Terms of Reference (ToR)

Non-Consulting Services

For

Foundation Skills Training Program for the ITES-BPO industry

1. Background

Bangladesh Computer Council under the Ministry of information & Communication has taken the project titled Leveraging Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) for Growth, Employment and Governance Project with the financial assistance of IDA. The objectives to catalyse the growth of Bangladesh's IT-Enabled Services (ITES) industry for employment creation and export diversification; and establish basic e-government foundations to support public sector modernisation. IT/ITES Industry Development is one of the three components of the project by which quantity and quality of skills and competitiveness of Bangladesh’s ITES industry would be increased.

2 The Assignment and Objective

The assignment will develop foundational skills of 20,000 professionals for ITES or business process outsourcing (BPO) services jobs including back/front office outsourcing. BPO is a subset of outsourcing that’s involves the contracting of the operations and responsibilities of specific business functions (or processes) to a third-party service provider. BPO is typically categorised into back office outsourcing, which includes internal business functions such as human resources or finance and accounting, and front office outsourcing which includes customer-related services such as contract centre services. BPO that is contracted outside a company’s country is called offshore outsourcing. BPO that is contracted to a company’s neighbouring (or nearby) country is called near shore outsourcing. Often the business processes are information technology-based, and are referred to as ITES-BPO. Knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) and legal process outsourcing (LPO) are some of the sub-segments of business process outsourcing industry. It will be developed in a way that is closely aligned with the requirements of global markets. Training grants will be provided to companies meeting a minimum set of skills development and hiring criteria that support the GOB’s existing National ICT Internship Program administered by BCC. Foundational work skills are fundamental to creating a competitive ITES labor forces these are necessary for virtually all its sub-segments; including voice and non-voice based ITES/BPO services, and the emerging area of online work/micro-work as an alternative channel for global service outsourcing. These skills address areas such as cultural sensitization, basic PC and data skills, interpersonal

communication, and a good professional attitude in general. The coverage includes skills in speaking, listening, analytical and quantitative reasoning, writing, learning ability, keyboarding, Social media marketing, SEO etc. The Program will have multiple components, including definition of skills set standards, curriculum design, training and certification, and program accreditation. It will also have various processes, including diagnostic tests, faculty and student training, final certifications, post-training assessments and establishing connections for industry/academia placements. The assessment of foundational skills should be done in a manner that helps benchmark the skills of Bangladeshi students against the skill profiles of candidates successfully hired by leading ITES companies.

The success of the foundational skills training program linked to global ITES players is highly dependent on the willingness of leading companies to provide master trainers in Bangladesh.

Initially the linkage with global companies would be essential for a period of about two years, the arrangement could thereafter be systematically integrated as part of the curriculum design and training programs coordinated and managed by the anchor institution. Once the quality standards have been determined, and trainers trained according to international standards, it will become much easier to integrate the content, pedagogy and skills development activities into regular programs to be conducted by the anchor institution.

Scope of Services

The selected firm, among others will be responsible to perform the following services;

i.Analysis of Skills Gap: Conduct research and analysis of the gaps and weaknesses with regard to skills availability in Bangladesh for the global and local ITES-BPO industry. Based on this analysis identify specific skill areas where training will be necessary. The analysis should be systematic, multidimensional and conducted in collaboration with relevant partners - including leading international and local IT/ITES companies, academic institutions, governments, international standards bodies and industry/trade associations. It should cover the current talent and training situation and provide recommendations on prioritized areas for ITES-BPO skills development. The analysis should also recommend changes in curriculum and pedagogy required as part of broader education reforms in Bangladesh and show local young people the possibilities and opportunities of employment and entrepreneurship in the online economy, also

known as virtual / digital economy. Converting the virtual economy into development potential.

ii. Develop Skill Set Dictionary and Standards: Develop a comprehensive dictionary of skills required for the ITES-BPO sector together with standards for each skill set category, create a database of job role profiles and performance indicators for various ITES-BPO functions. These standards should be developed in close collaboration with the relevant partners described above, and have their explicit support in terms of quality and relevance.

iii. Design and develop Curriculum: Develop a streamlined ITES Training Curriculum that is

based on the global skill set standards, aligned with the specific skill requirements in the case of Bangladesh, and has explicit support of the relevant partners in terms the curriculum’s quality and relevance. In addition, a curriculum map should be developed for the short, medium and long term skills development. The map should start with basic employability skills for the mass ITES workforce, and graduate to strategic and operation skills for senior management roles in ITES. It also includes the development of modules based on curriculum.

iv. Design and Develop Program Accreditation Mechanisms: Present an accreditation

mechanism for the ITES training industry with specific guidelines for a qualitative system of review, evaluation, accreditation, and monitoring of ITES training programs. Program accreditation should be with an internationally recognized and reputable body, and the accreditation should contribute significantly to the quality of programs and foster industry and public confidence in the Program.

v. Design and develop Training Matching Grants: Develop a manual for providing training

grants provisioned in the project to the selected ITES industries in consultation with industries bodies taking into account of training period and other relevant issues

vi. Develop Content: Based on the curriculum map, develop appropriate and prioritized

content for certification in close collaboration with relevant partners. The developed content should have their explicit support in terms of relevance and quality. In addition, the content should cover the following skills as a minimum: speaking, listening, writing, learning, keyboarding, and analytical and quantitative reasoning.

