ...... ii I. Executive Summary ...... 1 Project Overview & Quarter Highlights ...... 1 Result A ...... 1 Result B...... 3 Result C...... 4 Partnerships and Coordination among TVET Projects ...... 5 General Project Challenges ...... 6 II. Accomplishments by Result Area ...... 8 Result A ...... 8 Objective A.1: Schools’ capacity improved to provide students with technical, practical, entrepreneurial, innovation, and soft skills needed by the market to enhance employability...... 8 Objective A.2 Curricula developed and implemented that meet international standards and address market needs ...... 14 Objective A.4 School governance and management improved ...... 19 Objective A.5 Develop and pilot innovative and student-centered approaches to technical education ...... 20 Result B ...... 23 Objective B.2 Technical, practical, and soft skills of selected job seekers upgraded and those job seekers linked to the private sector for employment...... 24 Objective B.3 Productivity of the existing labor force improved ...... 27 Objective B.4 Firms better able to recruit, retrain, and retain their staff (3R Program) ...... 30 Result C ...... 33 Objective C.2 Selected NGOs (and/or NGOs and associations) are assisted in developing strategies to advocate for policy reforms related to labor market efficiency (and positive outcomes of implementing these strategies substantiated) ...... 33 Objective C.3 Stakeholders at the governorate level are supported in addressing identified challenges to labor market efficiency ...... 36 III. Cross-cutting Activities ...... 40 Sustainability and Sustainable Transformation...... 40 Gender Integration ...... 42 Environmental Protection ...... 43 Project Management ...... 43 IV. List of Annexes ...... 44
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ACRONYMS
3R Recruit, Retrain, and Retain ABA Alexandria Business Association CAPMAS Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics CO Contracting Officer COP Chief of Party COR Contracting Officer’s Representative CUTE Central Unit for Transition to Employment DOC USAID Development Outreach and Communications ECP USAID Egypt Competitiveness Program EEAG Enabling Environment Advisory Group EEU Enabling Environment Unit EFIA Egyptian Federation of Investors’ Associations ENCC Egyptian National Competitiveness Council EPC Economic Partnership Council ERU Ebdaa Rehletak Unit FEI Federation of Egyptian Industries GIZ German International Cooperation Agency GIZ-EPP German International Cooperation Agency – Employment Promotion Programme HR Human Resources ILO International Labor Organization KAB Know About Business KPI Key Performance Indicator LMI Labor market information LOC Letter of Cooperation LUTE Local Unit for Transition to Employment MoETE Ministry of Education and Technical Education MoLD Ministry of Local Development MoSS Ministry of Social Solidarity MoTI Ministry of Trade and Industry MOU Memorandum of Understanding MTC Management & Training Corporation
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NAPPP National Association of Peer Program Professionals NAQAAE National Authority for Quality Assurance and Accreditation for Education NASS National Academy for Science and Skills NCHRD National Center for Human Resources Development NGO Non-governmental organization OCAT Organizational Capacity Assessment Tool OSH Occupational Safety and Health PAT Professional Academy for Teachers PESTEL Political, economic, social, technological, environmental, legal PIP Productivity Improvement Program PVTD Productivity and Vocational Training Department (under MoTI) RMG Ready-made garments SEED Strengthening Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development SMED Small and Medium Enterprise Development Project SUTE School Unit for Transition to Employment SWOT Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats TAR Training Achievement Record TNA Training needs assessment TOT Training of Trainers TQM Total Quality Management TVET Technical and vocational education and training UI User Interface UN United Nations UNIDO United Nations Industrial Development Organization US United States USAID United States Agency for International Development VTEC Vocational Training and Employment Center WDN Workforce Development Network WISE Workforce Improvement and Skill Enhancement project
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I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Workforce Improvement and Skill Enhancement (WISE) Project began its fourth year of implementation on November 1, 2018. This report describes the activities of the second quarter of Year 4 covering the period from February 1, 2019 through April 30, 2019.
PROJECT OVERVIEW & QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS WISE supports and collaborates with a variety of public and private sector entities as it provides training and capacity building for stakeholders and counterparts through three result areas: Result A focuses on upgrading technical secondary education to meet the needs of the market in selected governorates and sectors; Result B focuses on improving skills and productivity within the workforce and private sector in selected sectors and governorates; and Result C focuses on supporting an enabling environment for improved labor market efficiency. WISE has established strong working relationships with a wide range of partners such as the Ministry of Education and Technical Education (MoETE) at the national and governorate level, the Federation of Egyptian Industries (FEI), the Egyptian National Competitiveness Council (ENCC), the Ministry of Local Development (MoLD), and a variety of private sector companies and 60 technical schools across 11 governorates, among others. These relationships are critical to connecting Egypt’s businesses and technical schools, as well as for identifying current labor market trends and the types of skills that employers are looking for in potential trainees and employees. By tapping into local expertise and engaging these Egyptian partners, the WISE project is building capacity as it is promoting local ownership for sustainable change with entities that will remain active in workforce development in Egypt beyond the life of the project. During this second quarter of Project Year 4, WISE continued making good progress in all result areas, building on previous achievements and remaining ever mindful of what it takes to create lasting change.
Result A The School Units for Transition to Employment (SUTEs) continue to develop their capabilities and expand their programs within their respective schools while also sharing their approaches with neighboring schools that are not receiving direct WISE support. This quarter, the SUTEs facilitated job placements for 1,869 graduates and in-company training opportunities for an additional 1,422 students. This brings the totals for the project-to-date to 22,503 graduates employed and 13,892 students benefitting from in-company training. These significant employment and in-company training numbers reflect the positive impact that the SUTE departments are having on students and the benefits WISE capacity building assistance is having on the SUTE staff. As the SUTEs assume greater ownership of the UTE model, WISE is targeting its support to those areas that will ensure the successful long-term implementation of the UTE model after the WISE project has ended. Some examples of the support WISE provided this quarter include:
Initiated the accreditation process for 150 teacher-trainers with the Professional Academy for Teachers. This will help to raise the status of the SUTE master trainers who have taught an impressive 805 separate courses just since October 2018, using more than 500 training packages
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developed by the SUTEs and approved by WISE. This professional development benefitted 7,154 of the current 8,837 teachers in their schools; 56% of those trained were women. Conducted Online Database Capacity Building training for 63 Labor Market Information (LMI) Coordinators in the Governorates of Beni Suef, Damietta, Fayoum, Gharbiya, Menoufia, and Sharquia. This helped the coordinators to complete the data collection from more than 1,000 of the approximately 1,800 companies to be included in the Labor Market Information Report on WISE Year 2 Governorates. This will also help the coordinators to update the information in the future. Conducted a joint training program with GIZ and TVET II for 64 new potential career guidance multipliers. This is helping to advance the MoETE objective of disseminating career guidance curriculum throughout Egypt’s technical education system. Provided the technical support required for all 60 WISE-supported schools to finalize their individualized OSH plans, establish their OSH committees, and complete hazard reports. The MoETE UTE Portal. The UTE Portal, consisting of a main portal, a data collection portal and a social portal, is a critical tool for all teachers, administrators, and students in the technical education system. The Portal will facilitate communications, provide easy access to a wide range of information, help to align technical education with current labor market needs, provide a platform for job seekers to search for employment opportunities, and serve as a central database for the school and MoETE. WISE is proud to be a part of the development and initiation of this important tool. As of the close of this quarter, WISE is pleased to report that all UTE members have completed the full WISE training program on how to use the Portal. All SUTEs and LUTEs have been trained to use the Main Portal and the Data Collection Portal; CUTE members have been trained on how to use and update the Data Collection Portal; and MoETE staff have been trained on the use and maintenance of the Main Portal. Logistics & Renewable Energy Diploma Programs. As the three-year Logistics Diploma Program prepares to graduate its first class of students, WISE continued to support the program and worked with stakeholders to put in place various elements of sustainability. WISE met with the Governor of Port Said, who reiterated his continuing support for the program by committing to supply Maritime Industrial Secondary School with additional needed equipment and to convert the school, as of the next academic year, to one dedicated solely to logistics. WISE also secured an important MOU between the Port Said Students from Red Sea Technical School for Girls receive practical training at the Renewable Energy Foundation Camp Undersecretary for Education and the Arab held at Benban Secondary School in Aswan. Photo: WISE. Academy that will provide capacity building training for students and teachers, and link students with employers through internships and job opportunities. Additional milestones for the logistics program include:
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WISE completed development of an online learning resources library that will provide teachers with remote access to materials to help them enhance the delivery of instruction in the classroom. WISE designed and began implementation of the Best Practices Competition that, by increasing interaction and collegiality among students and teachers, will underpin future cooperation and coordination between the schools. WISE and MoETE coordinated efforts to ensure that the logistics program students of Qantara Sharq Industrial Secondary School could participate in their first practical, hands-on training sessions. Since the school does not currently have workshop facilities for practical training, WISE made arrangements for the Qantara Sharq teachers to conduct practical training at Heavy Equipment Technical School in Ismailia and Maritime Industrial Secondary School in Port Said, both of which have the appropriate workshop facilities. To support the sustainability of the New and Renewable Energy Program, WISE completed two Renewable Energy Foundation Camps at Benban Secondary School in Aswan and established a Coordination Committee in the Aswan Governorate to monitor progress and facilitate cooperation with stakeholders. WISE also initiated the Benban Advisory Board, which will be a key interface with the private sector, particularly for opportunities related to the Benban Solar Project. More than 400 participants received training during the two camps, bringing together enthusiastic stakeholders to reinforce the fundamental elements of support for the New and Renewable Energy Diploma Program. Student-centered interventions. The Peer Helping Program is proving to be very popular among students and teachers, and several non-WISE schools have expressed an interest in establishing their own programs. This quarter, all eight existing Peer Helping Programs completed training for the new Peer Helpers, Ambassadors and Tutors selected this year. The Peer Helpers at each school developed activity plans, sought concurrence from the school management, and are now implementing these student-led activities. Modern Technical School. In support of MoETE’s goal of modernizing Egypt’s technical school system and moving towards a competency-based approach to technical education, 13 WISE consultants completed outlines and began drafting six “how-to” manuals that will constitute a comprehensive model for establishing a modern technical school. The consultants are working closely with their respective subcommittees including attending key information-gathering meetings that WISE arranged and conducting desk research to learn about international best practices.
Result B In Quarter 2 of Year 4, WISE added four new companies to the pool of private companies working with the WISE project. The Recruit, Retrain, and Retain (3R) program and Productivity Improvement Program (PIP) again showed strong results this quarter. Port Said became the sixth governorate where the Ebdaa Rehletak Program is being implemented, and a successful Fourth Technical Education Forum in Alexandria was a joint effort of WISE and the Arab Academy. In helping selected employers to reduce their workforce turnover, WISE completed implementation of the first phase of 3R interventions at eight private sector companies this quarter. All eight companies realized reductions in turnover and improvements in their recruitment, retraining, and retention systems and practices. Phase one of the 3R program has now been completed at 30 of the 32 companies that are working with WISE on this initiative.
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Under the PIP, WISE conducted productivity improvement training for 18 representatives from two of the four new companies added to the WISE pool. Givrex, Jade Apparel, and Marib International reported completing the final phase of PIP implementation—adjustment and standardization of the processes improved during phase one—and are now implementing productivity improvement strategies on their own. In addition, three Red Sea-based hotels reported measurable improvements after completing the first phase of implementing their individual productivity improvement action plans this quarter: the Steigenberger Aqua Magic achieved cost savings on dishware and glassware of 36.2%; the Steigenberger Al Dau achieved cost savings of 30.3% on dishware and glassware; and the Azur Group’s Arabia Hotel reduced delays in the check-in process by 20% and the number of customer complaints about the speed of service throughout the hotel by 60%. At the Fourth Technical Education Forum that was held in March 2019, WISE was responsible for organizing and managing the model Ebdaa Rehletak Job Fair, a new key feature of the Forum. The job fair attracted nearly 2,162 job seekers, and the 64 companies that WISE recruited to participate offered nearly 3,000 job opportunities and 1,000 training opportunities to participants. The success of this component will likely result in it becoming a permanent element of the Technical Education Forum and will serve Dignitaries from the Prime Minister’s Education Development as a model to follow by the ERU units in Fund, Arab Academy, and USAID officially open the Fourth their respective governorate. Technical Education Forum on March 10, 2019. Photo: WISE. WISE was also able to showcase the final round of its skills competition at the Technical Education Forum. Leading up to the Forum, WISE organized local qualifying rounds, trained and supervised competition judges, and incorporated a soft skills component into the competitions. This quarter also marked a significant milestone for the Alexandria Business Association’s Vocational Training and Employment Center (VTEC). On February 5, 2019, VTEC received its official ISO 9001:2015 (Quality Management) and BS OHSAS 18001:2007 (Occupational Safety and Health) certifications. These certifications are a direct result of the WISE capacity building assistance that culminated at the end of October 2018.
Result C Capacity building activities to enable Egyptian stakeholders to identify and address barriers to labor market efficiency continued through the cooperative efforts of WISE and its Result C partners. The Egyptian National Competitiveness Council (ENCC) supported the work of the Enabling Environment Unit (EEU) and the Enabling Environment Advisory Group (EEAG), while the MoLD was instrumental in providing input and support for the establishment of the model Economic Partnership Council in Beni Suef. During this quarter, the ENCC consultant completed the position paper on dual education in the technical education system, the third topic selected for more in-depth study by the EEAG from the
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WISE-developed Labor Skills, Productivity, and Human Resources Management Study. ENCC held two important workshops to build consensus for the recommendations offered in the paper. The first workshop brought together stakeholders representing the government, private sector companies, and FEI. The second workshop focused on collecting feedback from MoETE. For the position papers submitted last quarter on encouraging female participation in the labor market and informality in the labor market, the EEU and EEAG members held targeted meetings with stakeholders from government, business associations, and NGOs to broaden the consensus for the included recommendations. These papers will be presented at the EEAG National Conference scheduled for July 9, 2019, in Cairo. The Beni Suef EPC held its inaugural meeting in early April 2019, following the issuance of two decrees by the Governor of Beni Suef that formalized the EPC’s establishment and appointed its members. The Beni Suef Economic Survey Report was finalized and the first drafts of the sector strategies for agriculture and industrial mining were completed and shared with the EPC members. WISE continued providing technical assistance and training to build the capacity of the EPC members. The members of MoLD’s local unit in Beni Suef and central unit in Cairo participated in four key training workshops conducted by WISE: (1) Principles of Feasibility Studies and Sector Analysis Workshop; (2) Phase 2 Ebdaa Rehletak Unit Capacity Building Training Workshop; (3) EPC Coordination Workshop; and (4) Local Economic Development Training.
