Licensure Examinations- Occupational, Professional & Trades

The Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) is seeking a contractor to develop and administer licensure examinations for over 45 occupational, professional, and trades categories, including barbers, cosmetologists, real estate agents, builders, electricians, and plumbers. The Request for Proposal (RFP No. 180000002945) was issued on June 27, 2018, with proposals due by July 23, 2018, at 3:00 PM Eastern. The contract will run from September 1, 2018, through August 31, 2021, with two optional renewal years. The selected contractor will be responsible for creating, administering, and scoring examinations that determine minimum competency standards for licensure, including providing examination sites across five Michigan regions, maintaining examination security, and conducting job analyses. Key requirements include maintaining specific accreditations such as AQB approval for real estate appraiser exams and ARELLO accreditation for real estate broker/salesperson exams. The evaluation process will involve a technical review followed by a price assessment, with the state reserving the right to select a proposal based on overall value rather than the lowest price.

The contract is structured as a "no cost" agreement, with the contractor compensated entirely through examination fees paid by candidates. The contractor must provide all necessary facilities, staff, computer systems, and materials for examination development and administration. Specific obligations include establishing a $5,000 initial training fund and contributing $1 per exam registration to support state staff training. There are no explicit set-aside designations or restrictions on bidding organizations mentioned in the documentation. Examination fees are statutorily capped for certain categories, such as Skilled Trades at $100 and Polygraph Examinations at $50. The contractor will be required to provide practical examination facilities and equipment for certain trades and deliver regular statistical reporting to the state. While no specific budget range is provided, the contractor will retain proprietary technologies and intellectual property rights, with the exception that examination content developed for the state must be transferred upon contract completion. The contract appears to be structured to leverage existing examination infrastructure while requiring comprehensive service delivery across multiple professional licensing domains.