Draft SOW.pdf

SECTION C – DESCRIPTION / SPECIFICATIONS / STATEMENT OF WORK

C.1 PURPOSE

The purpose of the Youth Employment for Migration Prevention (YEMP) Activity is to increase employment of youth at risk of irregular migration in support of Mission-wide efforts to reduce irregular migration to the United States by increasing their educational and income generating opportunities. The beneficiaries will be youth from high out-migration areas as well as other youth at risk of irregular migration, including returned youth migrants. In certain geographic areas youth will be vulnerable and/or at risk of being victims or perpetrators of violence and or at risk of gang recruitment.

Working through partnerships with public and private sector stakeholders, this Activity will reach at least 500,000 youth at risk of irregular migration to become productively engaged in the Honduran economy and society over a period of five years. Out of those 500,000 at-risk youth, 100,000 will 1) secure viable employment, 2) return to full formal or alternative education and/or technical/vocational training, and/or 3) create innovative youth enterprises, including social entrepreneurship efforts, or other innovations in youth employment. The above-mentioned targets are for a fully-funded Activity.

However, please note that this is a flexible contract with a guarantee base and three quantity/technical options, subject to the availability of funds as detailed in the RFP. The technical options correspond with the Objectives/Components laid out below. More details on the technical options can be found within the section of indicators and in the attached Options Document.

The Activity will realize these results through partnerships and alliances with public and private sector entities ready to invest in education and technical/vocational training that would lead to youth employment. Public and private service providers will work together in developing commercially viable employment models, forming strong links to employers and other partners for employment of youth at risk of irregular migration. Specifically, USAID seeks to facilitate partnership models that catalyze additional private and public investment which: 1) are market-driven; 2) increase the number of employable at-risk youth for growth-oriented industries; 3) are integrally tied to aggressive job placement; 4) more efficiently link employment-seekers and employers around existing and anticipated employment opportunities; 5) address potential barriers to youth returning to school or entering the workforce; and 6) stimulate other public and private sector entities in the market system to use and invest in these models.

The overall success of the activity will be measured by the equitable placement of 100,000 youth into jobs (if fully executed with its options), including self-employment and entrepreneurship, or back into full education as described above, with the goal of reducing irregular migration and curbing at-risk youth engagement in violence. The Activity will work with existing education and technical/vocational service providers to address bottlenecks in recruitment, training and job placement approaches leading to employment of graduates. It will address the range of barriers for youth’s successful return to education or entrance to employment and will include the incorporation of complementary Positive Youth

Development (PYD)-related activities, where necessary. The Activity will support existing service providers in recruitment and training as necessary, but the primary focus will be on labor market bridging and job placement. In other words, placing youth at risk of irregular migration into employment is the essential outcome of the Activity. This will be the model across the Activity, as opposed to creating new educational entities dependent on donor support.

Flexible partnerships that catalyze additional private and public investment will result in employment opportunities and job placement supported by tailored education, skills training and internships to fill market-identified gaps, based on the education and skill level of the entering beneficiary. A pronounced shortage of secondary education graduates for employment will be addressed to ensure that Honduran at-risk youth have entry qualifications for unfilled openings. The Activity will use a private-sector approach to an education and skills training problem that will have a systemic impact on youth employment in high out migration areas. Additionally, youth social entrepreneurship activities will leverage efforts of better educated youth with proven business ideas that will lead to employment of hundreds of additional at-risk youth.

Private and public sector partnerships will leverage resources and funds; the award would serve as a catalyst for partnerships to strengthen systems for youth employment. The funding leverage ratio should be no less than 1 (USAID) to 2.6 (partner).

This activity will operate within a situational context affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and will need to take that into account in its response. Given the Honduran context, the Activity must also be flexible enough to address other emergencies and unforeseen events, including environment and economic shocks, among others.

C.2 BACKGROUND

USAID/Honduras will support private, civil society and public sector institutions to build a more prosperous and safer Honduras. USAID’s assistance will be delivered to support country partners to overcome barriers to sustainable economic growth, inclusive development, democratic governance, and in building human and institutional capacity across sectors, as stated in USAID’s Policy Framework.

Problem Statement

A more prosperous Honduras will depend on the ability to engage the country’s at-risk youth in productive social and economic activities. With over 53.4 percent of the population of Honduras below age 25, Honduran youth have the potential to transform the country. However, high rates of under-education, unemployment, and under-employment are driving irregular migration of at-risk youth from

Honduras, resulting in the loss of human capital and growth potential. If current trends in education/skills attainment and employment continue, numerous studies reveal that as many as 70 percent of at-risk youth will not have the skills to participate in the Honduran economy and will likely continue to migrate in large numbers. Furthermore, the limited opportunities for youth serve as a risk factor for youth’s susceptibility to violence and engagement with violent groups.