Partnerships and Coordination among TVET Projects The visibility and reputation of technical education is gaining ground in Egypt. With the success to date of the logistics and renewable energy diploma programs, as well as events such as the skills competition and the Ebdaa Rehletak job fair, employers and community members are seeing first-hand the significant role that technical education can play in preparing young people for immediate employment. WISE is encouraged by the continuing support and active interest that Government of Egypt entities are taking in this focus on improving technical education and directly involving the private sector. The network of active partners in this quest is expanding and WISE continues to look for ways to collaborate with those who understand and are champions for technical and vocational education. WISE made steady progress this quarter on the new initiative to design a competency-based framework and create guidelines for a model modern technical school and welcomes this new opportunity to collaborate with government, educators, and the private sector. All of these entities are essential if technical education is to become more relevant to current labor market needs. The successful roll-out of the donor-coordinated unified curricula for entrepreneurship/innovation and career development/guidance provides a model for ways in which various projects working together can have a greater impact and broader reach. By pooling the resources of WISE, GIZ, TVET II, ILO, and others, these curricula were ready for use more quickly, and are already providing benefits to students who now have the opportunity to exercise their creativity in the classroom and learn about different ways to participate in the labor market. The partnership with MoLD has helped WISE to make significant progress in establishing the EPC, an effort that is strongly supported by the Governor of Beni Suef. The EPC, along with ENCC’s EEU and the EEAG, are expanding the network of Egyptian companies and industry associations and building strong, mutually beneficial connections between technical education and the private sector. The EEU, EEAG, and EPC units will all contribute to fostering an improved enabling environment for a market- driven, workforce development system that better serves employers and employees in Egypt.
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WISE and the Arab Academy continue to expand their collaboration into new areas. Along with the successful implementation of the Fourth Forum for Technical Education, the Arab Academy and WISE have established a new Ebdaa Rehletak Unit at the Arab Academy’s premises in Port Said. The WISE- Arab Academy collaboration also led to an important MOU with the Port Said Undersecretary for Education to have the Arab Academy provide capacity building training for logistics students and teachers, and link students with employers through internships and job opportunities. WISE continues to value its ever-expanding network of partners and stakeholders, and deeply appreciates the support of stakeholders, such as the Governors of Port Said and Aswan for the logistics and renewable energy programs. This network and the partnerships that exist within it are essential to sustaining efforts to improve the technical education system and expanding connections between the private sector and technical schools. Government, schools, business associations, non-governmental institutions, and the private sector are stronger together as they work towards the shared goal of positive economic growth for Egypt.
GENERAL PROJECT CHALLENGES Socio-political and economic challenges are not uncommon in an international development context, although their precise nature is often unpredictable. As reported previously, WISE has had to:
Adapt timeframes and adjust some activities and interventions to accommodate changes in counterpart’s strategic directions, multiple changes in key ministry officials and staff at the central/national level as well as at the governorate level. Be flexible in working with private sector partners to accommodate changes in their priorities or their schedule which depends on daily/weekly orders. A significant challenge the WISE project continues to face is the limited time it has to implement and institutionalize some of the project activities that are more directly related to specific companies.
The 3R and PIP programs are making an impact on businesses that have worked with these WISE initiatives, but have had to work on truncated implementation timelines. Measuring the sustained success of these interventions requires a longer timeframe than the project has. Despite the addition of Port Said to the program this period, finding government or quasi- government partners that are able and willing to commit to implementing the Ebdaa Rehletak job seeker program over the long term has also proven challenging. Because WISE is not able to provide incentives or guarantees that are needed to keep the individuals WISE has trained from leaving their positions, maintaining continuity for the program is difficult. WISE will continue to seek private entities as partners as they are proving to be more committed to this program. Ebdaa Rehletak also faces challenges from a lack of commitment of both job seekers and private sector companies. Employers have not consistently followed through on their promises of compensation levels and many private sector companies do not want to invest the time required to develop the skills of new employees through Ebdaa Rehletak. Job seekers, when presented with an employment letter or contract that is less than what they were initially promised, often leave the job after a few days or do not work at all. Low salaries, poor or hazardous working conditions associated with certain industries, and lengthy commutes are all factors that have led job seekers to reject job offers or leave after only a short time on the job. All of these factors create a general mistrust that both groups have for each other.
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Coordinating activity timelines, deadlines, and milestones among a large number of counterparts has been very challenging. Frequently having to adjust agendas and schedules often affects WISE’s ability to implement activities in a timely fashion. The WISE project continues to build on the many accomplishments of the project to date while also undertaking new initiatives. This report includes details for all three result area activities, a section on cross-cutting themes, and annexes where training program descriptions, monitoring and evaluation data, and other supporting documentation can be found.
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II. ACCOMPLISHMENTS BY RESULT AREA
RESULT A Result A is focused on improving the supply of labor in Egypt by strengthening and expanding the model for the School Units for Transition to Employment (SUTE), the Local Units for Transition to Employment (LUTE) at the governorate level, and the Central Unit for Transition to Employment (CUTE) at the national ministry level. Under Result A, WISE is helping to reduce the skills mismatch and improve the employability of youth and women while also upgrading the quality of the labor market. Result A also includes integrating entrepreneurship curricula and safety training and materials that meet international and Egyptian safety standards into project-supported schools; developing internationally-benchmarked standards for technical education; and supporting and strengthening school governance and management. Objective A.1: Schools’ capacity improved to provide students with technical, practical, entrepreneurial, innovation, and soft skills needed by the market to enhance employability ACTIVITY A.1.2 PROVIDE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND SUPPORT TO TRANSITION TO EMPLOYMENT UNITS Throughout Quarter 2 of Year 4, WISE and LUTE members conducted weekly visits to each SUTE to monitor their activities, provide technical support, ensure knowledge transfer, and facilitate relationships with the private sector. WISE uses the SUTE monthly progress reports to guide activities, direct resources, and plan additional training to further build the capacity of each of the five departments—Training and Skill Enhancement, Career Guidance and Counseling, Employment and Labor Market Information, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, and Occupational Safety and Health (OSH). WISE monitors the planning and implementation of SUTE activities in all 60 WISE-supported schools, offering on-demand technical assistance and support. The impact of WISE technical support and capacity building continues to translate directly into a stronger, more comprehensive UTE model and high achievement across all SUTE departments. Strong teacher training, career guidance, and OSH components can be linked to positive student outcomes as students are better prepared to enter the workforce. Entrepreneurship training has developed the critical thinking skills of students making them stronger candidates for quality employment. Training and Skills Enhancement. The SUTE Training and Skills Enhancement Departments in the 60 WISE-supported schools continue to make great progress in providing professional development to their teachers. Since the start of the 2018/19 academic year in October 2018, master trainers have conducted 5,681 hours of training through 805 separate courses for 7,154 (4,015 females and 3,139 males) of the current 8,837 teachers in their schools. This training utilizes the 549 training packages developed by the SUTEs last year—the packages were reviewed and approved for use by WISE. On March 21, 2019, WISE met with the Professional Academy for Teachers (PAT) to initiate the accreditation process for 150 teacher-trainers. WISE compiled and provided PAT with all the supporting documentation required for PAT accreditation. The 150 teacher-trainers have met PAT’s criteria for accreditation by completing 60-plus hours of teacher-training and WISE’s Training of Trainers (ToT) certification, as well as achieving senior teacher status with 15-plus years of experience. WISE has sent a formal letter to the Deputy Minister of Technical Education requesting his approval of
YEAR 4 QUARTER 2 REPORT PAGE 8 USAID/EGYPT WORKFORCE IMPROVEMENT AND SKILL ENHANCEMENT PROJECT the 150 teacher-trainers for accreditation. Once approval is received, the candidates will be interviewed by PAT before receiving accreditation. WISE School Receives Recognition for OSH Systems Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) The Governor of Beni Suef awarded Decorative Department Capacity Building: WISE continued Technical Secondary School first place in the providing technical support and closely Governorate’s school OSH competition. Schools were judged on their proficiency in executing evacuation and monitoring the progress of the 60 project- emergency plans. supported schools in their efforts to establish and implement full OSH systems. By the end of Quarter 2 of Year 4, all 60 WISE-supported schools had finalized their individualized OSH plans, established their OSH committees, and completed hazard reports, while 59 of the 60 schools had completed their evacuation plans. The school OSH taskforces are now consistently conducting OSH awareness and fire extinguisher training for teachers and students, and practicing their evacuation plans. Employment and Labor Market Information (LMI) Department Capacity Building: By the end of Quarter 2 of Year 4, the SUTE LMI Coordinators in Fayoum, Sharquia, Gharbiya, Menoufia, Damietta, and Beni Suef had collected data from more than 1,000 of the approximately 1,800 companies to be included in the Labor Market Information Report on WISE Year 2 Governorates, and began inputting the data into the online database. To support the data collection and survey phases, WISE conducted Online Database Capacity Building training for 63 LMI Coordinators in the six Governorates, as shown below:
Dates Venue Male Female Total Online Database Capacity Building On- Feb 12, 2019 Gharbiya LUTE Office 7 5 12 Site Visit-Gharbiya Online Database Capacity Building On- Feb 19, 2019 El Horia Advanced Hotel and 4 4 8 Site Visit-Menoufia Tourism School Online Database Capacity Building On- Damietta LUTE Office 4 7 11 Feb 21, 2019 Site Visit-Damietta Online Database Capacity Building On- Feb 28, 2019 Sharquia LUTE Office 10 5 15 Site Visit-Sharquia Online Database Capacity Building On- Mar 7, 2019 Decorative Technical 3 4 7 Site Visit-Beni Suef Secondary School Online Database Capacity Building On- Mar 14, 2019 Fayoum Industrial El Hadkah 6 4 10 Site Visit-Fayoum School TOTAL TRAINED 34 29 63 See Annex A for training descriptions.
Employment and In-Company Training Secured. Consistent growth by SUTE staff has led to steadily increasing employment and in-company training numbers for WISE technical school students and graduates. These achievements reflect the strengthened capacity of SUTE Employment Department members to more readily identify opportunities and successfully match-make with private sector companies, as well as improved work-readiness of graduates and students due to WISE-supported SUTE activities. This success unequivocally demonstrates the positive impact of WISE training and technical assistance. Based on validated data, the 60 SUTEs secured employment for 1,869 graduates and in-company training for 1,422 students during the three months ending March 31, 2019. Since the beginning of the project:
22,503 graduates have been employed 13,892 students have participated in in-company training
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The chart below shows the impressive achievements of the SUTE in securing employment for graduates and in-company training for students from the inception of the WISE project on November 1, 2015 until March 31, 2019 (As of the writing of this report, WISE was in the process of validating data for April 2019, which will be included in the next reporting period).
SUTE Achievements in Securing Employment and In-company Training -- Project Inception to March 31, 2019
22503
17395
13892
10803 12181
9822 5722
2521 5242 542 2212
372 Y1/H1 Y1/H2 Y2/H1 Y2/H2 Y3/H1 Y3/H2 Y4/H1
Employment In-company Training
Please see Annex A for details for these placements by school.
Integration of Career Development/Guidance and Entrepreneurship/Innovation Curricula throughout Egypt’s Technical Education System. The roll-out of career development/guidance and entrepreneurship/innovation curricula by WISE, ILO, GIZ/EPP, TVET II, and UNIDO continued in Quarter 2 of Year 4, as agreed with MoETE. Due to the timing of Ramadan, classes for the 2018/19 academic year will end in early May, with an extended exam period ending in mid-June. The 60 WISE- supported schools reported completing all entrepreneurship sessions by April 30, 2019; all 20,742 students who enrolled for entrepreneurship classes this academic year received instruction on grade 1 of the WISE-developed unified entrepreneurship/innovation curriculum. For career guidance, all 48,831 students in the 60 WISE-supported schools are receiving sessions tailored to grade 1, 2, or 3 curricula this academic year; the sessions are scheduled to conclude in early May.
To further support MoETE in its objective of disseminating career guidance curriculum throughout Egypt’s technical education system, from March 21 to 25, 2019, WISE, GIZ, and TVET II conducted a joint training program for 64 new potential career guidance multipliers, 15 of whom were from WISE- supported schools. WISE provided technical support for the training, which was held in Cairo. The primary topics of the training program included labor market information awareness, career guidance quality systems, training methods, and coaching skills.
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This donor collaboration aims to equip MoETE with curricula as well as trained Egyptian professionals who will make widespread dissemination of the curricula possible and help to ensure its sustainability.
SUTE Initiatives to Enhance Services. In Quarter 2 of Year 4, the 60 WISE-supported SUTEs continued expanding the services they provide to students and neighboring schools, as well as strengthening their core programs. The SUTEs are employing tactics developed with WISE support that will ensure the sustainability and strength of the UTE model. Among these are activities that engage students beyond the classroom and private sector partners. Highlights of these efforts, presented by Governorate, include: Alexandria
Mostafa Kamel Technical School: SUTE Entrepreneurship members held an exhibition that showcased products designed by students who had completed the entrepreneurship training. Mohamed Ali Decorative and Architectural Technical School: SUTE members visited nearby A budding entrepreneur displays her handicrafts as part of an Zahya Marzouk Orphanage to exhibition at Alexandria’s Mostafa Kamel Technical School. Photo: WISE. present the school’s program and related activities for career guidance and entrepreneurship. SUTE Entrepreneurship members gave a presentation on the steps involved in establishing a small start-up business. Rowshdy Technical School: SUTE members held a career guidance camp, where teachers and students collectively reviewed and refined plans for career guidance activities. Ismailia
Eng. Ebrahim Ahmed Osman Technical School: SUTE Entrepreneurship members and the Ismailia Manpower Directorate co-hosted a seminar and exhibition on entrepreneurship; 100 students from WISE and non-WISE schools attended the seminar. Abo Atwa Technical School: SUTE Entrepreneurship members held an exhibition that showcased products designed by students who had completed the entrepreneurship training. Beni Suef
Decorative Technical Secondary School: SUTE Employment members and Samsung co- organized an employment day; 117 graduates participated and 52 graduates interviewed for positions. Menoufia
El Shohadaa Industrial Secondary School: SUTE Employment members conducted an employment day with Swiss Garments; 56 job seekers participated.
