Enhanced Skills for Sustainable and Rewarding Employment (ENSSURE)(Main Credit)

As the Constituent Assembly again failed to meet its deadline of January 2015, the political uncertainties related to the most contested issue, i.e. the future state structure, remain. The economy grows at between 4-5% mainly due to the enormous inflow of remittances but the gap between regions and disadvantaged groups and the rest has widened. Of the 450,000 women and men entering the labour market each year, 80% have not finished high school and are unskilled. To provide youth with skills and employment options, Switzerland started the Employment Fund (EF) project which made a major impact on the expansion and inclusion properties of the national TVET system by modelling and activating a new breed of skills development providers, with a strong focus on disadvantaged groups and a flexible response to labour market opportunities. Despite the Swiss contribution and the complementry support from other donors and efforts by the Government of Nepal, the TVET sector has been able to benefit only 100’000 youth per year with its services.At the same time, the private sector is short of skilled workers which is considered to be one major reason for low productivity.

The overall goal of this intervention is: Nepali workers, particularly from disadvantaged groups, benefit from continuous employment and an improved standard of living.

Workers will have access to better quality trainings; hence companies will benefit from better skilled workers and pass on the gains in productivity and profitability in the form of fairer pay and a safer working environment. The combination of better skilled workers and higher pay will lead to better chances of workers for uninterrupted employment and an improved standard of living.

• Workers (women and men) have improved their employability
• Partner companies have established a favorable work environment
• TVET system is expanded and more inclusive of the private sector

Resultados previstos:  

• Young women and men have access to career guidance services
• Job seekers have access to skills trainings
• Workers have access to trainings at different levels to  complement, upgrade or specialize their skills such as apprenticeships and short courses
• Partner companies have prepared and implemented HR plans for the development of their workforce
• Partner companies  are  enabled to improve occupational health and safety of workers
• CTEVT in collaboration with the private sector has designed and implemented industry-based courses
• TVET providers[1]from the public and private sector have enhanced their capacity to implement new approaches
  
• TVET training providers, target companies and industry associations have established effective collaboration

[1]        Training institutions, training companies and the industry associations

Resultados de las fases anteriores:  

A study of the occupational skills demand in 9 economic sub-sectors and the attitude of stakeholders to occupational trainings documented considerable absorption potential for better skilled workers. Employers said 95% of their workers were initially unskilled and then partly trained on the job but lacked theoretical underpinnings of their skills and systematic addressing of their performance gaps. Industry representatives expressed a keen interest to participate in efforts to improve the skill-base of their workforce. Subsequent consultations with industry associations, training providers and officials of the Ministry of Education (MoE) and the Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training (CTEVT) confirmed strong support for the systematic inclusion of industry associations in the design and delivery of trainings. It hence was decided that ENSSURE will introduce company-based training, including apprenticeships, upgrading of the existing workforce to higher levels of competencies and on short courses including on-the-job training (OJT) for job seekers.

DFID (to be confirmed)

Coordination with major TVET donors (World Bank, ADB, EU and KOICA). Synergies with Swiss projects, i.e. SaMi, NVQS, SIP, LRIP; LRBP

Fase 1 01.08.2014 - 15.07.2023   (Completed)