The Predominant Driver of Irregular Migration

USAID migration analysis showed that economic reasons are overwhelmingly (90 percent +) given as the top reason for migration among returned migrants.

Table 1: Migration Drivers (for returnees only)

Age, Education, Employment and Migration

Under-educated youth comprise the majority of migrants. Data indicate that during 2013 - 2019, Honduras migrants apprehended at the U.S. border were 40 percent female and 60 percent male, with an average age of 20.2 and 22.1 years respectively. The most frequently observed age was 17 years

(DHS/CBP apprehension data 2013-2019). According to the Inter-American Development Bank’s 2015 report, individuals who complete secondary education in Honduras are less likely to intend to migrate without papers than those with no education. This finding is supported by Pew Research Center data from 2015, that finds that among U.S. immigrants over 25 years old, 51 percent have less than secondary school education. The protective effect of education is also seen in data from migrants returned to Honduras from Mexico and the U.S. by government authorities from 2016-2018. Fifty-five percent of returned migrants over 18 years old from urban, high violence municipalities had only primary school education or less. In addition, students who are returned migrants have significantly poorer academic performance than their peers (MOE, Informe de Factores Asociados, 2017).

Table 2: Intent to Migrate

Table 3: Age of Migrants

In terms of psycho-emotional factors, using the Violence-involved Persons Risk Assessment survey data, MESCLA found that resilience, community cohesion and emotional regulation capacity together correctly predict 63.4 percent of the positive or negative intention to migrate. The most important is resilience, followed by community then emotional regulation.

In terms of employment, according to the Honduran National Statistics Institute, women represent 52.3 percent of the labor workforce in the country and those in the 15-29 age range have the highest rates of underemployment. Of the 169,000 youth who join the labor market each year, only 36 percent obtain viable jobs. Exacerbating this issue, the invisible and visible underemployment rate in 2018 was 62.8 percent. These rates will be much higher going forward given the impact of the COVID-19 crisis.

Along with inadequate access to capital, inflation and rising interest rates, location of business ventures, extortion and taxes and regulations, education and skills levels are among the main constraints to business growth. A secondary diploma is the normal entry-level requirement for employment in

Honduras, essentially excluding 70 percent of youth from the full-time job market. Consultations between USAID and the private sector as well as market surveys revealed that many private sector enterprises are in need of qualified employees, particularly in value-added agriculture, tourism, financial services, private sector education and training, transport, logistics, arts, entertainment and recreation, light manufacturing, and wholesale and retail trade. The majority of businesses surveyed stated a need for entry-level employees to have at least a secondary education. “A third of business people see their workers’ educational shortcomings as the main barrier to doing business. Unfortunately, sectors considered to have the most potential for growth are those who report that education level/skills are a constraint to growth” (MESCLA, Applying Evidence: Youth Employment in the Honduran Context, Literature Review).

Along with other factors, education levels of citizens influence migration trends (de Hass, H. (2010) and

Clemens, M. (2017). The 2015 IDB study shows that those with secondary education or higher are less likely to be undocumented migrants. Other studies show that more education is associated with more income and more education also is related to less involvement in violence, including domestic violence, both known drivers of migration. Thus, the data indicates that education has both direct and indirect effects on the propensity to migrate irregularly.

Directly related to migration is the poor school performance of returned migrant children who made up approximately 7 percent of 8th grade students in 2017. Returned migrant students have significantly poorer academic performance than their peers. This may fuel a revolving door of poverty and poverty-driven migration, and makes it more likely that these students will not complete secondary education.

The dropout rate in Honduras after the 6th grade is a major factor hindering economic growth and fueling the migration of youth. Of the 288,925 students who enrolled in 1st grade in 2008, only 81,453 of these enrolled in 11th grade in 2018 (MOE, USINIEH, INE, data from 2014-2019). This drop in enrollment is exacerbated by poor quality secondary education, with only 30 percent of 15-year-olds minimally proficient in reading and 15 percent minimally proficient in math (PISA for Development, Report 2018). Education level and skills are a constraint to business growth, and a majority of companies in one survey stated the need for employees with at least a secondary education. This is also a factor in reintegration efforts as public institutions supporting reintegration of returned migrants report that it is very difficult to place or employ youth without a secondary diploma or with limited basic skills.