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Aswan
Mohamed Saleh Harb Advanced Technical School: SUTE Employment members organized and executed an observational visit to Egyptian Chemical Company (Kima) in Aswan for 25 students. Fayoum
Fayoum Industrial El Hadkah Students from Aswan’s Mohamed Saleh Harb Advanced Technical School learn about the layout of the Kima factory before their tour School: SUTE Employment of the facility. Photo: WISE. members organized an employment fair with eight companies. The fair attracted 350 job seekers and was attended by the Fayoum Governor, Undersecretary for Education, and Director of Technical Education. Sharquia
Minya El Kamah Industrial School for Boys: SUTE Employment members organized an employment fair with 12 companies. The fair attracted 750 job seekers and was attended by the Sharquia Undersecretary for Education and Director of Technical Education. ACTIVITY A.1.3 ENCOURAGE ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION WITHIN THE TECHNICAL SCHOOL SYSTEM Fanni Mobtaker (“innovative technician”) is a WISE Fanni Mobtaker Competition. WISE collected a Innovation Competition developed by Idea Space for all WISE-supported schools. total of 2,209 project team applications from Project teams advance through three stages: students for the 2019 Fanni Mobtaker 1. School level competition Competition. The competition details were 2. Governorate/regional level competition officially announced in all WISE-supported 3. Final round of 25 projects competing for 10 awards. schools last quarter; the announcement included Applications are classified into two tracks: business innovation or social innovation. application details, project submission criteria, and the competition timeline, with an initial application deadline of February 28, 2019. Due to extremely high interest among students, the closing date for applications was extended to April 11, 2019. Project teams that submitted applications by the original deadline were given the opportunity to refine their project concepts and resubmit their application materials. The extended deadline also allowed WISE subcontractor Idea Space and project field officers the extra time required to conduct Fanni Mobtaker orientation sessions and assist students in refining their project concepts in all 11 WISE-supported Governorates. The new timeline for the 2019 Fanni Mobtaker Competition is:
Deadline for applications: April 11, 2019 (initially February 28, 2019) First round selections: May 30, 2019 (initially March 31, 2019) Second round selections: June 21, 2019 (initially April 30, 2019) Training/technical support for selected project teams: June/July 2019 Semifinals: July 31, 2019 Finals: Late August 2019 to coincide with a WISE project closing event
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Sustainability Measures for WISE-developed Entrepreneurship and Innovation Activities. WISE continued exploring opportunities to ensure the sustainability of WISE-developed innovation activities, including discussions this period with the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology (ASRT) for future support of the Fanni Mobtaker Competition. Based on the discussions and formal correspondence from ASRT leadership, WISE developed a draft MOU that would support the competition and create the basis for future cooperation between the signatories, ASRT, MoETE, and Idea Space. Through the MOU, which is expected to be signed early next quarter, ASRT will provide funding for the prototyping process, assisting approximately 150 Fanni Mobtaker competitors in developing the project concepts. ACTIVITY A.1.5 ESTABLISH OR BUILD CAPACITY OF LUTE MEMBERS TO CASCADE SUTE MODEL LUTEs, governorate-level entities, are well positioned to encourage and facilitate the cascading of the SUTE model. Throughout the quarter, WISE provided ongoing and on-demand technical support and advice to assist the LUTEs in enhancing services to schools and students, and in cascading the UTE model to additional schools. Not only are more schools benefitting from the SUTE model, but technical assistance from WISE is empowering existing SUTEs to take on new, more ambitious projects. Highlights related to cascading the UTE model and additional LUTE initiatives included:
The Red Sea LUTE and Hurghada Technical School for Girls organized an exhibition for student-entrepreneurs and renewable energy students. The event was attended by the Red Sea Undersecretary for Education and the Director of Technical Education. Career Guidance members of the Gharbiya LUTE designed and began implementing the “Prepare Them Safely” initiative that aims to raise awareness about labor market challenges. The Ismailia LUTE conducted two trainings for 15 non-WISE technical schools: three days of training on OSH systems applications for teachers and administrators; and ToT training for 18 teachers from the same group of schools. With WISE support, the Ismailia LUTE designed and began implementation of a new reporting system that will streamline and expedite information gathering by the LUTE Manager and facilitate reporting to the Director of Technical Education. The new monthly report template was distributed to all SUTEs this period. Units for Transition to Employment (UTE) Portal ACTIVITY A.1.7 FACILITATE THE Developed by WISE and GoodNews4Me for MoETE, the COMMUNICATION AND REPORTING FOR portal is: SUTE/LUTE/CUTE THROUGH ONLINE An educational social networking platform for PORTAL students, teachers, and school administrators. A central database for the schools and MoETE During Quarter 2 of Year 4, WISE completed the where updated enrollment and other school-related schedule of training on the MoETE Units for data and reports can be easily accessed. Accessible to all SUTE, LUTE, and CUTE Transition to Employment (UTE) Portal for all members, as well as technical education LUTEs and SUTEs in the 11 WISE-supported stakeholders, including students, throughout Egypt. Governorates. This training teaches participants The portal consists of three gateways: 1. Main portal how to use the Main Portal and the Data Collection 2. Data collection portal Portal of the WISE-developed UTE Portal for 3. Social portal MoETE. It will also host the WISE-published Labor Market Information Report and other resources and tools to WISE trained a total 322 members of the LUTEs facilitate the matching students and job seekers with and SUTEs from 10 of the 11 WISE-supported appropriate jobs.
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Governorates, as shown in the table below. Last period, WISE completed the first iteration of Data Collection and Main Portal Training for 21 LUTE and SUTE members from Damietta, as well as training MoETE staff on the use and maintenance of the Main Portal and CUTE members on how to use and update the Data Collection Portal. The Main Portal offers information that serves technical education, including: news, success stories, and lessons learned; access for technical education students to seek employment opportunities; and a platform for conferences, workshops, and related activities, as well as publications, reports, and related books. The Data Collection Portal allows quick, user-friendly access and dissemination of information on UTE activities, results, and data collected in all governorates.
Dates Venue Male Female Total Data Collection and Main Portal Training- Feb 6, 2019 Rowshdy Technical School 16 10 26 Alexandria Data Collection and Main Portal Training- Feb 7, 2019 Rowshdy Technical School 12 11 23 Alexandria Data Collection and Main Portal Training- Feb 13, 2019 Gharbiya LUTE Office 12 8 20 Gharbiya Data Collection and Main Portal Training- Feb 14, 2019 Gharbiya LUTE Office 8 7 15 Gharbiya Data Collection and Main Portal Training- Feb 17, 2019 El Horia Advanced Hotel 21 12 33 Menoufia and Tourism School Data Collection and Main Portal Training- Feb 24, 2019 Sharquia LUTE Office 14 6 20 Sharquia Data Collection and Main Portal Training- Feb 25, 2019 Sharquia LUTE Office 9 7 16 Sharquia Data Collection and Main Portal Training- Mar 5, 2019 Decorative Technical 8 14 22 Beni Suef Secondary School Data Collection and Main Portal Training- Mar 11, 2019 Fayoum Industrial El 17 13 30 Fayoum Hadkah School Data Collection and Main Portal Training- Mar 17, 2019 Port Said Hotels School 18 2 20 Port Said Data Collection and Main Portal Training- Mar 18, 2019 Port Said Hotels School 10 8 18 Port Said Data Collection and Main Portal Training- Mar 24, 2019 Eng. Ebrahim Ahmed 11 6 17 Ismailia Osman Technical School Data Collection and Main Portal Training- Mar 25, 2019 Eng. Ebrahim Ahmed 18 5 23 Ismailia Osman Technical School Data Collection and Main Portal Training- Apr 2, 2019 Aswan Advanced Technical 8 10 18 Aswan Hotels School Data Collection and Main Portal Training- Apr 8, 2019 Gamal Nazim Advanced 10 11 21 Red Sea Technical School TOTAL TRAINED 192 130 322
ACTIVITY A.1.8 – UPGRADE FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT TO SUPPORT LEARNING On April 22, 2019, WISE subcontractor ICS Technologies completed the delivery of WISE-procured IT equipment to the Central Unit for Transition to Employment (CUTE). Although the equipment was available and ready in Year 3 when the 60 SUTEs and 11 LUTEs were similarly equipped, MoETE delayed delivery for the Central Unit until it could prepare the final location for CUTE operations at the Ministry. Training on the use and maintenance of all equipment was provided to the SUTE, LUTE, and CUTE members in Year 3 by subcontractor ICS Technologies, as part of the procurement agreement. Objective A.2 Curricula developed and implemented that meet international standards and address market needs Using a competency-based training approach, WISE has finalized the development of curricula for two new technical specialties (logistics and new and renewable energy) and is piloting the new content in
YEAR 4 QUARTER 2 REPORT PAGE 14 USAID/EGYPT WORKFORCE IMPROVEMENT AND SKILL ENHANCEMENT PROJECT selected schools. In addition to these technical curricula, WISE completed the development of a unified innovation and entrepreneurship curriculum, together with the Entrepreneurship Coordination Donors’ Committee (ILO, USAID, UNIDO, GIZ, and TVET II) in Year 3. MoETE requested this activity to enable it to pilot a unified curriculum across all technical secondary schools. ACTIVITY A.2.1 CREATE CURRICULA FOR TWO NEW SPECIALTIES During Quarter 2 of Year 4, WISE continued to put into place measures to ensure the sustainability of both the New and Renewable Energy Diploma Program and Logistics Diploma Program, and to integrate the curricula into the dual education system. WISE also provided ongoing support to the programs.
Renewable Energy Foundation Camps at Benban Secondary School. WISE completed two Renewable Energy Foundation Camps at Benban Secondary School in Aswan during the quarter. These camps were designed to bring together stakeholders to reinforce the fundamental elements of support for the New and Renewable Energy Diploma Program. Participants in the two camps included renewable energy program teachers, students, and supervisors, school administrators, representatives of MoETE, USAID, and the private sector. Members of the newly established Coordination Committee and Benban Advisory Board, established to provide ongoing support to the New and Renewable Energy Program, The US Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission and female students also participated in the camps. from Red Sea Technical School for Girls give “three cheers” for the Renewable Energy Foundation Camp held at Benban More than 400 participants received Secondary School in Aswan. Photo: WISE. training during the two camps. From January 24 to February 4, 2019, teachers attended sessions on critical thinking, labor market information, career guidance, and entrepreneurship designed to enhance their capacity to provide a range of essential career-readiness skills for their students. Students attended short courses taught by WISE staff, entrepreneurship facilitators, and career guidance multipliers on Egypt’s renewable energy sector, labor market information, entrepreneurship, and career guidance. From March 5 to 7, 2019, students and teachers received practical training on the installation and maintenance of solar equipment, as well as sessions on student entrepreneurship and general knowledge on the renewable energy sector in Egypt.
