Support to the Sectoral Implementation of the Refugee Proclamation/ Policy action

The services delivered by the contractor will contribute to the implementation of three areas of action of QEP II: (1) Policy advice to support the implementation of the national refugee legislation, (2) Expanding access to vocational training, and (3) promoting employment. The first area of action aims to operationalize a signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Ministry of Labour and Skills (MoLS) and the Refugees and Returnees Service (RRS) that was facilitated in the framework of the project`s first phase. The MoU provides the basis for a cooperation between the relevant actors for vocational education and employment to sustainably include refugees into the national systems. In addition to this, the contractor will also contribute to the second and third output of the QEP II through the improvement of employment opportunities for refugees and residents of host communities, especially women, in Kebribeyah and Aw-Barre/Shedder in Somali region. In order to contribute to output one of the programme the contractor will align stakeholders and increase cooperation in a participatory manner with all relevant stakeholders (esp. Ministry of Labour and Skills and the Refugees and Returnees Service). For this, a concept for an exchange format on planning, managing and monitoring of vocational training and employment measures for refugees and residents of host communities, with a focus on the specific needs of women, shall be developed and the exchange format shall be facilitated and supported. Furthermore, the contractor will support strengthening the capacities of relevant stakeholders within MoLS and RRS (as well as other relevant institutions), especially with regards to supporting the inclusion of refugees into the national vocational education system as well as labour market. The capacity development measures shall be linked to the identified bottlenecks and challenges in the framework of the exchange platform. In order to strengthen institutional and human capacities among the relevant institutions to overcome these challenges, the contractor will conduct professional development measures for MoLS, RRS and relevant regional line bureaus; conduct awareness creation on refugee proclamation and other legal instruments for refugee inclusion at federal and regional level and will support the implementation of the Ethiopian pledges from the Global Refugee Forum 2023 in the area of inclusion in national systems, focused on TVET and the labour market. Regarding the contractor`s contribution to output two and three of QEP II the contractor will implement vocational training and employment approaches in selected areas of Somali region. It thereby focuses on expanding the access to inclusive vocational trainings and employment opportunities in sectors with high employment potential, including environmental and climate-related sectors for refugees and residents of host communities in Kebribeyah and Aw-Barre/Shedder in Somali region. The contractor will jointly with the identified training institutions, revise or newly develop two training programs (specifically the teaching, training and learning materials, TTLMs) in environmental or climate-change related fields, such as the water or energy sectors and facilitate vocational training and employment opportunities for 550 refugees and host communities in Kebribeyah and Aw-Barre/Shedder, Somali region.