National Institute of Professional Training (INFOP)

Aside from private sector service providers such as technical and vocational centers, San Juan Bosco

Center, CADERH, PROCINCO and others, INFOP is the Government entity responsible for technical/vocational training, offering training to at-risk youth and adults. INFOP is a potential game changer because of its funding base, reach and potential overall impact, but currently is not as effective as it could be. More than 253,000 pupils enrolled in vocational education in 2016, with a slightly higher proportion of male students compared to female students. While technical training is a necessary component for employment placement, quality assurance in the current technical/vocational system is weak, and training is often not market-driven (Youth Power (2018), Youth Assessment Situational

Analysis).

C.3 LINK TO USAID POLICIES AND STRATEGIES

C.3.1 USAID Policies and Strategies

The Activity will directly address U.S. Government and USAID strategic and policy priorities, such as the

1) USAID Policy Framework: Ending the Need for Foreign Assistance (April, 2019), 2) Private-Sector

Engagement (PSE) Policy 3) the USAID Education Policy, 4) the Youth in Development Policy, 5) The U.S.

Strategy for Central America, 6) the USAID Policy on Gender Equality and Female Empowerment, 7)

USAID’s Journey to Self-Reliance, and 8) the USG Growth in the Americas initiative.

1) USAID Policy Framework: Ending the Need for Foreign Assistance

The Activity will help reform-minded partners reach the point where they can tap into private-enterprise solutions by strengthening existing for-profit and public-sector service providers for the outcome of job placement---this will be the model across the Activity, as opposed to creating entities heavily dependent on donor support. Strong job placement located in the private sector will be a major step towards ending the need for foreign assistance. The Activity will work hand-in-hand with the USAID sister program, Transforming Market Systems (TMS), for sector-specific training and job insertion into TMS target markets that will “generate better employment, and, ultimately, countrywide self-reliance.”

2) Private-Sector Engagement Policy

The private sector will be indispensable to the success of this Activity to establish a clear link between the supply and demand for jobs and the skills needed to fill them. One PSE principle is to engage and work with the private sector “early and often.” This has been ongoing with input already received from the private sector regarding a job-oriented secondary completion exam or basic knowledge leveling efforts that meet the requirements for entry-level jobs. Additionally, private sector input was received regarding opportunities for internships and entry-level positions, addressing the PSE principal, “incentivize and value PSE.” This Activity is expected to form partnerships directly with private sector players to catalyze public and private investments to increase youth employment.

3) Education Policy

Partnerships between private and public sector actors to catalyze their investment for financially sustainable local education and training institutions is a key principle of the USAID Education Policy.

This Activity will enable at-risk youth to gain the literacy, numeracy, and social-emotional skills they need to gain viable employment. The Policy states, “to increase employment prospects for at-risk youth, education and skill-building interventions need to be paired with economic growth efforts.

Further, employment interventions require economic analysis to ensure that programming is tailored to address the relevant challenges and barriers. Programs that take a comprehensive approach to at-risk youth employment, by addressing both skills issues and labor demand challenges, should include both education and economic growth investments.” In particular, the

Activity and its sister Activity from the Economic Growth Office, Transforming Market Systems, must be aggressively co-managed with comprehensive joint planning at both the USAID Mission level and the contractor level in order to effectively pair job creation with job placement.

4) Youth in Development Policy

A key priority of the USAID Youth in Development Policy is “Participation/Partnerships:

Strengthening Youth Leadership, Organizations and Networks.” Innovation and at-risk youth leadership are essential to the success of the Activity. The Activity will identify and build on Positive

Youth Development (PYD) models and approaches that have been successful to enable at-risk youth to become more deeply engaged in their communities, demonstrating leadership as well as social and growth entrepreneurship skills to increase at-risk youth incomes and address community challenges. At-risk youth will be met where they are and sought as agents of change for their own and for their communities’ positive and economic development, a key aspect of Positive Youth

Development. The PYD youth feature youth Engagement and Contribution will guide the work in

Objective 3 in particular, by providing entrepreneurial structure for at-risk youth contributions feeding back into the objectives of the Activity.

5) U.S. Strategy for Central America

The Activity directly addresses sub-objective 1.4 of the Strategy: Improve quality of education;

Central American youth receive higher quality secondary education. Honduras has a real problem in terms of transition to secondary education as only 52 percent of youth transition to 7 th grade and of those only 31percent transition to 10 th grade. This lack of basic skills directly impacts the types of opportunities that youth have for further education and for employment. This activity will address this issue from the perspective of secondary completion and skills development for the purpose of employment and irregular migration prevention.

6) USAID Policy on Gender Equality and Female Empowerment

Gender equality and female empowerment are core development objectives, fundamental for the realization of human rights and key to effective and sustainable development outcomes. No society can develop successfully without providing equitable opportunities, resources, and life prospects for males and females so that they can shape their own lives and contribute to their families and communities. Targets and indicators of the Activity will fully support the Gender Policy.