Dates Venue Male Female Total Renewable Energy Foundation Camp-1 Jan 24-Feb 4, 2019 Benban Secondary 92 125 217 School, Aswan Renewable Energy Foundation Camp-2 Mar 5-7, 2019 Benban Secondary 97 124 221 School, Aswan TOTAL TRAINED 189 249 438
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WISE and MoETE have established a Coordination Committee in the Aswan Governorate to monitor progress of the New and Renewable Energy Diploma Program and facilitate communications and cooperation with stakeholders. The committee, based at Benban Secondary School, includes program supervisors and teachers. The Aswan Undersecretary for Education will maintain close contact with the committee and make regular visits to the school to follow up on activities. The committee has confirmed that MoETE will allocate funding for installation of the program’s electrical network, security fencing and a roof ladder, and that all tables and chairs for the program’s labs and workshops have been transferred to the school. USAID Dignitaries Participate in Renewable Energy The Benban Advisory Board will be a key Camp in Aswan interface with the private sector, particularly for On February 3, 2019, the Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in Egypt and the Deputy Mission Director of opportunities related to the Benban Solar Project. USAID participated in the first of two WISE-organized The Advisory Board held its initial meeting Renewable Energy Foundation Camps. They were received by the Aswan Undersecretary for Education, during the first camp and has begun activities. toured the school, and learned about the WISE-developed During the second camp, WISE met with the diploma program and its importance in supplying Aswan Undersecretary for Education to discuss qualified, work-ready labor for the Benban Solar Project. The dignitaries spoke with students working in the the Board’s initial activities, mandate, and school’s electrical workshop, and observed student formation, and the Aswan Governor’s soon-to- demonstrations of heating and solar power equipment be-issued decree officially launching the Board. installations, and on-grid and off-grid lab experiments. The US Government representatives also met with members of Since the camps, WISE has met with the Benban Benban Advisory Board and private sector stakeholders. Advisory Board to discuss its action plan for student summer training that will be provided by the Board’s member companies, and to assist in determining the Board’s scope, structure and timing for the delivery of training. These efforts resulted in a meeting on April 15, 2019 with the Aswan Governor and the Head of Aswan Technical Education Directorate to provide an overview of the cooperation between WISE, MoETE and the private sector, detail the successes to date of the New and Renewable Energy Diploma Program, and outline the role of the Benban Advisory Board. The Governor is reviewing the draft decree and the parties anticipate issuance of the decree before the end of May 2019. WISE Visit to Port Said Builds Sustainability for Logistics Program. This quarter, WISE and the USAID COR visited Port Said and facilitated a series of important meetings that will provide a large measure of sustainability for the Logistics Diploma Program at Maritime Industrial Secondary School. On February 25, 2019, WISE held an extremely productive meeting with the Governor of Port Said, who reiterated his full support for the logistics program in Port Said. The Governor agreed to three critical actions: 1. To convert Maritime Industrial Secondary School into a school solely for logistics by the next academic year, with other subjects being moved to different schools. 2. To supply the school with needed equipment and supplies for practical training (i.e., forklift winches, air compressors, wooden pallets, plastic and metal barrels, and traffic cones). Based on a list provided by WISE, he ordered the items and promised immediate delivery. 3. To lift the existing restriction on youth under the age of 18 that prohibits them from participating in internships on the east bank of the Suez Canal. The Governor also proposed conducting a two-stage ceremony for the first class of graduates from the Logistics Diploma Program in June 2019—as per tradition, the first stage would take place at the school
YEAR 4 QUARTER 2 REPORT PAGE 16 USAID/EGYPT WORKFORCE IMPROVEMENT AND SKILL ENHANCEMENT PROJECT in the morning, with a second special event in the evening in front of the Suez Canal dock and shipping facilities. The meeting was covered by these news outlets:
gomhuriaonline ahlmasrnews elmwatin On February 26, 2019, WISE and the USAID COR met with the Port Said Undersecretary for Education and the Arab Academy, during which an important MOU was signed between parties. Through the agreement, the Arab Academy will provide capacity building training for logistics students and teachers, and link students with employers through internships and job opportunities. The Academy will also offer discounted rates for teachers and financial assistance for students who enroll in the Arab Academy training courses. The agreement will create long-term synergies for teacher capacity building, student development, and curriculum revision in accordance with market needs for the Logistics Diploma Program at Maritime Industrial Secondary School. Also, on February 26, 2019, WISE and the USAID COR met with the Head of the Port Said Chamber of Shipping to present the Logistics Diploma Program and discuss potential private sector employment opportunities for program graduates. As part of the presentation, a group of logistics students demonstrated what they have learned by loading a shipping container with tires using an innovative stacking method that maximized space. The Head of the Chamber stated he was impressed with the ingenuity of the students and the depth of instruction at Maritime Industrial Secondary School. The parties agreed to meet again to discuss specific job opportunities for graduates. Additional efforts in Quarter 2 of Year 4 designed to build the sustainability of the Logistics Diploma Program include:
WISE completed development of the online learning resources library for the Logistics Program. This will provide teachers with remote access to a range of materials that will help them to enhance the delivery of instruction in the classroom. The library was developed with the assistance of industry experts and includes audio and video materials. WISE designed and began implementation of the Best Practices Competition for the Logistics Program schools. The competition aims to increase interaction, collegiality, and friendly competition among students and teachers, and underpin future cooperation and coordination between the schools. During the period, WISE monitored the initial phase of the new competition and began collecting nominations and supporting materials for entries in the competition categories—top teacher, top student, and top class. WISE secured the support of Agility Maritime Company for the Logistics Diploma Program. As part of its CSR activities, Agility has agreed to provide soft skills development for logistics students and equipment for the schools; Agility is also considering providing assistance in identifying and securing employment and in-company training opportunities at the company and/or within its network. As a first step, on March 31, 2019, the Human Resources Manager of Agility conducted a resume-writing training session for a group of 54 logistics students from Maritime Industrial Secondary School and Qantara Sharq Industrial Secondary School.
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WISE initiated discussions with the Egyptian International Freight Forwarding Association (EIFFA) about similar cooperation in identifying employment and in-company training opportunities for logistics graduates and students. Ongoing Support for the Diploma Programs. As a result of collaborative efforts between WISE and MoETE, the first practical training sessions were conducted for the logistics program students of Qantara Sharq Industrial Secondary School this period. The school does not currently have workshops for practical training, and WISE was determined to ensure the Qantara Sharq students received practical training before their final exams.
From March 4 to 11, 2019, two groups of 10 third-year students each received two days of training on-site at Heavy Equipment Technical School in Ismailia. The training, which focused on the safe handling of materials using forklifts, was conducted by teachers from Qantara Sharq. On March 30, 2019, Maritime Industrial Secondary School in Port Said hosted a joint training program for its own logistics students and students from the Qantara Sharq program. A group of 54 students received practical and theoretical training sessions on logistics operations. In addition, WISE conducted an in-depth evaluation of the Logistics Diploma Program from February 24 to 27, 2019, and assessments for both logistics and renewable energy students during April 2019. As the three-year Logistics Diploma Program prepares to graduate its first class, WISE utilized both surveys and focus groups to evaluate the satisfaction of teachers and students with the curriculum, teaching methodology, class orientation, program administration, and a range of factors related to the quality of education. The outcomes of the evaluation will be used to design the upcoming WISE- facilitated Logistics Program Review Workshop, through which program teachers and supervisors, industry experts, and private sector representatives will update aspects of the program according to market needs to enhance the learning experience for students. The WISE student assessments in April 2019 focused on third-year students in the Logistics Diploma Program and first- and second-year students in and New and Renewable Energy Diploma Program. The students were assessed on both theoretical knowledge and practical applications, and all assessment tools were designed in accordance with the core competencies of the two programs. The assessment committees included industry experts and representatives of MoETE and WISE. Following the process at each school, all students were given the opportunity to review their final results with assessors in order to identify areas for further development.
From April 6 to 8, 2019, assessments were conducted for 40 first-year and 30 second-year renewable energy students at Red Sea Technical School for Girls in Hurghada. From April 8 to 9, 2019, assessments were conducted for 25 third-year logistics students from Ismailia’s Qantara Sharq Industrial Secondary School. The assessments were conducted at Ismailia’s Heavy Equipment Technical School, as Qantara Sharq does not possess the equipment required for the practical assessment. From April 10 to 11, 2019, assessments were conducted for 28 third-year logistics students at Maritime Industrial Secondary School in Port Said. From April 15 to 18, 2019, assessments were conducted for 465 first- and second-year renewable energy students from Benban Secondary School and El Ramady Qebly Technical Secondary School in Aswan.
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Note that assessments were not conducted at Heavy Equipment Technical School in Ismailia, since the school’s Logistics Diploma Program does not currently have any third-year students. School-organized Internships for Program Students. The private sector has been a key partner in the design, implementation, and success of the WISE-developed Logistics and New and Renewable Energy Diploma Programs. Through this partnership, mutually beneficial relationships are being built between the schools and those companies that will ultimately employee the program’s graduates. With WISE support and encouragement, one important element of this relationship has been cooperation between the schools and private sector on organizing internships for students. During Quarter 2 of Year 4, the following internships were completed:
A group of 39 renewable energy students from Aswan’s El Ramady Qebly Technical Secondary School received practical training solar power company Enerray. El Ramady Qebly Technical Secondary School students receive practical A group of 20 logistics training at solar power Enerray. Photo: WISE. students from Port Said’s Maritime Industrial Secondary School received on-the-job training at Tayea Logistics Group. A group of 14 renewable energy students from Red Sea Technical School for Girls received practical training at Infinity Solar in Benban, Aswan.
Objective A.4 School governance and management improved An essential part of WISE’s work is building the capacity and expertise of Egypt’s technical school principals, senior management, and MoETE officials. WISE is training these key education leaders as well as technical school teachers to ensure that there is support for the systemic change WISE is encouraging and implementing across the school, local, and national levels. Based on feedback from principals, WISE redesigned the Year 1 leadership development program in which principals at WISE-supported Year 1 schools participated. The new, redesigned, leadership training program implemented in Years 2, 3, and 4 is more responsive to the specific needs of principals and vice principals, and includes relevant post-training activities. ACTIVITY A.4.2 ENHANCE THE CAPACITY OF PRINCIPALS, AND MINISTRY OFFICIALS TO MANAGE AND GOVERN SCHOOLS At the beginning of Quarter 2 of Year 4, WISE subcontractor Aspire completed five iterations of the WISE Advanced Leadership Development Training for principals and vice principals from WISE- supported schools. Three iterations were conducted from February 2 to 4, 2019, for a total of 83 participants from schools in Ismailia, Aswan, Alexandria, Red Sea, Beni Suef, Menoufia, and Damietta. Two iterations were conducted from February 5 to 7, 2019, for a total of 55 participants from schools in Sharquia, Fayoum, Gharbiya, and Port Said. The content of this training was refined based on the
YEAR 4 QUARTER 2 REPORT PAGE 19 USAID/EGYPT WORKFORCE IMPROVEMENT AND SKILL ENHANCEMENT PROJECT results of the comprehensive needs assessment study that Aspire conducted at all 60 WISE-supported schools during Year 3.
Dates Venue Male Female Total Advanced Leadership Development Feb 2-4, 2019 Radisson Blu-Borg Al Arab, 21 5 26 Program Alexandria Advanced Leadership Development Feb 2-4, 2019 Radisson Blu-Borg Al Arab, 17 7 24 Program Alexandria Advanced Leadership Development Feb 2-4, 2019 Radisson Blu-Borg Al Arab, 26 7 33 Program Alexandria Advanced Leadership Development Feb 5-7, 2019 Radisson Blu-Borg Al Arab, 24 2 26 Program Alexandria Advanced Leadership Development Feb 5-7, 2019 Radisson Blu-Borg Al Arab, 24 5 29 Program Alexandria TOTAL TRAINED 112 26 138
In addition, this quarter the related School Leadership Needs Assessment Study Report was received from Aspire and finalized by WISE. The comprehensive report includes sections analyzing the findings at each of the 60 WISE-supported schools and analysis on each of the 11 WISE Governorates. Objective A.5 Develop and pilot innovative and student-centered approaches to technical education To better reflect the work being undertaken in Year 3, USAID approved WISE’s recommendation to revise the title of Objective A.5 (as stated above) and to add Activity A.5.2 Develop and Pilot a Peer Helping Program for Technical Secondary Schools. The groundwork for the Peer Helping Program was laid under Activity A.1.1 in Year 2. In addition, based on requests from MoETE in Year 3, Objective A.5 has been modified for Year 4 to include WISE assistance in developing a framework for a comprehensive school model, potentially preparing Egypt for participation in the WorldSkills Competition, and proposing new specializations for commercial technical schools. ACTIVITY A.5.2 DEVELOP AND PILOT A PEER HELPING PROGRAM FOR TECHNICAL SECONDARY SCHOOLS The WISE Peer Helping Program is an innovative approach to improving the school environment and leveraging an already strong but informal peer network that exists in Egypt’s technical schools. With the support and guidance of school leaders and staff, the Peer Helping Program trains students to be peer helpers—student leaders who help peers to problem solve, and provide academic and social- emotional support for students in need. The eight schools piloting the Peer Helping Program, which began in Year 3, are:
Alexandria: Rowshdy Technical School, El Wardian Technical School, and Mohamed Ali Decorative and Architectural Technical School. Ismailia: El Kassassen Technical School and Ismailia Advanced Hotel and Tourism School Port Said: Port Said Hotels School and Port Said Advanced Technical School New Peer Helpers at Alexandria’s El Wardian Aswan: Mohamed Saleh Harb Advanced Technical School complete foundational training. Technical School Photo: WISE.
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During the quarter, all eight Peer Helping Programs completed foundational training for new Peer Helpers and specialized training for new Peer Ambassadors and Peer Tutors selected to join the programs this year. With input from new and former Peer Helpers, each program has formulated its activity plan, presented it to school management for concurrence, and begun implementation. Examples of activities that the Peer Helping Programs implemented this quarter include:
Peer Helping Program students at Aswan’s Mohamed Saleh Harb Advanced Technical School organized a field trip for a group of 30 fellow students and five teachers to visit Egyptian Chemical Company (Kima) in Aswan. The activity was designed to create collegiality and build an inclusive environment for the new students participating in the field trip. At Aswan’s Mohamed Saleh Harb Advanced Technical School, Peer Tutors have initiated a competition called El A’bakera (“The School Genius”), with the objective of encouraging students to boost their academic progress. Peer Mediators and Ambassadors have reached out to the school’s student affairs office for support on a project that would review student absences, analyze the reasons behind them, and work with the students to remedy the related causes. Port Said Hotels School was the first school to complete the training of new students for the program, formulate an activity plan, and begin implementation. On February 27, 2019, the school hosted a visit for the USAID COR and WISE team members to observe the progress being made by its Peer Helping Program.
A number of non-WISE schools have shown great interest in establishing their own Peer Helping Programs. The Education Directorates in Ismailia, Port Said, Alexandria, Red Sea, and Gharbiya are supplying the names of these schools to WISE for possible support if an opportunity arises.
ACTIVITY A.5.3 SUPPORT MOETE VISION FOR REFORMING THE EGYPTIAN TECHNICAL EDUCATION SECTOR Modern Technical School Model for MoETE. Early in Quarter 2 of Year 4, WISE finalized the hiring of all 13 consultants tasked with completing the six “how to” manuals that will guide the development of a model for Modern Technical Schools (MTS) for the Egyptian technical education system. The six manuals and the related consultant areas of expertise are as follows:
Manuals Areas of Expertise School Governance and Stakeholders Communication Plan -School governance Manual -Education-related law -Financial modelling School Financial Modeling and Fundraising Manual -Fundraising -School admissions School Career Development Center (CDC) Manual -CDC student services -IT infrastructure School Infrastructure Manual (new and old establishments) -School infrastructure -Competency-based curricula Competency-based Curricula, Faculty, and Administration -Competency-based school management development Development Manual -Competency-based teacher/faculty development School Accreditation and Education Quality Manual -School quality system/accreditation
Throughout the quarter, the 13 consultants worked closely with their respective subcommittees, formed by WISE last quarter, to complete outlines and begin the drafting process for each manual. The subcommittees are composed of relevant consultants and subject matter experts and are supporting the development of the six manuals in accordance with the structure, content, and objectives agreed upon at the MTS kick-off workshop held last quarter. The consultants completed desk research on
YEAR 4 QUARTER 2 REPORT PAGE 21 USAID/EGYPT WORKFORCE IMPROVEMENT AND SKILL ENHANCEMENT PROJECT international best standards and conducted field visits designed to learn about practices currently used in Egypt. All six manuals are currently in the drafting stage, with first drafts due in the coming quarter.