Year 2018 - 19

High performance BPO

Global service outsourcing

vii. Develop Certification Process: Develop an internationally recognized, authentic, secure

and valid process for ITES foundational skills assessment and certification. This process should be developed in consultation with leading ITES companies and academic institutions. In addition, the process should be based on proven experiences in similar certification programs, and the testing process should be representative of real-life, professional ITES functions. The examinations should be refreshed annually; and extendable to other emerging ITES foundational skills as needed. The examination must be developed using recognized techniques for validation and verification of quality, and linkages may be established with one or more leading testing and certification organizations to ensure that the certification will be conducted in a secure and proctored setting.

viii. Piloting, Evaluation and Refinement: To pilot the Program with an initial batch of at least

2000 local students, and to benchmark results against an international control group. To conduct an evaluation of the pilot to prepare a detailed report to recommend strategies and action plans for improving the Program, and refine the Program based on the agreed recommendations of the Evaluation Report.

ix. Mass Rollout and Marketing, and Business Model Implementation: Implement mass

rollout and marketing campaign for the Program across Bangladesh, train master trainers, and provide skills development training at least 18,000 local students from various levels of educational background. In addition, to implement a business model for the Program that is internationally recognized, financially self-sustaining and affordable for aspirants seeking employment in the ITES industry by the end of this consultancy service (15 months after contract signature). A final report is to be prepared to highlight the next steps to be taken by Bangladesh for the Program, including future steps on training content development, certification process, local capacity building, program accreditation and training matching grants.

x. Develop Local Capacity : For building local capacity in the host country, the selected

consultancy will impart training to local faculty in the areas of exam proctoring, interpretation of assessment results and developing of metrics for quality enhancement of educational programs. This capacity building would occur within an overall knowledge transfer framework proposed and developed by the Consultant. Besides delivering training for capacity building, the knowledge transfer mechanism would also specify how the transfer of knowledge products and material (documents, reports, questions banks, software) would happen during the course of assignment.

2014 - 17

Typical BPO

Entrepreneurs

3. Reporting and Time Schedules

S/No. Deliverable Timing (Months after

Contract Signature)

i. Inception Report (inclusive of Detailed Work Plan, Methodologies, Business Plan & Skills Gap Analysis.

Stakeholders Workshop I)

3

ii. Skill Set Standards and design and development of Curriculum, Modules

6

iii. Program Accreditation and design and development of Training Matching Grants

6

iv. Content, certification processes and credentialing program 6

v. Pilot rollout, Evaluation Report and Refinement 6

x.. Mass Rollout and Marketing 7 – 50

xi. Business Model Implementation 50-60

4. Local Implementation Partner

In Bangladesh, the assessment organization will work in a close partnership with a local training

or educational institution which will be its local implementation partner. The host institution will provide inputs and be extensively involved in all stages of inception, design, and implementation of the Program for ITES skills. The host institution together with the GOB’s relevant agencies will also help the selected institution for this consultancy build linkages with universities and training institutes in Bangladesh.

5. FIRM QUALIFICATIONS

Leading assessment organization with experience of rolling out similar assessments in at

least two countries

Demonstrated capability in design, development and delivery of skills development and

certification programs for the ITES/BPO sector as evidenced by the qualifications and

experience of professional staff, and similar experience of delivering such programs in at

least one other country

At least 5 years of experience in conducting similar assessments

Testing frameworks and content should have wide industry acceptance including

support of at least one leading industry association for the IT/ITES industry

Should have strong partnerships with reputed testing organizations

There should be no conflict of interest between the skills assessments undertaken by

the firm and any training, placements or other related activities of the firm.

6. STAFFING

Team leader: Have an advanced degree in Human Resource Development. Minimum of

5 year experience in a leadership role in designing, conducting and implementing

training in ITES sector; experience in at least 2 countries that are considered to be

global players in IT services; successful track record of collaborating with one or more

international IT/ITES industry associations.

Expert in curriculum design, content development and certification: Have a minimum

of 5 year experience in the areas of curriculum design, content development and

certification relevant to the IT services industry; successful track record of working in or

collaborating with three or more leading IT services companies on IT services training

activities; successful track record of working in or collaborating with one or more

leading academic institutions on subjects relevant to training for the IT services sector.

Having advanced degree in education or equivalent.

Expert in training: Have a minimum of bachelor’s degree in Human Resource

Development or equivalent. Minimum of 5 year experience in the area of conducting

training for the IT services sector, latest knowledge of capacity building training on

IT/ITES industry requirement, preparation of training materials like modules.

Expert in financial analysis and performance metrics: Have an advanced degree in

finance or accountancy, Minimum of 5 year experience in the area of financial analysis,

business models and performance metrics;; experience of making financial projections

and budgets for large scale training related activities.