7) USAID’s Journey to Self-Reliance

USAID’s Journey to Self-Reliance (J2SR) is reorienting the Agency’s strategies, partnership models, and program practices to achieve greater development outcomes and work toward ending the need for foreign assistance. The J2SR approach emphasizes the importance of partnering with local stakeholders to achieve locally-sustained results, helps countries mobilize public and private revenues, strengthens local capacities, and accelerates enterprise-driven development. This Activity embodies this approach with its focus on strengthening local systems, its strategic engagement with local entities, the advancement of public-private partnerships to strengthen systems for youth employment, and the requirement of a funding leverage of no less than 1 (USAID) to 2.6 (partner).

8) Growth in the Americas.

América Crece serves as an umbrella under which all current U.S. energy and other infrastructure initiatives will be advanced. It seeks to catalyze private sector investment in infrastructure in Latin

America and the Caribbean. These kinds of investments will be attracted and implemented only with a labor force that is properly trained and ready to participate in the large-scale projects.

C.3.2 Central American Regional Security Initiative (CARSI) and consolidated Economic Support and

Development Fund (ESDF)

The Central American Regional Security Initiative (CARSI) focuses on citizen security throughout the region. Both CARSI and ESF funds advance U.S. political and strategic interests by helping countries meet political, economic, and security needs, including increasing the role of the private sector in the economy. To illustrate the increasing importance of irregular migration as a U.S. priority, the FY 2020

Congressional Budget Justification (March 11, 2019, p.70), states that addressing “causes of irregular migration to the United States” is a priority of the United States for the consolidated Economic Support and Development Fund. The Activity will support these efforts by providing youth at risk of irregular migration with viable economic alternatives to violence and reducing the flow of youth migrants outside of the country.

C.3.3 Integration under the USAID/Honduras Country Development Cooperation Strategy

The purpose of this Youth Employment for Migration Prevention Activity is to increase employment of youth at risk of irregular migration, including, among others, returned migrants and youth at risk of violence. Through employment of youth at risk of irrregular migration, this Activity will support the current CDCS development objectives of sustainable poverty reduction and citizen security increased.

The activity will have a flexible approach in terms of geography, meaning that interventions, and beneficiary selection will ensure the Activity’s timely adaptation to current migration data. The target population will be vulnerable youth at risk of irregular migration, inclusive of those at risk of becoming victims or perpetrators of violence. Furthermore, the Activity will need to bridge between the current

CDCS and the new CDCS expected to start in December 2020.

C.4 ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION

Relation to Current Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS)

This Activity was designed under the U.S. Government mandate to address and reduce irregular migration, as well as to bridge to the new CDCS to be developed in 2020. The goal of the Activity is “to increase employment of youth in high out-migration areas and other youth at risk of irregular migration, including returned migrants and youth impacted by violence, in support of Mission wide efforts to reduce irregular migration.” It will contribute to both DO1 and DO2 of the current CDCS as follows.

Under DO1, Citizen Security Increased for Vulnerable Populations in Urban, High-Crime Areas, it is expected that citizen security will be increased as viable alternatives to illicit activities are created. The beneficiaries of the Activity will be youth at risk of irregular migration, including youth from high out-migration areas and returned youth migrants, among others. There will be overlap with DO1 areas as some of the youth will be vulnerable and/or at risk of being victims or perpetrators of violence and/or at risk of gang recruitment.

Under DO2, IR 2.2 Incomes Increased, it is expected that the Activity will address extreme poverty by working with vulnerable youth at risk of irregular out-migration, including returned migrants. The geographic focus will be areas in the DO2 departments of western Honduras that face high levels of irregular out-migration and high rates of poverty.

Activity Goal and Development Hypothesis

The goal of this Activity is to increase employment of youth at risk of irregular migration, including youth from high out-migration areas, returned migrants, and others, in support of Mission wide efforts to reduce irregular migration while at the same time having a significant impact on the reduction of violence as a contributor of irregular migration of young people. It will achieve this goal through the following development hypothesis:

If youth in high out-migration areas and other youth at risk of irregular migration have increased access to quality formal or alternative secondary education and technical vocational training, and private sector employers, government, and education and technical training actors are better equipped in delivering job placement and market-driven opportunities for youth; then Honduras will have high-quality and scalable professional development systems for employment, more youth will be employed or in education, and youth will be less likely to irregularly migrate to the United States and more resilient in the face of violence.