WISE is closely monitoring the progress of the consultants, holding regular update meetings, facilitating stakeholder visits, and providing technical support and guidance to the consultants throughout the manual development process. WISE staff organized and facilitated information-gathering meetings and visits for consultants and subcommittee members with the following entities:
General Authority for Education Buildings to discuss the standards of the Authority and compare them with international standards. MoETE General Manager for Supplies to learn about the procurement process used in technical schools. Fayoum model Integrated Technical Education Cluster (ITEC) to discuss its experience related to career development centers, governance, infrastructure and IT, and finance and fundraising. Elsewedy Technical Academy, located inside the Elsewedy Electric facility in 10th of Ramadan City, to discuss its admissions process and procedures and tour the Academy’s physical location within the factory. Professional Academy for Teachers to discuss its role in supporting the competency-based school model. GIZ and TVET II to discuss their activities and experiences related to finance and fundraising. MoETE General Manager for Legal Affairs to discuss legislation related to technical education and technical schools. The General Manager offered to serve, along with the MoETE Section Head for Legal Opinions, on the subcommittee in order to ensure the best legal representation for the MTS effort. Beni Suef Technical Education Directorate and the MoETE Decentralization Unit to discuss the legislative, institutional, and financial setup of technical schools, and to learn about how cooperatives operate in schools, current sources of revenue for schools, and successful operating models for capital projects. MoETE Manager of Industrial Technical Education to discuss capital projects in industrial schools and related challenges. Amireya Integrated Technical Education Cluster and Don Bosco Technical School to discuss their competency-based structure and methodology, tour the workshops and labs for each specialization, and learn about and compare the designs of technical schools in Egypt. Director of Career Advising and Placement Services at AUC to learn about the career services offered at the university.
Result A Challenges
At this point in the WISE project, there is less flexibility to alter the Year 4 work plan. Work in support of MoETE’s MTS model has been built into this work plan. At the same time, WISE understands that as the MoETE vision for technical education continues to evolve, there could be additional requests from MoETE for support from the project. As in the past, WISE will discuss any such requests with USAID to ensure that the project objectives are met and resources are deployed for optimal results.
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The lack of funding for the schools is an ongoing challenge, particularly for maintaining the relationships that WISE has built between the schools and the private sector over the longer term. WISE strives to support cost efficient approaches to both sustaining and expanding the UTE model and other programs that the project has established. Examples this quarter of WISE’s interventions to overcome these challenges and secure sustainability include: o The Benban Advisory Board, which will support the New and Renewable Energy Program and provide an interface with the private sector, particularly for opportunities related to the Benban Solar Project. o The WISE-developed online learning resources library for the Logistics Program, which will provide teachers with remote access to a range of materials to enhance the delivery of instruction in the classroom. o The Best Practices Competition for the Logistics Program schools, which will increase interaction, collegiality, and friendly competition among students and teachers, and underpin future cooperation and coordination between the schools. While WISE has worked with MoETE to halt transfers or secondments of teachers who are trained by WISE (or, at a minimum, limit the duration of secondments), this continues to be a challenge. Moving teachers before they have fully absorbed the content of the WISE training is counterproductive not just to the individual teacher but also to the school in which they work. In addition, WISE works with the SUTEs to build relationships with private sector counterparts. Severing such relationships is detrimental to the long-term goals of the UTE model. WISE and the SUTEs recognize the value of tracking and following up with students who have received jobs or are participating in in-company training. However, SUTEs do not have a budget to support such follow-up activities with the private sector. While this is an ongoing and long-term challenge for the SUTEs, the WISE-developed MoETE UTE portal should facilitate and streamline tracking of students and graduates at minimal cost. Several of the WISE activities require expertise that is not readily available in Egypt. When it is available, the experts tend to be very highly compensated. This is true in the fields of solar and wind energy, logistics, and competency-based education, among others. WISE has faced delays in implementation of such activities because of the compensation limitations of the Local Compensation Plan as well as the use of the Form 1420/biodata.
RESULT B
The primary goals of Result B are to improve the skills and productivity of workers, and to reduce workforce turnover in selected sectors and governorates. WISE Result B activities focus on the demand for skilled labor by engaging directly with the Egyptian private sector through: (1) Ebdaa Rehletak, a training and job matching program for out-of-school job seekers; (2) the Productivity Improvement Program (PIP), an intensive capacity building program to help companies improve workforce productivity; and (3) an expansion of the successful Recruit, Retrain, Retain (3R) pilot program. A key starting point for this work is establishing a commitment from the individual companies to partner with WISE. This partnership is achieved through MOUs or Letters of Commitment (LOCs), signed by both parties. WISE continuously recruits new companies through direct contact and investors’ associations that represent the private sector in the governorates where WISE is working. WISE signed new MOUs or
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LOCs with four companies during this quarter and is finalizing cooperation with one more. The four new companies, all Alexandria-based, are:
Kamel Bakery Food Products/Koki Man (food processing) Ateb Group (shipping and trading; for implementation of Ebdaa Rehletak only) AMMCO Foods (food processing) BAVLY Group (RMG) Annex C includes the full list of all 110 companies that have signed MOUs or LOCs with WISE since the beginning of the project.
Progress made in the PIP and 3R Program are discussed under Objectives B.3 and B.4 respectively. The accomplishments made this quarter under the Ebdaa Rehletak Program are discussed under Objective B.2 below.
Although the 18-month capacity building activity with the Alexandria Business Association (ABA) Vocational Training and Employment Center (VTEC) successfully closed on October 31, 2018, WISE continued its oversight of the process required for two ISO standards certifications. This oversight concluded in Quarter 2 of Year 4 following two significant actions:
VTEC obtained official approval from the Egyptian Civil Protection Authority for its civil defense installation system that WISE assisted with in Year 3. This approval was a prerequisite for the BS OHSAS 18001:2007 (Occupational Safety & Health) certification. On February 5, 2019, VTEC received ISO 9001:2015 (Quality Management) and BS OHSAS 18001:2007 certification from Germany’s TUV Thuringen.
These certifications and the corresponding approval represent a significant milestone for VTEC, and are a direct result of the WISE capacity building efforts that culminated at the end of October 2018. Please see Annex B for copies of the certifications and the Egyptian Civil Protection Authority approval. This activity corresponds to B.2.7 of the WISE Year 3 Work Plan.
Objective B.2 Technical, practical, and soft skills of selected job seekers upgraded and those job seekers linked to the private sector for employment Ebdaa Rehletak is the WISE training-for-employment initiative that provides out-of-school youth aged 18 to 30 with market-relevant life skills, work-readiness training and support, and hands-on training, while also linking them to employment or self-employment opportunities. Training and support are provided by Ebdaa Rehletak Units (ERUs) that have been established by WISE in cooperation with a variety of Egyptian partners. The program consists of several stages: (1) Private sector companies participate in the selection of job seekers and provide an advance guarantee of employment for those who successfully complete an on-the-job training phase. (2) The selected job seekers participate in WISE soft skills training conducted by the ERUs. (3) Job seekers then proceed to the on-the-job training phase with the companies that helped to select them. (4) WISE trains supervisors from the employing companies on mentoring and coaching skills. This helps the supervisors to better communicate with and support the recruited job seekers, making it more likely that these trainees/employees will remain with the company.
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(5) Job seekers who successfully complete their on-the-job training are hired into full time employment positions. This program is designed to reduce gaps between job seeker skills and actual employer needs. The initiative’s ultimate goal is to increase employee retention, which in turn will lead to better products and services, thereby enhancing Egypt’s overall global competitiveness. ACTIVITY B.2.1 ESTABLISH EBDAA REHLETAK ACTIVITY B.2.2 SET UP, TRAIN, AND OVERSEE THE EBDAA REHLETAK UNITS (ERUS) Despite the challenges faced in establishing the Ebdaa Rehletak Program with partner institutions, WISE has continued to strengthen and expand the program. This quarter, WISE added Port Said to its list of governorates implementing the Ebdaa Rehletak Program through an MOU with the Arab Academy for Science, Technology, and Maritime Transport. This addition came about as a result of the initial success of the Arab Academy’s Ebdaa Rehletak Unit (ERU) in Alexandria, after which the Academy requested WISE assistance in establishing an ERU at its premises in Port Said. WISE assessed the location, selected unit members, and conducted capacity building training. The Ebdaa Rehletak Program has now been launched with each of the following partners focusing on specific job seeker populations (economic sector and/or geography) that are appropriate to their scope and reach.
Ministry of Trade and Industry’s Productivity and Vocational Training Department (PVTD) in Gharbiya (textiles), Damietta (furniture), and Sharquia (ready-made garments), beginning in Quarter 1 of Year 3. ABA’s VTEC in Alexandria, beginning in Quarter 2 of Year 3. (This location closed at the end of the WISE capacity building activity with VTEC and Ebdaa Rehletak staff were transferred to the Arab Academy for Science, Technology, and Maritime Transport.) Sustainable development organization SEKEM in Sharquia, beginning in Quarter 2 of Year 3. Ministry of Local Development (MoLD) in Beni Suef, beginning in Quarter 4 of Year 3. The Arab Academy in Alexandria, end of Quarter 4 of Year 3. The Arab Academy in Port Said, beginning of Quarter 2 of Year 4. From February 18 to 23, 2019, WISE conducted Phase 2 Ebdaa Rehletak Unit Capacity Building Training for ERU members. The group of 18 participants consisted of 10 from the MoLD ERUs in Beni Suef (local unit) and Cairo (central unit), 2 from the PVTD ERUs in Gharbiya and Damietta, 4 members from the Arab Academy ERU in Alexandria, and 2 from the new Arab Academy ERU in Port Said. The second phase of training covers understanding the workforce environment for TVET positions, employability skills, working with youth, OSH, gender integration, and human capital marketing. Based on the needs of the specific group of participants, WISE also incorporated short sessions on report writing, negotiation skills, motivational skills, time management, and work ethics.
Dates Venue Beneficiary Male Female Total ERU members in Damietta, ERU Capacity Feb 18-23, Steigenberger Alexandria, Port Said, Beni 9 9 18 Building – Phase 2 2019 Hotel, Alexandria Suef, Gharbiya, and Cairo See Annex A for training descriptions.
