| The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the development arm of the United Nations system, with offices in 180 countries. Globally, the organization employs 17,000 people and manages a budget of USD 5 billion each year.
The UNDP office in Skopje employs a team of 65 and currently manages a portfolio of projects in environmental protection, good governance and social inclusion worth USD 16 million per year.
UNDP Project “Creating job opportunities for all-IV” implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy (MLSP) and the Employment Service Agency(ESA) supports the effective implementation of the National Operation Plan (OP) on Active Employment Programmes and Measures, and Labour Market Services. More specifically, the project shall provide technical and implementation support to the delivery of trainings on entrepreneurship for candidates of the Self-employment programme implemented by ESA in partnership with UNDP.
In 2018 UNDP created a roster procedure for selection of trainers that will be contracted under Framework agreement for the needs of the project “Creating Job Opportunities for all -IV”. The procedure was renewed in 2020 and a total of 74 trainers were selected, that would deliver over 120 trainings for the selected applicants.
Considering the situation with Covid19 Pandemic, and the protocols and restrictions imposed by the Government, the Programme was subject to further modifications resulting in a decision for the trainings not to be mandatory by giving an opportunity to applicants to choose if they want to attend online trainings, the selected consultants were not engaged as planned.
As the Self-employment Programme was transferred for full implementation to the ESA, except for the applicants under target group “people with disabilities”, which are still implemented by UNDP’s Creating Job Opportunities for All Project, and the decision made for the entrepreneurship trainings to be removed from the Operational Plan, the contracts with the selected consultants under the Framework Agreement were not extended beyond the initial contract.
However, considering that the trainings have shown to be a very important tool for gaining basic business knowledge for the Self-employment candidates, upon request by the MLSP and ESA, the entrepreneurship trainings were reinstated in the OP 2023. In addition to this, it was requested that the delivery of the entrepreneurship trainings to be fully implemented by UNDP.
Considering this new development, these Terms of Reference are related to the needs of the project for engagement of experienced Macedonian and Albanian speaking consultants who will provide entrepreneurship trainings to candidates under the Self-employment programme implemented by ESA in partnership with UNDP. Additionally, the OP 2023 includes additional category of candidates that will benefit from the Self-employment programme, and the category is Returnees with special focus on Roma. In order to provide these services, UNDP will sign short term National Personnel Service Agreement (NPSA) on retainer basis with experienced consultants who will be based across the country.
The training programme shall help the candidates to improve their entrepreneurial skills to better assess the business environment, acquire basic knowledge for developing and using marketing plan, develop skills for better business planning in order to ensure that they are better prepared to start their own business. The training programme shall encompass the following specific areas:
- Concept of entrepreneurship – basic principles of entrepreneurship, entrepreneur’s characteristics, the importance of entrepreneurship in the market economy etc.;
- Personal skills and business planning tools – introduction and development of entrepreneurial competencies, identification of personal entrepreneurial characteristics, SWOT analysis.;
- Marketing plan – concept, techniques for development of marketing plan, introduction to internet marketing, its benefits and promotion of the business, etc.;
- Organization of work and selection of legal entity – production/service plan, organization and business management, selection of the most appropriate legal entity, energy efficiency, etc.;
- Business operations – basic knowledge for the operational costs and profitability, initial investments for business start-ups, financial planning, sales techniques and forecast of the company income;
- Development of Business Idea.
The training programme and the training workbook shall be provided by UNDP. The programme is based on practical skills and examples so that trainees (beneficiaries) could gain substantive understanding of the entrepreneurship and market principals, so to be equipped with knowledge that will enable them to finalize the training with a developed Business Idea and a Marketing Plan.
Training sessions shall envisage work in groups of up to 15 trainees. For each training session that shall include more than 15 participants, two trainers will be selected to deliver the training. Training programme modules shall be organized in a way that each theoretical session is followed with a practical exercise, which shall help the participants to complete that particular aspect in the Business idea template.
Trainers are expected to come with their own lap top computer. UNDP and/or ESA will provide LCD projector and other training materials .
Note: The contract does not form a financial obligation or commitment from UNDP at the time the short-term NPSA is signed, and that such an agreement is non-exclusive (i.e., it does not prohibit UNDP from entering into another such framework agreement with another individual or entity). Financial commitments will only be established each time the services are requested within the scope of NPSA, through the agreed triggering document that signals commencement of a given engagement.
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