Activity Objectives

The Activity design includes three objectives to increase youth employment and education among youth at risk of irregular migration: 1) Expanded enrollment in and completion of formal and alternative secondary and technical skills programs for youth, including at-risk youth; 2) Increased co-investment by education institutions, service providers and employers in mechanisms which link beneficiaries to employment opportunities; 3) Improved support system for innovative youth enterprises including social and growth entrepreneurship for employment, and other innovations in youth employment.

These objectives, also referred to as components, align with the technical quality options that are a part of this contract. USAID and the implementing partner will jointly determine which option/s will be implemented, depending on availability of funds. For more information on the technical options, refer to the attached Options Documents.

Target Population

The beneficiaries will be youth at risk of irregular migration. This includes young people from high out-migration areas as well as other youth who may be considered at risk of irregular migration, including, among others, returned migrants and youth at risk of violence, be they potential victims or perpetrators of violence. USAID will work with the implementing partner on identifying the specific geographic target areas and the data on youth migration trends.

Results Framework

The intent of this Request For Proposal (RFP) is that the offeror has the flexibility to create a “way-forward” with minimal products and structures prescribed by the RFP. The proposal will exhibit flexible, innovative approaches and solutions to the problems, guiding principles, systems issues and changes, and particularly the overall targets of the RFP, as further described by the evaluation criteria. Because of this, the Results Framework does not include IRs but components or objectives. This is a recommendation. Applicants are encouraged to propose a structure that they believe is best suited to achieve the desired goal and objectives.

Goal: Increased employment of youth in high out-migration areas as well as other at risk youth to reduce irregular migration.

Component 1:

Expanded enrollment in and completion of basic labor competencies, technical skills and quality secondary education

Component 2: Increased co-investment by education institutions, service providers and employers in mechanisms which link graduates to employment opportunities

Component 3:

Improved support system for innovative at-risk youth enterprises including social and growth entrepreneurship for at-risk youth employment.

Guiding Principles

The following principles will guide all aspects of Activity implementation, monitoring and evaluation.

Most importantly, they will provide vision and set the tone for the Activity that will inform decision making.

Focus on systemic changes - changes which result in more students completing secondary education and skills development programs and obtaining employment will require changes in the dynamics between perspectives, roles, relationships, rules, and resources at the individual, household, peer-group, community, and market levels (USAID 2016, Local Systems Framework). The

Activity must work to affect change across these dimensions and levels in order to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of moving at-risk youth through education and skill attainment systems into market-driven employment.

Ensure USG investments are market opportunity driven - Meeting and stimulating market demand for services, products, skills, and labor are key to making gains to address the youth employment crisis in Honduras. The Activity must ensure USG investments in strengthening at-risk youth employability and the employment system support commercially viable models directly linked to and supported by one or more private sector partners, with market opportunity for business growth. Private and public sector partnerships will leverage resources and funds; the award would serve as a catalyst for partnerships to strengthen systems for youth employment. The leverage ratio for funding should be no less than 1 (USAID) to 2.6 (partners).

Actively engage youth leadership and entrepreneurial spirit - The Activity is grounded in the principles of Positive Youth Development (PYD). The contractor is therefore expected to incorporate

PYD principles and approaches throughout the Activity, with an emphasis on strengthening the leadership and entrepreneurial spirit of youth. The Activity will incorporate the four domains of

PYD: assets, agency, contribution and enabling environment. It will put youth in the “driver’s seat” wherever possible, supporting youth innovations and networking for employment. The Activity will be expected to adopt a youth-friendly posture and always seek to meet youth where they are. This should influence hiring decisions, branding, and overall presentation of the Activity. The Activity will strategically examine all opportunities for increasing and elevating youth voice and participation throughout the project and more broadly within their communities, where appropriate. This includes developing approaches and/or mechanisms to facilitate youth voice and input to inform the strategic direction of the program.

Facilitate action through local systems. Sustainable change is facilitated by working through key stakeholders and the systems they operate within. Co-design, co-creation, co-planning, and co-management between USAID, local stakeholders and partners is essential to overcome the challenges to the success of the Activity, and is in line with the USAID Policy Framework and

Education Policy. The Activity will employ facilitative approaches that foster local ownership of the change process. This could include the development of mechanisms for ensuring local partner input into the strategic direction of the program. The emphasis on local systems will serve a critical role in advancing Honduras’s Journey to Self Reliance.

Build on USG, GOH, and ongoing international donor investment. The Youth Employment for

Migration Prevention Activity will be implemented in conjunction with a number of other USAID and donor activities which are currently ongoing or recently completed including the USAID/Honduras

Transforming Market Systems (TMS) Activity, Empleando Futuros, METAS, Genesis, and others. The

Activity must actively collaborate and leverage funding and level of effort with these and other

USAID and donor initiatives by strategically sequencing, layering, or integrating with past and ongoing efforts.