Throughout the quarter, WISE conducted site visits to facilitate meetings with private sector companies, review progress, and provide technical support. Meanwhile, the ERUs held orientation sessions to
YEAR 4 QUARTER 2 REPORT PAGE 25 USAID/EGYPT WORKFORCE IMPROVEMENT AND SKILL ENHANCEMENT PROJECT introduce the program to job seekers and private sector companies, collect information on job vacancies, recruit potential mentors, and promote the program at events. The ERUs use a range of tactics and tools to market Ebdaa Rehletak and attract job seekers to register for the program. These approaches include online advertising, targeted meetings with NGOs and community-based organizations to obtain referrals, and organizing or participating in events that target job seekers. During the quarter, the ERUs reported the following achievements:
1,000 job seekers were registered. 250 job seekers received career counseling. 183 job seekers received ERU assistance with interviews. 121 job seekers received work-readiness training. 121 job seekers were employed and are receiving specialized in-company training. The ERUs continue to face a number of challenges in completing the full process with job seekers. Ongoing challenges include:
A large percentage of job seekers are registering via online announcements, but not in response to a specific employment opportunity. Job seekers who are matched with existing employment opportunities and complete career counseling have often failed to return for the next step or withdrawn from the process, citing a range of reasons including low salary, poor working conditions, inconvenient commuting distance for a particular job, and in a few instances, the employer reducing the agreed salary upon contract signing. Many private sector companies do not want to invest the time required to develop the skills of new employees through Ebdaa Rehletak; they seek immediate hires. ACTIVITY B.2.5 CONDUCT A MODEL JOB FAIR AND OUTREACH CAMPAIGNS On March 10-11, 2019, the Arab Academy and WISE implemented the Fourth Technical Education Forum at the Arab Academy’s Industrial Services Complex. The Forum featured a national skills competition, a job fair, and a product exhibition. The nationwide Egypt Skills Competition finals and awards ceremony were held on March 10 and 11. The finals featured 18 skills Inside the Egypt Skills Competition during the Fourth Technical categories with 183 competitors. Education Forum held on March 10-11, 2019. Photo: WISE. Eighteen of these finalists were selected by the PVTD and SEKEM Ebdaa Rehletak Units (ERUs) established by WISE. The third-place winner in carpentry skills was sponsored by the PVTD ERU. Four students from WISE-supported schools who entered the competition on their own also received awards—second place in entrepreneurship skills and third-place finishes in the baking, sewing, and electrical maintenance categories. Beginning in July
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2018, WISE played a significant role in organizing and managing the skills competition. This included assisting in the implementation of various local qualifying rounds; selecting, training, and supervising competition judges; and incorporating a soft skills component through which competitors were coached on presentation skills and methods, communications, teamwork, and other related elements. WISE had total responsibility for implementing the Forum’s Ebdaa Rehletak Job Fair component. Over the two days, the fair attracted 2,162 job seekers, including 247 Arab Academy students. The 64 participating companies offered nearly 3,000 job opportunities and 1,000 training opportunities to participants. In addition, approximately 400 job seekers submitted applications to Ebdaa Rehletak during the fair. The successful implementation of the model demonstrated to the ERUs how to conduct a job fair; the ERUs are now capable of conducting job fairs on their own. participants. WISE recruited Forasna, a top Egyptian online employment services company, to serve as its strategic partner for recruiting private sector companies and job seekers to participate in the Ebdaa Rehletak Job Fair. Forasna co-hosted the event’s webpage to reach job seekers. This co-hosting promoted the event to Forasna’s approximately 1 million users through social media channels. Forasna also directly contacted private companies to encourage their participation. The Product Exhibition, organized by the Industrial Services Complex, featured 12 participating companies that had served as sponsors for the event. The following media outlets covered the Forum events:
elwatannews.com nefeza2world.com abudhabi-news.com albawabhnews.com The Forum also included a panel discussion on donor cooperation in overcoming the challenges to the development of technical education in Egypt. The Director of Economic Growth and the COR represented USAID at the event. Objective B.3 Productivity of the existing labor force improved Through the Productivity Improvement Program (PIP), WISE is helping employers improve the labor productivity of their current workforce. Following introductory training on productivity concepts and methodologies, experts in five targeted sectors (RMG, food processing, tourism, textiles, and furniture) work with each company partnering with WISE to assess the company’s labor productivity, develop improvement plans, and monitor plan implementation. Sustainability Measures for the Productivity Improvement Program. During this quarter, WISE began cooperating with the USAID Strengthening Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development (SEED) project on enhancing the sustainability of the WISE PIP. WISE and SEED have identified two areas of cooperation related to WISE’s PIP: (1) PIP implementation, and (2) training entrepreneurs. The two projects agreed that SEED will refer medium-sized food processing and ready-made garments companies that fit WISE’s criteria for implementation of the PIP. SEED will also incorporate the PIP orientation into their training provider’s manual, and share that manual with WISE for review and feedback. Under the second component of cooperation—training entrepreneurs—SEED and WISE agreed to have WISE’s Productivity Advisor conduct a short training course for select entrepreneurs
YEAR 4 QUARTER 2 REPORT PAGE 27 USAID/EGYPT WORKFORCE IMPROVEMENT AND SKILL ENHANCEMENT PROJECT from both projects. The objective of this training will be to build entrepreneurs’ capacities with tools and instruments that are used in quality systems, problem solving, and waste reduction methods. The initial result of this cooperation was the jointly conducted Capacity Building for Exports Workshop. This workshop was held for representatives from 23 SMEs in the ready-made garments sector. In the three-phase workshop, the The joint WISE-SEED Capacity Building for Exports Workshop for SMEs in the ready-made garments sector. Photo: WISE. participants learned about lean manufacturing from March 18 to 20, quality control from March 25 to 27, and supply chains from April 1 to 2. In order to maximize the benefits of this training, the SMEs sent different representatives to each session, matching the training topic to the employee’s function in the company. The three sessions included representatives from all 23 SMEs, with some companies sending two participants. The outcome of this training program will lead to the establishment, within each company, of a trained taskforce that will search for gaps and implement PIP tools that improve productivity. In additional efforts related to the sustainability of the PIP:
The Federation of Egyptian Industries (FEI) has expressed interest to WISE to introduce the PIP to their newly established Business Development Services (BDS) center which, once trained, would be able to offer the PIP to member companies as part of the BDS services. WISE and FEI will meet during the next period to further discuss this request. WISE met with the Director of the Ministry of Trade and Industry’s Productivity and Vocational Training Department (PVTD) this quarter to discuss potential cooperation. The PVTD is currently in the process of establishing a specialized school for ready-made garments based on a dual education concept and may use WISE expertise in developing the in-company component. WISE is scheduled to meet early next quarter with the Textile Consolidation Fund, which is supported by the Ministry of Trade and Industry. The Fund would potentially offer the PIP to companies within its scope—Alexandria-based companies in the textiles and ready-made garments sectors. ACTIVITY B.3.1 RAISE AWARENESS OF COMPANIES ABOUT METHODS TO IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY From March 31 to April 4, 2019, WISE conducted a five-day Introduction to Productivity Improvement Training workshop for production managers and supervisors from two Alexandria-based companies— ready-made garments company Mediterranean Spinning (Meditex) and food-processing company AMMCO Group. The training included a total of 18 participants and was conducted in Alexandria. Participants learn about the difference between production management and productivity management, and gain a firm understanding of the tools needed to improve productivity in their companies. The training introduces a range of theories on productivity improvement, such as 5S, Kaizen, Toyota
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Theory, Work Studies, Work Loading, and Process Control and Optimization. Key concepts in the training include:
Productivity Efficiency How to measure productivity The importance of reporting During the five-day workshop, the participants also discuss strategies for reducing production bottlenecks, simplifying processes, and minimizing the duplication of efforts. The participants are tasked with forming productivity improvement taskforces at their respective companies and coached to begin analyzing productivity challenges. This prepares them for the next step of the intervention when WISE productivity experts begin working inside their companies.
Dates Companies Male Female Total Introduction to Productivity Mediterranean Spinning & Mar 31-Apr 4, 2019 17 1 18 Improvement AMMCO Group See Annex A for training descriptions.
Since project start-up, WISE has provided its full five-day Introduction to Productivity Improvement Training workshop to a total of 33 companies, including the two most recent PIP partners. At the writing of this report, WISE was scheduling training with two additional companies. ACTIVITY B.3.4 OVERSEE THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE INDIVIDUAL IMPROVEMENT PLANS FOR EACH COMPANY Steigenberger Al Dau Hotel, Steigenberger Hotel, and Azur Group’s Arabia Hotel in Red Sea completed phase one of their individual productivity improvement action plans and reported impressive results in Quarter 2 of Year 4. Steigenberger Al Dau and Steigenberger Aqua Magic Hotels. During development of their individual productivity improvement action plans, the separate PIP taskforce teams for these two hotels identified and targeted the same area of operations for productivity improvement countermeasures—the main kitchen. The findings of the assessments at both hotels revealed a high percentage of broken dishware and glassware, foul smelling dishes after washing, and a high rate of customer complaints about the dress of the restaurant staff. With the support of the WISE Productivity Expert, the two taskforces designed a joint strategy that was then implemented separately at each hotel. As an initial step, both taskforce teams implemented the “5S system” in the kitchen. The approach focused on sorting and reorganizing dishes and glasses according to their use and storing them for better accessibility. This intervention resulted in observable efficiencies in workflow within the kitchen and between the kitchen and restaurant. Stewards and waiters were then retrained and their roles and responsibilities were clearly defined, resulting in the following:
The efficient flow of staff between the kitchen and restaurant. Hazards and impediments to workflow (e.g., water on the floor) being quickly remedied. Improved attentiveness to the dishwashing process, including maintenance of the dishwashers, maintaining related supplies (e.g., dishwashing soap), and halting the reuse of towels previously used for drying.
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Improved attentiveness to the dress code. The implementation of countermeasures by the two taskforce teams began in autumn 2017. By January 2018, both hotels started showing month-to-month cost savings from a reduction in broken dishes and glasses. At the end of this reporting period in April 2019, the Steigenberger Aqua Magic had achieved cost savings on dishware and glassware of 36.2%, when compared to January 2018, and the Steigenberger Al Dau had achieved cost savings of 30.3% on dishware and glassware compared against the same period. Arabia Hotel (Azur Group). Based on customer complaints that included the hotel’s lengthy check-in process and the time for food delivery in the pool area, the Arabia Hotel PIP taskforce targeted four key areas of operations during implementation—the front desk, the maintenance department, housekeeping, and the pool restaurant. Under the guidance of the WISE Productivity Expert, the Arabia Hotel PIP taskforce identified and implemented the following countermeasures:
Training and equipping housekeeping staff to perform basic maintenance. Building ramps to expedite the movement of luggage. Increasing the number of chefs and refrigerators at the pool kitchen. The implementation of countermeasures by the taskforce reduced delays in the check-in process by 20% and the number of customer complaints about the speed of service throughout the hotel by 60%. Current status of companies implementing productivity improvement plans. Following the initial productivity improvement training, companies enter an implementation process that consists of two phases. The first phase consists of seven-steps. The second and final phase is a single step that includes the adjustment and standardization of the production process related to the productivity problem that has been resolved in phase one. This final phase begins when the company taskforce takes direct responsibility for PIP implementation, with only as-needed, on-demand guidance from the WISE Productivity Expert. Three companies reported completing the final phase of PIP implementation this period. Givrex, Jade Apparel, and Marib International all completed the adjustment and standardization of the processes improved during phase one, and are now implementing productivity improvement strategies entirely on their own.
Annex C shows the current status of the WISE PIP, including the 33 companies that have received training, the two for which training is anticipated next quarter, and the four companies that withdrew before receiving training. Eight companies have completed phase one and 11 companies are currently implementing phase one. The table also provides brief details on seven companies where cooperation is pending or has been halted and notes the four companies that withdrew after receiving training.
During this quarter, WISE Productivity Experts conducted 27 site visits to provide technical assistance on the development or implementation of productivity improvement plans.
Objective B.4 Firms better able to recruit, retrain, and retain their staff (3R Program) The 3R Program is designed to deliver human resources interventions that address skill shortages and exorbitant turnover rates by enhancing industrial enterprises’ ability to attract, retrain, and retain a qualified and loyal workforce. Under the 3R approach, master trainers visit partner companies to gather information on turnover, recruitment, training, and retention practices. WISE then conducts an in-depth analysis of human resources policies and practices against international benchmarks that are compatible
YEAR 4 QUARTER 2 REPORT PAGE 30 USAID/EGYPT WORKFORCE IMPROVEMENT AND SKILL ENHANCEMENT PROJECT with domestic culture, values, and business norms to identify gaps and develop an improvement plan for each company. A taskforce is created in each company to coordinate the 3R implementation, and WISE provides ongoing technical support as each company implements the recommended interventions, including gender awareness. During this quarter, eight private sector companies completed the first phase of 3R implementation, as shown below under Activity B.4.6. From project inception to date, 44 private sector companies have received the WISE intensive five-day 3R Human Resources Basics Training workshop and 30 companies have completed phase one implementation. Annex C shows the status of the 32 companies that worked with WISE to improve their human resources systems, as well as the 12 companies where 3R interventions had been started, but WISE assistance was discontinued. Annex C also includes a full description of the Human Resources Basics Training Program. In addition, through WISE’s capacity building training, the 3R Function at FEI is now equipped with the skills and knowledge to independently administer 3R services to Egypt’s private sector companies. ACTIVITY B.4.6 IMPLEMENT THE PROPOSED 3R INTERVENTIONS FOR SELECTED COMPANIES WITH LOCAL PARTNER AND MASTER TRAINERS WISE completed the post-implementation assessments for the first phase of the 3R interventions at the following eight companies:
Red Sea: Continental Hotel and Serenity Hotel Alexandria: Sahinler Apparel and Totex Garments Sharquia: Furniture companies Odiba and SMD Designs Beni Suef: Ready-made garments company Crystal Gharbiya: El Saman Ready-made Garments As shown in the table below, 3R implementation resulted in improvements in turnover rates at all eight companies. The companies also demonstrated corresponding improvements in their human resources systems scores for recruitment, retention, and retraining.
Results of First Phase 3R Interventions at Eight Companies
Company Sector/ Pre- Post- Pre- Post- Turnover Governorate implementation implementation implementation implementation Rate Assessment Assessment Turnover Rate Turnover Rate Improvement Crystal RMG/ Recruitment: 69% Recruitment: 78% 6.1% 5.4% 12% Beni Suef Retraining: 6% Retraining: 17% (Q1 2018) (Q1 2019) Retention: 30% Retention:45% Serenity Tourism/ Recruitment: 78% Recruitment: 92% 3.9% 3.5% 10% Hotels Group Red Sea Retraining: 72% Retraining: 89% (Q1 2018) (Q1 2019) Retention: 78% Retention: 88% Continental Tourism/ Recruitment: 56% Recruitment: 97% 5.3% 2.3% 57% Hotel Red Sea Retraining: 83% Retraining: 94% (Q1 2018) (Q1 2019) Retention: 73% Retention:87% Totex RMG/ Recruitment: 47% Recruitment: 78% 6.3% 4.0% 37% Garments Alexandria Retraining: 11% Retraining: 39% (Q1 2018) (Q1 2019) Retention: 25% Retention: 40% Sahinler RMG/ Recruitment: 44% Recruitment: 86% 4.9% 2.5% 49% Apparel Alexandria Retraining: 11% Retraining: 39% (Y 2018) (Y 2019) Retention: 55% Retention: 67% Odiba Furniture/ Recruitment: 58% Recruitment: 97% 5.3% 2.0% 62% Sharquia Retraining: 0% Retraining: 67% (Q1 2018) (Q1 2019) Retention: 2% Retention: 87%
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El Saman RMG/ Recruitment: 39% Recruitment: 86% 4.0% 2.7% 33% Ready-made Gharbiya Retraining: 33% Retraining: 78% (Q1 2018) (Q1 2019) Garments Retention: 44% Retention: 55% SMD Designs Furniture/ Recruitment: 42% Recruitment: 67% 1.0% 0.9% 10% Sharquia Retraining: 61% Retraining: 72% (Q1 2018) (Q1 2019) Retention: 68% Retention: 80%
During implementation of the companies’ individual action plans, WISE provides technical assistance through coaching and workshops for the taskforces. The starting point for WISE technical assistance often includes developing or refining company objectives, mission, vision, and values, as well as creating a structure for improved human resources strategies and systems. Based on the gaps and needs identified at each company and the actions recommended by WISE sector experts, WISE delivered targeted assistance, support, and guidance to develop and implement various elements of the 3R approach including: WISE 3R Intervention Helps Totex Garments Improve Recruitment Systems and Establish a Full HR Department For Totex Garments, improved turnover and stronger systems for o Hiring policies, workforce recruitment, retraining, and retention were not the only plans, and organizational charts. achievements that resulted from the WISE intervention. o Candidate interviews, employee Totex entered 3R implementation with an understaffed HR department and nascent systems. Based on the positive results inductions, and exit interviews. produced through the hard work of the Totex 3R taskforce and o Job analyses and descriptions the WISE 3R expert, the company management has recognized with competencies specific to the importance of strengthening its systems and building the capacity of its HR department. To best implement these systems, the company’s sector and management has committed to increase the number of staff and performance systems. invest in a full service HR department. Training o Training needs assessments (including legal requirements, client requirements, and performance management outputs), training plans, and training evaluation systems. Retention o Job grading, career paths, job rotations, compensation and benefits, pay structures, and related monitoring and evaluation. o Employee satisfaction surveys. During the quarter, WISE 3R experts delivered 37 contact days through site visits to companies implementing the 3R Program.
