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UNITED NATIONS INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION

Project Document

Country : Republic of Uganda

Project Title : Project for Development of the Construction Equipment Operator Training Centre

Project Number : 180144 RBM and Thematic Area : EC13 AgriBiz & Rural Entrp Total Budget : USD 2,340,004 (incl. 13% support costs) Donor : Government of Japan Estimated Starting Date : July 2019 upon receipt of funds Duration : 36 months Executing Agency : United Nations Industrial Development Organization Backstopping Branch : PTC/AGR/AIT Government Counterpart : Ministry of Works and Transport

Since 1986, the Government of Uganda (GoU) has focused on the improvement of transport infrastructure as one of its key policies. In 2014, the GoU invested around USD 160 million to purchase a total of 1,151 road equipment from Japanese companies such as Komatsu, Sakai and Fuso in an effort to improve the national road network and thereby increase farmers’ accessibility to markets and productivity-enhancing agricultural inputs through reduced travel times and transport costs. Despite this initiative, the GoU has not matched the investment in road machinery with a commensurate investment in human resources to operate the equipment. There have been a number of machine failures and damages caused by improper operation observed during joint monitoring activities with Komatsu. In light of this, MoWT and Komatsu have made efforts in conducting one-off operator trainings and technical inspections to improve operator performance and prevent further machine failures. However, a continuous training approach is needed for operators to obtain adequate and sufficient operator skills and to increase the number of properly-trained operators to meet the industry needs both in the public and private sector. To work towards this national priority, UNIDO proposes to partner with the GoU through MoWT to establish a training center for construction equipment operator training. The project also aims to conduct Training of Trainers (ToT) for instructional staff and assist them in conducting operational trainings for construction equipment operators. Through this action, the project would contribute to (a) an increase in the competitiveness of Ugandan exports, supporting trade capacity-building, as well as (b) an increase in farmer's incomes, supporting poverty reduction.

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TABLE OF CONTENT

A. Context .................................................................................................................................... 3

A.1. Situation Analysis............................................................................................................................. 3

A.2. Reasons for UNIDO Assistance ........................................................................................................ 4

B. Project Description ................................................................................................................... 5

B.1. Objective of the Project ................................................................................................................... 5

B.2. Expected Outcome .......................................................................................................................... 5

B.3. Outputs and Activities ..................................................................................................................... 5

B.4. Target Beneficiaries ......................................................................................................................... 6

C. Strategy ................................................................................................................................... 7

C.1. Inception Phase ............................................................................................................................... 7

C.2. Project Strategy ............................................................................................................................... 7

C.3. Institutional Arrangement ............................................................................................................... 9

C.4. Partnership Arrangement .............................................................................................................. 11

C.5. Gender Mainstreaming Strategy ................................................................................................... 11

C.6. Synergy with Other Development Partners................................................................................... 12

C.7. Procurement Arrangement ........................................................................................................... 12

D. Inputs .................................................................................................................................... 13

D.1. Counterparts ................................................................................................................................. 13

D.2. Indicative Budget (US dollars) ....................................................................................................... 13

E. Indicative Work Plan .............................................................................................................. 13

F. Project Monitoring and Evaluation.......................................................................................... 13

G. Sustainability and Risk ............................................................................................................ 14

G.1. Sustainability ................................................................................................................................. 14

G.2. Risks and Mitigation Measures ..................................................................................................... 15

H. Prior Obligations and Pre-requisites ........................................................................................ 16

I. Legal Context ......................................................................................................................... 16

Annex II. Tentative Work Plan and Time Schedule .......................................................................... 17

Annex III. Logical Framework ......................................................................................................... 18

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A. Context

A.1. Situation Analysis

Since 1986, the Government of Uganda (GoU) has focused on improving transport infrastructure to accelerate economic development in the country. The current 2nd National Development Plan1 (NDPII, covering 2016/16 - 2019/20) under the title Uganda Vision 2040 “A Transformed Ugandan Society from a Peasant to a Modern and Prosperous Country within 30 years”, puts a clear emphasis on this issue:

“To enable and sustain industrial growth, the country needs to address a number of challenges which include: inadequate infrastructure such as transport; energy supply; water and sewerage services; and ICT services.”2

The NDPII further notes that “there is a close relationship between regional integration, growth, and transport infrastructure. Infrastructure development helps to: reduce the cost of production and of doing business; widen and integrate markets; achieve economies of scale; encourage participation of the private sector; and attract foreign direct investment and technology, hence increase a country’s competitiveness and effective participation in regional and global value chains.”3 This is an especially salient issue for agriculture, one of the key sectors of the Ugandan economy: “connectivity problems between the production areas and final markets leading to high transportation costs that reduce agricultural profit margins.”4 Furthermore, this issue is exacerbated by Uganda’s landlocked position, resulting in higher transport/production costs vis-à-vis countries with direct access to seaborne trade. In addition, Uganda committed to evolve and expand its existing transport and communication links under Article 89 of the East African Community (EAC) Treaty. The EAC Transport Strategy and Road Sector Development Program (2010–2020) as well as the 5th EAC Development Strategy also outline road connectivity and operations as one of the broad strategic goals of the EAC and its member states. Various development partners such as Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), World Bank (WB), Department for International Development (DFID), and European Union (EU) worked with the GoU in the field of road construction and maintenance. All programmes supported by the above development partners delivered a sizeable number of road equipment in the country. In 2014, the GoU invested around USD 160 million to purchase a total of 1,151 road equipment from Japanese companies such as Komatsu, Sakai and Fuso in an effort to improve the national road network and thereby increase farmers’ accessibility to markets and productivity-enhancing agricultural inputs through reduced travel times and transport costs. The user credit facility of USD 131 million was obtained from the Japan Bank for International Corporation (JBIC) for the procurement. The delivery of road equipment to the Ministry of Works and Transport (MoWT) was completed in May 2018. This is in line with the Works and Transport sectoral objective No. 1 (develop an adequate, reliable, and efficient multimodal transport network in the country) and intervention No. 3 (rehabilitate and maintain the district, urban and community access road network) of the NDPII. Despite the above initiatives, the GoU has not matched the investment in road machinery with a commensurate investment in human resources to operate the equipment. There have been a number of machine failures and damages caused by improper operation observed during joint monitoring activities with Komatsu. In light of this, MoWT and Komatsu conducted one-off regional trainings in Central, Northern, Eastern and Western Uganda for a total of 1,000 operators in 2017 and 2018. The