Approaches and Insights

The Youth Employment for Migration Prevention Activity will be implemented primarily by (1) use of

USAID funding to catalyze public and private sector investments so that the funding leverage ratio is not less than 1 (USAID) to 2.6 (partner); (2) promoting innovation and entrepreneurship in the development of commercially viable and scalable youth development and employment models; (3) provision of technical assistance to develop partnerships between relevant stakeholders and counterparts to increase education, skills development, and employment systems to benefit youth and employers in an increasingly dynamic economic landscape in Honduras.

In responding to this RFP, offerors’ description of work to be carried out must respond to the following:

Interdependency of Objectives and Contractor Work. While the Activity is organized around the three objectives outlined above, the contractor must take into consideration the interdependency of various systems which affect these results throughout design and implementation to ensure the greatest level of achievement across all three objectives. The contractor is expected to employ a facilitative approach - using their position as a convenor and broker to align incentives and when necessary, delivering targeted, strategic assistance to leverage and expand the activities of existing actors, at-risk youth, service providers and employers within and across objectives without creating long-term dependency.

Building on Existing Progress and Initiatives. The contractor will need to balance resource allocation for facilitating system change through the development of new partnerships and alliances, that catalyze public and private investment, with a goal of getting more youth at risk of irregular migration into secure employment. The contractor will need to build on existing progress and initiatives, some of which may not be commercially viable or market-driven (as is the thrust of this

Activity), in order to ensure progress made is not lost, and positive working relationships with these actors are maintained. The Activity will need to simultaneously be exploring and investing in the development of new partnerships, and as relevant, transitioning and integrating these actors and initiatives into more market driven, scalable, and commercially viable models.

Activity Adaptation. USAID/Honduras recognizes that systems are dynamic and continually changing in response to internal and external factors. Therefore, the contractor must work closely, openly, and collaboratively with USAID/Honduras, implementing a Collaborating, Learning and Adapting approach around implementation challenges and delays, recommending pivots and course corrections to strategies, approaches, partnerships, implementation mechanisms, and resource levels.

COMPONENT 1: Expanded enrollment in and completion of basic labor competencies, technical skills and quality secondary education

Education is a foundational driver of development. Sustainability of investments across all sectors requires skilled populations capable of leading and managing enterprise and sectoral growth. Secondary school completion is closely linked to violence reduction, employment, enterprise performance and sector growth. Interviews with the private sector and USAID experience in implementing workforce development (WFD) activities in Honduras indicate most modern firms in growing sectors require, as a minimum, a secondary level education and proficiency in reading and writing for employment. In addition, firms indicate that “soft” skills are of high importance. One study indicated that if candidates possess the inter- and intra-personal skills that the company requires, they could be taught the technical skills once hired (especially for less skilled positions in agribusiness, customer service and intermediate manufacturing). Therefore, under Objective One the contractor will work to advance secondary education attainment, basic labor competencies, technical and soft-skills development, including social and emotional skills, among youth at-risk of migration in the diverse geographic locations with high irregular migration.

In implementing the work described under this objective, the contractor must facilitate partnerships to catalyze investment -- including education and technical/vocational service providers, civil society, and private sector actors -- oriented around: preparing at-risk youth with both the hard and soft skills, including social and emotional skills, required for employment in modern, formal firms in agriculture, tourism, services, sales and textile manufacturing and production, and other areas with potential for at scale at-risk youth employment; and improving incentives and support systems both within and outside of schools that increase the likelihood that at-risk youth will complete certification programs. Lastly and of equal importance, the contractor must facilitate partnerships between GOH, and public and private sector education service providers to create alternatives to formal secondary education for the attainment of a secondary-level education certificate recognized by the private sector and endorsed by the Ministry of Education and other appropriate entities for employment purposes.

Desired Changes in System Dynamics Contractor Supported Efforts Must Affect:

Expanding role, levels of investment, support, and active leadership of the private and public sector in regard to the development of innovative, market-opportunity driven, employment-geared education and skills development programs for youth.

Increasing levels of collaboration, coordination, and co-investment by secondary education and technical skills service providers, employers, GOH, and other actors who benefit from youth education and employment in improving the quality of, and rates of completion of education and skill attainment programs among youth at risk of irregular migration, and expanding options for attainment of secondary-level equivalency certification.