Result B Challenges
In the current Egyptian economic context, many companies prioritize immediate bottom line benefits over long-term economic gains. Based on this reality, some companies with strong initial interest in WISE 3R or PIP interventions ultimately pull back from the programs, preferring to focus on cutting financial inputs in the moment rather than making any investments (in time, energy, or money) to improve their long-term outlook. Such a short-term focus is not uncommon in situations with fluctuating economic conditions. As companies learn about the positive impact the WISE interventions are having, they often change their perspective, but this dilemma makes it difficult to rapidly scale up these interventions. Institutionalization of the PIP intervention continues to face challenges. While discussions with the Industrial Modernisation Centre (IMC) are pending due to some internal challenges at IMC, WISE has pursued alternative partners that would provide sustainability to the PIP. Joint efforts begun by WISE and the USAID/SEED project this quarter will enhance the exposure and grow
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the appetite for the PIP among a wider base of private sector companies. In the coming months, successful discussions with the PVTD, FEI, and the MoTI-supported Textile Consolidation Fund would allow these entities to deliver the PIP either in full or partially to their target populations based on sector and/or geography. WISE has had a particularly difficult time finding government or quasi-government partners for the Ebdaa Rehletak Program. A longer-term commitment to sustain the program is needed, but not always possible given the nature of staff turnover and transitions in many government entities. The lack of compensation for new responsibilities related to establishing and maintaining an ERU may also be an obstacle to finding key individuals in public entities to champion the program. For all Result B programs, the WISE project timeline is now a factor as any new partners will need to get up to speed and take ownership of the program (3R, PIP, or Ebdaa Rehletak) in a relatively short period of time. WISE has and will continue to seek creative ways to promote the sustainability of these programs, which will also make them more attractive to potential new partner companies. One idea for promoting this sustainability is to help partner entities find the economic means to cover the costs associated with the implementation of WISE initiated programs. The Ebdaa Rehletak Program continues to face challenges in matching job seekers with decent employment opportunities. The most intractable of these challenges are low salaries and poor or hazardous working conditions that exist in some industries and are outside of WISE’s ability to address. In addition, many private sector companies do not want to invest the time required to develop the skills of new employees through Ebdaa Rehletak; instead, they seek immediate hires. While the USAID-approved expansion of target sectors for the job seeker program has opened new sectors to Ebdaa Rehletak and led to higher achievement figures, the ERUs have found that these issues exist throughout much of the economy.
RESULT C Result C is designed to enhance the capacity of Egyptian stakeholders to identify and address barriers to labor market efficiency at local and national levels. This is being done through the creation of entities such as the governorate-level Economic Partnership Council (EPC), and the national-level Enabling Environment Unit (EEU) and Enabling Environment Advisory Group (EEAG).
Objective C.2 Selected NGOs (and/or NGOs and associations) are assisted in developing strategies to advocate for policy reforms related to labor market efficiency (and positive outcomes of implementing these strategies substantiated) In Year 3, WISE established the Enabling Environment Unit (EEU) within the Egyptian National Competitiveness Council (ENCC) and assisted in the creation of the Enabling Environment Advisory Group (EEAG) consisting of prestigious national associations and entities to promote labor market efficiency. ACTIVITY C.2.2 PROVIDE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND SUPPORT TO THE EEU During Quarter 2 of Year 4, WISE continued providing assistance to the EEU in its development of important communications tools:
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1. The EEU labor market web platform will provide a central location for collecting and storing useful labor market data that can be disseminated along with analyses generated by the unit. 2. The EEU labor market newsletter—the first of its kind in Egypt—will be used for targeted communications on EEU activities and progress, as well as providing a second method of disseminating EEU informational products. The EEU has been approaching organizations to build a network of partners for improved labor market efficiency and elicit cooperation on developing and disseminating the EEU Labor Market Newsletter. 3. The EEU’s joint communications plan with the Economic Partnership Council (EPC) central and local units established with the Ministry of Local Development (MoLD) under WISE Objective C.3. The EEU and EPC units are currently holding monthly meetings to plan and coordinate, while they finalize the joint communications plan. C.2.4 SUPPORT THE ENABLING ENVIRONMENT UNIT (EEU) TO DEVELOP A LABOR MARKET EFFICIENCY STRATEGY WITH EMPHASIS ON LABOR MARKET EFFICIENCY FOR EGYPT WITH PARTICULAR FOCUS ON SECTORS AND GOVERNORATES IDENTIFIED BY WISE Following the completion of the position paper on dual education in the technical education system by the EEU-selected consultant, ENCC held two important workshops to build consensus for the recommendations offered in the paper. This topic is the third selected by the EEAG from the WISE- developed Labor Skills, Productivity, and Human Resources Management Study. On March 28, 2019, ENCC successfully conducted the Dual Education Position Paper Workshop. The workshop was moderated by the Honorary Chairman of ENCC and brought together 25 stakeholders representing the government, private sector companies, the Federation of Egyptian Industries (FEI), the EEAG, ENCC, and USAID/WISE. Key speakers and messages included:
The Honorary Chairman of ENCC ENCC Dual Education Position Paper Workshop reiterated the goals for education Receives Positive Press embodied in the Strategic Framework On March 31, 2019, Al Masr Al Youm published a comprehensive article on the success of the March 28 Dual for Egypt 2030 and emphasized the Education Position Paper Workshop conducted by the ENCC. challenges facing the technical The article can be found at this link: education system, including increasing https://www.almasryalyoum.com/news/details/1383479. financial resources, building the capacity of teachers, and improving the management of education institutions. The EEAG Chairman and FEI Executive Director spoke about the importance of dual education as an essential tool for achieving inclusive development for the technical education system, producing an empowered, skilled labor force, and increasing the productivity and competitiveness of the Egyptian economy. The ENCC consultant provided a comprehensive presentation of the position paper on dual education, leading to an in-depth discussion on:
The status of the dual education system in Egypt, including the tools and mechanisms currently employed and challenges to implementation. Best international practices in dual education system design and implementation. Recommendations for strengthening the dual education system in Egypt.
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The participants expressed their agreement with the recommendations offered in the position paper. They requested the development of the next steps for implementation and a longer-term road map for introduction of the proposed recommendations. In the near-term, the group proposed: (1) establishing a council to define skills for all technical sectors in Egypt; (2) creating a national-level monitoring and evaluation body for dual education; and (3) evaluating the 12 dual education partnership councils that were established by the TVET I project but are currently inactive. The Honorary Chairman of ENCC proposed that ENCC and FEI co-organize an event on increasing digitalization in the education system—a key goal included in the Strategic Framework for Egypt 2030. During the workshop, the El Araby Group representative stated that the company is ready to establish and fund an additional dual education school in Beni Suef, if the government were to provide the land for the new facility. On April 22, 2019, ENCC conducted the second Dual Education Position Paper Workshop. The purpose of the workshop was to collect additional feedback from MoETE, represented by the Head of the Dual Education Department and other officials, and from representatives from the private sector, TVET-II, EEAG, and WISE. As agreed by all stakeholders, the workshop was limited to 15 participants to allow for a more focused discussion. During the workshop, the ENCC consultant presented the dual education position paper that had been updated based on stakeholder input collected during the previous workshop held in March. The participants expressed their full support for the policy position as laid out in the current version of the paper and proposed the incorporation of the following additional recommendations:
Undertake a mapping of private sector companies in Egypt and the capacity of each to absorb dual education students. Provide the current status of the draft law on technical education, in general, and dual education, in particular. Advocate for the independence of the proposed new authority for quality assessment and accreditation of technical education. Expand private sector participation to include various chambers and federations. After incorporating the feedback into the draft position paper, the expert will submit an updated version for final review by the EEU. During this quarter, EEU and EEAG members met with stakeholders from government, business associations, and NGOs to build consensus for the recommendations included in the position papers on encouraging female participation in the labor market and informality in the labor market. Examples include:
Meeting with the Chief of Staff for a Parliamentarian serving on the Education Committee to provide feedback on both position papers; he also committed to facilitating meetings with members of other committees in Parliament for the same purpose. Meeting with the Head of the Policy and Legislative Studies Unit at the Ministry of Trade and Industry’s Industrial Development Authority to provide feedback on the position paper on weakness of female participation in the labor market. These two papers were completed last quarter and submitted to the FEI for assistance in soliciting the support of the Council of Ministers secretariat for both papers. With FEI input, the EEU will hold two
YEAR 4 QUARTER 2 REPORT PAGE 35 USAID/EGYPT WORKFORCE IMPROVEMENT AND SKILL ENHANCEMENT PROJECT policy advocacy meetings for encouraging female participation in the labor market on May 12, 2019, at ENCC, and for informality in the labor market on May 15, 2019, at FEI. The EEAG National Conference is scheduled for July 9, 2019, at the Fairmont Nile City Hotel in Cairo. Objective C.3 Stakeholders at the governorate level are supported in addressing identified challenges to labor market efficiency ACTIVITY C.3.2 ESTABLISH EPCs IN SELECTED GOVERNORATES During the period, the Governor of Beni Suef officially approved the establishment of the Economic Partnership Council (EPC) in Beni Suef with the issuance of Decree #215 on February 11, 2019. On March 9, 2019, the Governor formalized the selection of the individuals who will serve on the EPC through the issuance of Decree #336. This is the first time in Egypt that a decree for the constitution of an economic advisory committee has been issued with representative names and clearly defined functions. EPC inaugural meeting. On April 10, 2019, the EPC held its first formal meeting. During the meeting, the structure, mission, and objectives of the EPC and the functions of the council members, as outlined in Decree #336, were discussed. A brief was shared with the participants on progress made in the development of the Beni Suef economic survey and the initial findings of the economic sector strategies for tourism, SMEs/handicrafts, industrial mining, agriculture, and utilities. In addition, WISE presented an overview of successful EPCs in other countries and the details of the April 15-18, 2019 EPC capacity building training (see Training section below for details). Highlights included:
The Governor of Beni Suef opened the meeting and expressed his appreciation to USAID, WISE, and the Ministry of Local Development (MoLD) for their efforts and accomplishments to date. He recalled the steps that led to the constitution of the EPC and emphasized the important role it will play in improving the life of the citizens of Beni Suef. The USAID Director of the Economic Growth Office highlighted the cooperative efforts of Beni Suef Governorate, MoLD, and USAID/WISE to establish the EPC and congratulated all parties on holding the first ever EPC meeting in Egypt. He emphasized the continued successful partnership between the GOE and the USG as well as the continued necessity for public-private dialogue. He also reiterated that the EPC in Beni Suef will serve as a model for other governorates to follow. The WISE COP presented an overview of the project activities, highlighting those associated with the governorate of Beni Suef. The MoLD Advisor to the Minister spoke about economic development in Egypt at the national and local levels. He explained that the role of the GOE is to support and encourage cooperation between all economic stakeholders. He mentioned that, as a result of coordination between various stakeholders, 45,000 job opportunities were created in Sohag. He also mentioned that the Minister presented the GOE agenda for economic development in a meeting on April 9 with the donor community where he asked the donors to coordinate on the implementation of this agenda. In attendance were the 20 board members of the EPC that includes 3 representatives from academia, 11 representatives from the private sector, including NGOs, and 6 representatives from the public sector. Also attending were participants representing Beni Suef included the Governor, Secretary General, and
YEAR 4 QUARTER 2 REPORT PAGE 36 USAID/EGYPT WORKFORCE IMPROVEMENT AND SKILL ENHANCEMENT PROJECT members of the Beni Suef Governorate Executive Committee, which is tasked with following up on Governorate projects. The meeting also included the six members of the local EPC unit in Beni Suef, the Advisor to the Minister of Local Development, USAID Director of the Economic Growth Office and the COR, and representatives from the WISE project. Training for capacity building. Throughout Quarter 2 of Year 4, WISE continued providing technical assistance and training to building the capacity of the EPC members. The members of MoLD’s local unit in Beni Suef and central unit in Cairo participated in four key training workshops conducted by WISE:
Principles of Feasibility Studies and Sector Analysis Workshop / February 14 to 17, 2019. 13 EPC members participated in this workshop that focused on the fundamentals of conducting feasibility studies and sector analyses. Phase 2 Ebdaa Rehletak Unit Capacity Building Training Workshop / February 17 to 22, 2019. 8 EPC members participated in this training along with several members of the PVTD and Arab Academy ERUs. Details on this training are included in section B.2.2, above. EPC Coordination Workshop / February 22 to 23, 2019. 12 EPC members participated in this workshop. The first day focused on the Ministry of Local Development’s presentation of the GOE’s development strategy for Upper Egypt, which includes Beni Suef. This was followed by discussions on how to prioritize development projects and design projects that benefit multiple sectors. The second day was devoted to the industry sector strategy that the EPC consultant is developing and how this strategy will be linked with other sectors. Local Economic Development Training / April 15 to 18, 2019. 45 participants, including EPC unit and board members and Beni Suef city managers, took part in all or parts of this training that was held in Beni Suef. WISE engaged an international expert to introduce participants to various international practices and experiences in and strategies for local-level economic development. After attending a session on the first day of training, the Governor of Beni Suef asked all Beni Suef city managers to participate in at least part of the remaining days of the program in order to benefit from the in-depth information and best practices being shared by the expert. In
addition, MoLD invited governorate members involved The Beni Suef Governor and Secretary General observe a session of the WISE Local Economic Development Training in April 2019. in economic development in Photo: WISE. Assiut and Qena to participate in the program. Feedback on the training program was extremely positive. This training program was preceded by a roundtable discussion on April 14, 2019, at the MoLD premises in Cairo, where the expert presented an overview of the training program for Ministry experts.
