The United States Agency for International Development in Egypt (USAID/Egypt) intends to modify contract #72026321C00003, the Workforce Egypt contract activity implemented by MTC International Development Holding Company LLC . The purpose of the modification is to: (1) increase the contract Total Estimated Cost (TEC) by up to $34,700,000, from the current $69,892,703.00 to $104,592,703; (2) expand the scope of activities under the contract; and (3) extend the current period of performance and completion date specified in the contract (June 1, 2021 – May 31, 2026) by forty-two months to November 30, 2029. The statutory authority permitting this award without providing full and open competition is AIDAR 706.302-70(b)(5), based on the authority provided by 40 U.S.C. 113(e)(2)), provides an exception to full and open competition when it would impair or otherwise have an adverse effect on programs conducted for the purposes of foreign aid, relief, and rehabilitation. With this extension, USAID intends to modify the contract’s scope of work by enhancing the areas specified below across the project’s Results: a. Establish 5 additional International Applied Technology Schools (IATS) for new specialization areas; and b. Create technological university tracks to ensure post-secondary technological education for the IATS specializations, comprising different tracks at Technological Universities for the IATS graduates. In addition to these interventions, Workforce Egypt will continue supporting the Ministry of Education and Technical Education (MoETE) in operating the Egyptian National Authority for Quality Assurance and Accreditation (ETQAAN), the Central Unit for QA and Accreditation Support (CEQAT), the Technical and Vocational Education and Training Teachers Academy (TVETA), the transition to employment units at the governorate level, and the revamping of the commercial education track. Workforce Egypt will also continue supporting the Sector Skills Councils with the Ministry of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation (M0PEDIC), and the Economic Partnership Councils (EPCs) with the Ministry of Local Development. Implementation of the new interventions is essential to achieving USAID’s desired results for workforce development, improved labor market efficiencies, and ensured sustainability of Workforce Egypt’s achievements. More specifically: 1. The new specializations that we plan to introduce will include smart agriculture and climate change, which are two important areas for the Egyptian economy’s competitiveness. 2. The 5 new IATSs will be established in partnership with the private sector as well as with the Presidential Initiative, EBDAA, which is keen to gain the knowledge, methodology, and model of the IATSs to be able to roll it out in other governorates with more private sectors businesses and additional new specializations. Hence, by establishing those new IATSs with EBDAA, we ensure the sustainability and expansion of the IATS model across all governorates. 3. Creating technological university tracks for the 15 IATS graduates ensures that USAID investment in TVET students will not be wasted if they join the academic university system, which do not provide technical or technological courses of study that are tailored for the IATS specializations. 4. Enhancing various and diversified demand driven labor market competencies and skills contributes to private sector economic growth as private businesses will be able to find needed skills for their production, leading to increased productivity, employment, and income generation. 5. By implementing these interventions, we will be positively responding to the government of Egypt’s request to establish additional IATS schools and to continue improving the efficiency of the technical education system in Egypt by creating technical university tracks for the IATS graduates. The additional IATSs were requested by the MoETE as well as the MoPEDIC. And creating the technological university tracks was requested by the Ministry of Higher Education to ensure an effective technical education system for the Egyptian labor market. 6. The institutional reform that the MoETE adopted for technical education needs more time to achieve results. Giving Workforce Egypt more time to implement them will be beneficial for the USG as well as the Government of Egypt as it will ensure that the USG investment in these reforms was not wasted. Please refer any questions to: Matthew Courtad, Contracting Officer, at
[email protected] Nehal Elkhatib, Administrative Contracting Officer, at
[email protected] Noha Habashi, A&A Specialist, at
[email protected]