Expanded role and leadership of GOH towards youth employment preparation by further orientation of the Honduran Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Labor towards employment preparation within formal, non-formal, or alternative education systems, and stimulating the private sector to support development of market-driven alternatives to education and skills development for youth.

o *All changes in systems dynamics will take into account the target populations in that geographic area, given that youth at risk of irregular migration may also be vulnerable or at-risk youth or returned migrants.

Specific Issues Contractor Supported Efforts Must Address

High drop-out rates of students before completion of formal secondary level school - particularly in transition from primary to secondary levels.

Low proficiency levels in core subjects.

Shortage of accelerated education options for secondary completion.

Lack of secondary equivalency certification attainment option outside of formal secondary school programs.

Weak linkages and alignment between formal secondary and technical and vocational skill providers and employers and employer needs.

Weak incentives for at-risk youth to complete certification programs due to low graduate employment rates.

Current education and skills development programs develop candidates who have some, but not all the skills desired by employers.

Lack of soft skills and behaviors required to work effectively and efficiently with others in a modern, professional work-place.

Use of technology to scale up services provided to at-risk youth.

The specific needs and concerns of returned migrant youth, including challenges in reincorporating them into the educational system.

The specific needs of youth at risk of becoming victims or perpetrators of violence in their communities and at risk of irregular migration

Gender differences related to education access, retention and attainment, and any gender differences that may be at play in migration dynamics.

Progress and Initiatives Contractor Supported Efforts Must Build On

Service provider and beneficiary placement materials developed by METAS and modified by

Empleando Futuros.

Skills Development: USAID basic labor competencies and soft skills curriculum developed by METAS and Empleando Futuros.

Progress and initiatives by USAID activities in other portfolios, including, for example, Generando

Emprendedores y Sinergias Sostenibles (GENESIS), and Gobernanza en Ecosistemas, Medios de Vida, y Agua (GEMA)

Private sector actors have indicated they would be interested and willing to make social investments in helping at-risk youth remain in school.

Required Indicators And LOP Target

Number of youths reached with WFD services and quality secondary to become more productively engaged (500,000 for fully-funded activity- Base Period- 450,000; Option 3- additional 50,000 engaged). Disaggregated by rural/urban communities and returned migrants.

Additional Illustrative Indicators

Number of youth completing formal and non-formal secondary and technical skills programs.

Number of learners in secondary schools or equivalent non-school based settings reached with USG education assistance.

Number of out-of-school at-risk youth enrolled in formal and non-formal education programs.

Number of individuals with improved skills following completion of USG-assisted workforce development program.

Number of new or better employment opportunities generated as a result of USG assistance.

Percent of at-risk youth with increased resilience or protective factors.

COMPONENT 2: Increased co-investment by education institutions, service providers and employers in mechanisms which link beneficiaries to employment opportunities

Bridging the gap between at-risk youth education and skills attainment and employment by firms in growth-oriented sectors will require a concerted effort between public and private-sector actors. Under objective two, the Activity will build alliances to catalyze co-investment -- financial, human, social and relational and physical capital -- by public and private sector actors. Partnerships between education and skills development providers and employers to develop, expand, and improve the use and usefulness of mechanisms which link qualified at-risk youth candidates to employers and employment opportunities. The Activity contractor will need to actively seek and promote co-planning and implementation of initiatives which sequence, layer, or integrate with other USAID and donor activities and initiatives working towards increasing growth and competitiveness of Honduran enterprises.

To increase the provision of quality technical and workforce readiness and entrepreneurship skills that lead to employment, the Activity will select forward thinking institutions and provide targeted technical assistance to build the commercial viability of institutions to recruit, train and place youth at risk of irregular migration into employment. This is not envisioned to be an overhaul of an institution but a select and focused process to identify critical areas of an institution’s business that they would want to invest in or co-invest in to improve their ability to increase recruitment, to improve relevance or quality of training and to support employment of targeted youth, including on-the-job training and internships as a route to employment.

Honduras has several types of vocational and technical training service providers as well as private and public training centers. One public institution potentially able to reach at-risk youth at scale is INFOP.

Selection of service providers will require an evaluation of their capabilities, commitment to building commercial viability through cost effective methods and agreement to include employment as a measure of its success. Additionally, the inclusion of programs which address the needs of vulnerable populations is important. For this purpose, alliances with associations working in this area must be considered. The Activity must stimulate market actors, both service institutions and employers in a manner that encourages systemic change to focus on youth employment not just training. The Activity will support flexible adaptive partnerships between training institutions and employers to meet market demands and keep in mind the context and specific needs of at-risk youth, including returned migrants.