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In addition, WISE continued planning for an overseas study tour to the U.S. designed to introduce the EPC members to international best practices in EPC development and implementation. WISE has been working closely with MoLD to expedite the participant selection process. Implementation of the proposed nine-day study tour is anticipated in September 2019. C.3.3 SUPPORT EPCS IN IDENTIFYING, CATALOGING, DISCUSSING, AND ADDRESSING LOCAL CHALLENGES, CAPACITY BUILDING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE (GOVERNORATE LEVEL) AND IDENTIFYING NATIONAL-LEVEL POLICY ISSUES TO BE REFERRED TO THE EEU Last quarter, the WISE experts finalized the Beni Suef Economic Survey Report, completed the first drafts of the sector strategies for agriculture and industrial mining, and were in the process of developing the strategy documents for the SMEs/handicrafts and tourism sectors. Work on the Economic Survey Report led to the identification of a fifth sector (utilities) for which a strategy needs to be developed. This strategy will focus on the utility needs that support the economic development of the agriculture, industrial mining, SMEs/handicrafts, and tourism sectors. The sector strategies are expected to be completed next quarter. Once the sector strategies are completed, WISE will develop a General Economic Strategy for Beni Suef. The search for a qualified consultant to develop this general strategy document is ongoing. WISE Model EPC Recognized at Highest GOE In February and March 2019, WISE experts and EPC Levels members made four rounds of data collection visits In March 2019, the Ministry of Planning, Ministry of Local Development, and Egypt’s Governors met with Beni Suef stakeholders, including several times to allocate funding for economic representatives of industrial mining, agribusiness, development at the governorate level. The positive tourism companies, SME owners, and individuals cooperation with USAID and the WISE project in Beni Suef was highlighted throughout these meetings. working in handicrafts. With respect to the utilities The Governor of Assiut applauded these efforts, sector, the EPC unit members held group meetings particularly the WISE capacity building training, with the leaders of the 48 villages most in need of and expressed interest in implementing the same activities in Assiut. economic development in the governorate, collecting Many noted that Beni Suef was maximizing information on the priority needs in these areas. donor funding and had made significant progress During a series of meetings held by the Ministry of in only 3 months through its partnership with USAID/WISE. This contrasts with far less Planning from March 7-21 to allocate funding for progress made in Qena and Sohag in 2 years of governorate-level economic development, the data similar cooperation with another funding entity. collected was presented and found to be very useful. The Ministry of Planning reported the results of these meetings to the Prime Minister and noted As a result, EGP 70 million of the total budget of the progress being made by Beni Suef through its EGP 153 million was allocated for specific cooperation with WISE. infrastructure needs in Beni Suef. All final reports and sector strategies are being reviewed by MoLD’s internal committee established specifically for the EPC activity. Based on the survey and sector strategies, the EPC will promote the development of these sectors and address identified labor market challenges in each.
Result C Challenges
Several socio-political and economic challenges have affected the pace of implementation and institutionalization of Result C inputs. Contrary to what WISE encountered during the design phase, once the project was underway, WISE was faced with an unanticipated level of
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reluctance on the part of local organizations to work on programs designed to lead to institutional change. Delays in the Ministry of Social Solidarity’s approval for WISE partner ENCC to formally subcontract with the project resulted in a truncated timeline for establishing the EEU and EEAG. WISE partner AMIDEAST stepped in to assist while the approval was pending but institutionalizing these entities began later than planned. Given the short period remaining for the project and the required documentation for implementation of a study tour, the selection of participants is becoming critical. While WISE has submitted recommendations to MoLD and the Governor of Beni Suef in accordance with an established set of selection criteria, an official list of nominees has yet to be issued by MoLD. WISE will continue to emphasize to MoLD the urgency for the nomination of participants. As this report is being written, the study tour has had to be postponed once due to the lack of the nomination letter. Finding qualified consultants willing to accept a rate within the USAID Local Compensation Plan for Result C activities continues to be challenging (e.g., an expert to develop the General Economic Strategy for Beni Suef). Together with MoLD, WISE is continuing to expand its search for appropriate candidates.
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III. CROSS-CUTTING ACTIVITIES
In Quarter 2 of Year 4, the themes of sustainability and sustainable transformation were front and center across all result areas. At the same time, gender integration continues to be a priority and WISE activities aim to ensure that women are provided with the tools and guidance to realize their full potential. WISE also continues to address environmental impact in its broadest sense.
Sustainability and Sustainable Transformation WISE activities promote sustainable transformation through the development of new structures (such as the SUTEs, LUTEs, EEU, and EPC), and capacity building for the Egyptians who bring life to these structures. Egyptian organizations and companies, as well as myriad Government of Egypt counterparts across a variety of ministries, are partners in WISE activities from the planning and strategy phases through implementation. They are critical players in ensuring that the work WISE has been doing will be sustained and expanded. The private sector is particularly important because they are invested in long term, tangible economic growth across Egypt. The private sector also has the potential to provide stable employment for the young people coming out of Egypt’s technical schools. At the same time, WISE has been fortunate to work with Government of Egypt officials who are very committed to improving technical education and supporting local economic development throughout Egypt. This quarter, WISE Result C partners ENCC and MoLD continued making progress in building the capacity of Egyptian stakeholders to identify and address barriers to labor market efficiency through sustainable models developed by WISE. The ENCC’s EEU conducted two important workshops to finalize the third position paper that focuses on dual education. The national-level EEAG used the position papers that were completed in the previous quarter to build broad consensus with stakeholders for the recommendations regarding encouraging female participation in the labor market and informality in the labor market. The EPC held its first official meeting this quarter. The meeting followed the Governor of Beni Suef’s issuance of two decrees that formally established the Council. The MoLD is our key partner in this and has demonstrated a strong commitment to the EPC model that includes a unit working from the central ministry in Cairo as well as the unit that is located in the Beni Suef Governorate. The Beni Suef Economic Survey Report and sector strategies for agriculture and industrial mining, detailed in the Result C section of this report, will guide the EPC in promoting the development of these sectors and addressing related labor market challenges. All of these entities—EEU, EEAG, and EPC—are designed to foster an improved enabling environment for a market-driven workforce development system that better serves employers and employees in Egypt. As the LUTEs and SUTEs continue to make the UTE model their own, they are institutionalizing the practice of sharing their knowledge and helping to build the capacity of schools and teachers that are outside of the WISE-supported schools' network. This quarter, the Ismailia LUTE conducted ToT and OSH training for 15 non-WISE technical schools, while SUTEs in Aswan, Beni Suef, Menoufia, Fayoum, and Sharquia focused on organizing employment fairs, supporting this year’s graduates, and strengthening their partnerships with the private sector. Additional examples of how the WISE project has been working towards sustainability this quarter include:
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WISE initiated the process for the accreditation of 150 teacher-trainers with the Professional Academy for Teachers (PAT). The 150 teacher-trainers have met PAT’s criteria for accreditation by completing 60-plus hours of teacher-training and WISE’s Training of Trainers (ToT) certification, as well as achieving senior teacher status with 15-plus years of experience. These teacher-trainers will provide Egypt’s technical education system with the capacity to conduct expanded professional development for all faculty. WISE collaborated with GIZ and TVET II on a joint training program for 64 new potential career guidance multipliers, 15 of whom were from WISE-supported schools. This donor collaboration is equipping MoETE with a trained cadre of Egyptian professionals who will make it possible to disseminate the career guidance program throughout the technical education system and help to ensure its sustainability. WISE trained 322 members of the LUTEs and SUTEs on how to use the MoETE Units for Transition to Employment Portal this period. The portal will facilitate the work of the SUTEs, LUTEs, and CUTE, and provide them with an efficient means of communication. It will also encourage interaction between technical education stakeholders, including students, teachers, and school administrators, from across the country, and provide a platform for job seekers to search for employment opportunities. WISE implemented two Renewable Energy Foundation Camps that brought together stakeholders to reinforce the fundamental elements of the New and Renewable Energy Program in Aswan. WISE also established two key elements for maintaining and sustaining the renewable energy programs—the Coordination Committee and the Benban Advisory Board. The Coordination Committee will monitor progress and facilitate cooperation between school managers and stakeholders. The Benban Advisory Board will be a key interface with the private sector, particularly those companies involved with the Benban Solar Park projects. WISE also drafted language for a decree to formalize the role of the Benban Advisory Board. The Governor of Aswan is currently reviewing this. WISE secured essential support for the sustainability of the Logistics Program in multiple ways. The Governor of Port Said committed to providing equipment and supplies for Maritime Industrial Secondary School. He also committed to converting the school into one dedicated solely to logistics. WISE facilitated a cooperative agreement between the Port Said Undersecretary for Education and the Arab Academy for ongoing capacity building training for logistics students and teachers and linking students with employers. In addition, WISE completed the development of the online learning resources library for the Logistics Program and began implementation of a competition for the logistics schools, laying the groundwork for future cooperation and coordination between the schools. To engage the private sector, WISE secured an agreement with the Agility Maritime Company to provide soft skills development for students and equipment for the logistics schools. The model Ebdaa Rehletak Job Fair was a key feature of the Fourth Technical Education Forum implemented by WISE and the Arab Academy this quarter, attracting more than 2,162 job seekers, who were offered nearly 3,000 job opportunities and 1,000 training opportunities by the 64 participating companies recruited by WISE. The successful implementation of the model demonstrated to the Ebdaa Rehletak Units (ERUs) how to conduct a job fair; the ERUs are now capable of conducting job fairs on their own. In addition, as a result of the initial success of the Arab Academy’s ERU in Alexandria, the Academy requested WISE assistance in establishing a permanent ERU at its premises in Port Said. WISE has now established the Ebdaa Rehletak Program in six Governorates, all being managed by Egyptian entities that can carry on the work after the WISE project has ended.
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The WISE 3R and Productivity Improvement Programs again showed strong results in Quarter 2 of Year 4. This quarter alone an additional 11 private sector companies reported measurable, positive changes in employee retention and/or productivity from implementation of these programs. To sustain and institutionalize these programs, WISE has established the 3R Function at the FEI. For the Productivity Improvement Program (PIP), WISE and the SEED project began cooperating on joint PIP implementation and the training of entrepreneurs during this period; the outcome will lead to the establishment, within each company, of a trained taskforce that will search for gaps and implement PIP tools that improve productivity.
Gender Integration Since project inception, more than 5,183 women and men have participated in 178 separate training programs that included the WISE module on gender equality and women’s empowerment. In Year 3, the project also developed and conducted training on sexual harassment for the benefit of Female and male students working together during foundational training for new Peer Helpers at Ismailia’s El Kassassen Technical School. Photo: WISE. technical school leadership and teachers. This training has led to more open dialogue among teachers, school administrators, and private sector representatives about women’s participation in Egypt. The WISE-developed Peer Helping Program is an excellent vehicle for both students and teachers to be more aware of gender equality issues and how to recognize and address various types of harassment, while the Innovation Clubs and Fab Labs encourage collaboration and mutual respect among budding entrepreneurs and inventors. As reported in previous periods, the WISE-developed entrepreneurship and innovation competitions continue to be particularly successful in encouraging women’s participation. Of the 2,209 project teams submitting applications this quarter for the upcoming 2019 Fanni Mobtaker competition, female students represent approximately 60% of all the 2019 applicants—3,149 females out of a total of 5,269 student applicants. The training and coaching they receive from WISE while preparing for these competitions helps the women to gain confidence and hone their presentation and communication skills—skills that are essential for success in starting one’s own business or going to work for an established company. In addition, WISE is contributing to discussions that could have positive implications for policies related to working women. With WISE support, the EEU and EEAG met with a range of stakeholders from government, business associations, and NGOs this quarter to build consensus for the recommendations included in the position paper on encouraging female participation in the labor market. This topic represents one of three selected by the EEAG from the WISE-developed Labor Skills, Productivity, and Human Resources Management Study. WISE emphasizes gender in all its activities, including seeking out partner companies that hire women and encouraging companies to increase opportunities for women.
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Environmental Protection WISE ensures the use of safe environmental practices in all of its activities and is committed to creating sustainable programs that do not have a negative impact on the environment. To date, WISE activities can all be categorized as having no significant adverse impact on the environment. Occupational safety and health (OSH) awareness and the implementation of measures to address OSH in technical schools are now an integral part of the UTE model. WISE considers OSH as an element of environmental protection as defined broadly. Equipped with the WISE-developed OSH Handbook, the SUTEs and LUTEs have conducted a full range of activities to improve safety and promote health in schools and among New safety signage created by the OSH taskforce at Beni Suef’s students. Evacuation plans were Decorative Technical Secondary School. Photo: WISE. developed and executed, fire extinguisher training was conducted, OSH awareness materials were designed and disseminated, and health awareness seminars were conducted. All 60 WISE-supported schools have finalized their individualized OSH plans, established their OSH committees, and completed hazard reports, and many of the OSH taskforces are actively promoting OSH by sharing their accomplishments with neighboring schools in their governorates. As a testament to the impact of WISE efforts, Decorative Technical Secondary School was first place in Beni Suef Governorate’s school OSH competition this quarter. Early in this quarter, ABA’s VTEC received ISO 9001:2015 (Quality Management) and BS OHSAS 18001:2007 (Occupational Safety & Health) certification from Germany’s TUV Thuringen. VTEC also obtained official approval from the Egyptian Civil Protection Authority for its civil defense installation system. As part of the capacity building activity for the VTEC, WISE established a safety system for the center and developed OSH training courses. WISE trained the VTEC Safety Manager, upgraded VTEC workshops, and developed the OSH training materials in accordance with international best practices and standards and tailored to Egyptian safety protocols.
Project Management WISE reporting remains on schedule and activities and deliverables are monitored against the approved work plan. WISE continually assesses its staffing needs against planned activities, and adjusts as appropriate to accomplish the activities included in its work plans. As the LUTEs and SUTEs take on greater responsibility for implementation of the UTE model, WISE has adjusted its field office staffing. At the close of Quarter 2 of Year 4, WISE had a total of 55 full- and part-time staff located in Cairo and the 11 governorates where WISE is working.
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IV. LIST OF ANNEXES
[See separate volume.]
Annex A: SUTE Employment and In-Company Training Secured Annex B: WISE Training Annex C: ABA VTEC Certifications and Decrees Establishing the EPC Annex D: WISE Private Sector Partner Companies, PIP Intervention Status, and 3R Intervention Status Annex E: WISE Monitoring and Reporting Framework Annex F: WISE Staff Start/End Dates Annex G: WISE Year 4 Quarter 2 Procurement Exceeding $500 Annex H: WISE Expenditures for Year 4 Quarter 2
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