To improve means of job identification to match demand and supply for employment; the Activity will pioneer methods not only for current job vacancy identification but also for creative ways to mainstream at-risk youth into select agriculture, tourism, services, sales and textile manufacturing and production, among other potential areas for at-risk youth employment. All avenues to employment should be explored, including on the job training and internships-to-employment models. The Activity will work with the private sector, INFOP, Chambers of Commerce, technical service providers, job matching service providers, providers of services to vulnerable populations, youth organizations, and local governments to spearhead at scale job identification and placement efforts. The Activity will help build direct links between service providers and the employers and provide limited business development services to the private sector to promote their employment of vulnerable and at-risk youth. This will be done in direct coordination with Transforming Market Systems and other relevant

USAID activities to avoid duplication of efforts and to ensure complementarity of efforts.

Selection of the market sectors, geographic regions and technical areas must be based on migration factors, potential for youth employment and the needs of the youth at risk of irregular migration. The program must use a rigorous evidence-based approach that assesses cost-effectiveness, progressive scalability and replicability of all employment partnerships so that there is continuous refinement of interventions throughout the life of the Activity.

The private sector has expressed some concern with short-term employment schemes that might support irregular migration and the desertion of workers. Therefore, the Activity will keep in mind potential factors that will promote rootedness in employment to further prevent irregular migration.

Systems gap analyses will be conducted during the Activity to identify blockages as well as opportunities related to youth employment. Analyses will include a gendered, youth-specific markets systems assessment to ensure that the combination of supply- and demand-side approaches strategically target real opportunities for young people in wage and non-wage employment. Emphasis will be placed on understanding the aspirations of young people and the private sector, and opportunities and constraints, to inform incentives to mutually engage through shared value propositions. Attention will be paid to the specific circumstances of the youth targeted, including the circumstances of indigenous and other marginalized youth, such as returned migrants. The intention is to facilitate inclusive economic growth through this Activity and to articulate standards for shared value propositions with private sector partners that respond to incentives to include both young women and men in markets.

Desired Changes in System Dynamics Contractor Supported Efforts Must Affect

Expanding role, levels of investment, support, and active leadership by the private sector in mechanisms which link secondary education and technical skills service providers and youth graduates ( including at-risk youth) to employers and employment opportunities.

Increasing levels of collaboration, coordination, and co-investment by public and private secondary education and technical skills service providers, civil society organizations, employers, and other private sector actors who benefit from enterprise growth and at-risk youth employment in regard to mechanisms for linking youth job-seekers to employment opportunities.

Increasing leadership of GOH in promoting and stimulating education and service providers and the private sector to co-invest in mechanisms which link qualified youth candidates to employment opportunities. Increase INFOP’s capacity to provide market-driven services at scale for youth employment.

Gaps in skills, resources, and networks graduates need to access to secure and maintain employment, with attention given to potential gender differences

Shortage and ineffectiveness of mechanisms which link qualified candidates to employers and employment opportunities

Emphasis of education and technical skills service providers on graduation rates, not employment of graduates.

Efficiency of private sector investment into labor force development.

Progress and Initiatives the Activity Must Build On

Alliances with public sector developed under Empleando Futuros and GENESIS

USG investment in job creation through partnerships with TMS including coordinated sector-specific jobs training and placement for TMS initiatives

USG investment to strengthen INFOP

Co-design of technical curricula

Private sector investments into INFOP

Co-design of social and emotional skills curricula and related support to at-risk youth

Illustrative Indicators (Targets)

Number of youth employed as jointly defined by the COR and Activity over all three objectives over the life of the activity (100,000 or more). Disaggregated by age, gender, at-risk, vulnerable, and returned migrants.

Value of investment leveraged from the public and private sector.

Number and size of alliances developed for youth employment.

Number of mechanisms implemented through partnerships linking beneficiaries to employment opportunities.

Number of education and technical skills providers integrating employment, and employment targets into their workforce development programs.

Job placement rate of workforce development institutions targeted by USG.

Number of new or better employment opportunities generated as a result of USG assistance.

Number of partnerships created and links to investment hubs and businesses formed.

Measure of change in resilience of youth.

Note that formal employment targets must be based on gendered, youth-focused market analysis that engages young people and the private sector.

COMPONENT 3: A) Improved support system for innovative youth enterprises including social and growth entrepreneurship for at-risk youth employment and B) other innovations in youth employment and related efforts

A key concept of the Private Sector Engagement policy is using market-based approaches and business models to catalyze markets to solve development and humanitarian challenges. Component Three will use market approaches to support social and growth entrepreneurship and innovative enterprises to provide youth, at risk of irregular migration, with employment opportunities. Interventions in urban, high-crime areas, will take account linkages between violence and migration and promote the strengthening of youth protective factors to impact violence and migration reduction.