1 http://npa.go.ug/wp-content/uploads/NDPII-Final.pdf

2 NDPII, p64

3 NDPII, p90

4 NDPII, p53

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month-long training composed of one (1) week of theoretical classroom training and three (3) weeks of practical training. However, this style of one-off training was neither adequate nor sustainable in addressing the acute challenge of inadequate level of expertise required for proper operation of construction equipment. In fact, only 3% of the operators trained successfully obtained the satisfactory level of skills. A continuous training approach is therefore needed for operators to obtain adequate and sufficient operator skills and to increase the number of properly-trained operators to meet the industry needs both in the public and private sector. This will not only reduce damage to equipment but also reduce the cost of road construction through enhanced efficiency of the operators. Despite the above challenge, this project provides a unique opportunity to address a systemic issue of youth unemployment in Uganda. While around 400,000 Ugandans enter the job market every year, only about 90,000 jobs become available, exacerbating the issue of youth unemployment. According to the Government of Uganda Population Report 2018, the unemployment rate among young men and women aged 15 – 29 years is 33%. The young women are more likely to be unemployed (36%) than men (30%). The position of women in the Ugandan labour market is especially problematic, as female unemployment actually increased from 8.9 percent in 2012 to 13.2 percent in 2017 while among men, unemployment decreased from 6.4 percent to 5.8 percent during the same period.5 A gender-sensitive approach is therefore required to offer job perspectives especially to young female Ugandans. As Vision 2040 notes “Uganda has a big challenge of a labour force that is largely under or unemployed due to inappropriate skills and the slow labour absorptive capacity of the economy. The result has been a large number of the unemployed youth who are becoming a social and economic threat”. Additionally, Uganda’s quest to become a modern and prosperous country will not be attained if the most productive segment of the society is not equipped with the skills to make their contribution to the country’s economic growth. To work towards this national priority, UNIDO proposes to partner with the GoU through MoWT to establish a training center for construction equipment operator training. The project also aims to conduct Training of Trainers (ToT) for instructional staff and assist them in conducting operational trainings for construction equipment operators. In short, the proposal focuses on the importance of qualified human resources for inclusive and sustainable industrial development and serves as a clear indication that there is a positive correlation between the sustainability/longevity of machines and the training of their operators. The involvement of the GoU/MoWT as well as private sector partners demonstrates the proposal’s inclusiveness and intends to serve as a catalyst for policy-making reform.

A.2. Reasons for UNIDO Assistance

UNIDO has significant experience in the operation of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programmes, with particular focus on heavy duty/construction equipment, and has facilitated Public-Private Development Partnerships (PPDPs) with companies such as Komatsu, Volvo, or Scania in Liberia, Ethiopia, Iraq, Morocco, and Zambia. All of these projects have a strong focus on increasing private sector involvement in TVET policies (curriculum development, training the trainers etc.) in order to bridge the industrial skills gap and make sure that the educational standard of TVET graduates is up to the expectations of the private sector. Essentially, UNIDO thereby ends a strong signal to the respective line Ministries that policy reform in TVET is needed - in the sense of providing more demand-driven training in TVET and bringing the private sector onboard throughout the process. In addition, UNIDO’s Learning and Knowledge Development Facility (LKDF)6 has worked on best-practice examples from various TVET programmes to ensure financial sustainability after the end of the project.

5 https://www.independent.co.ug/women-unemployment-high-ubos/

6 fwww.lkdfacility.org

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The project will cooperate with ongoing programmes implemented by UNIDO to upgrade the curriculum for construction equipment operation. In particular, one project is being implemented with support from Komatsu at the Booker Washington Institute (BWI) in Kakata City, Liberia and another one is being implemented with support from the Volvo Group at the Northern Technical College (NORTEC) in Ndola, Zambia. The ongoing programmes undertaken at BWI and NORTEC will inform and enrich the operator training curriculum in Uganda.

B. Project Description

B.1. Objective of the Project

The overall objective of the project is to contribute to the National Development Plan II aimed at revitalizing the economy of Uganda especially in the sector of works and transport.

B.2. Expected Outcome

The expected outcome of the project is to ensure the sustainability of construction equipment procured and managed by MoWT through the development of a training center for construction equipment operators.

B.3. Outputs and Activities

Output 1. Fully-operational and functional training center for the safe and effective operation of

construction equipment established

Activity 1.1 Conduct assessment of required facility and equipment for a training center for the operation of construction equipment including a dormitory for students7

Activity 1.2 Perform engineering and design work to prepare for the construction of the training facility

Activity 1.3 Undertake contracting and procurement procedures to construct and equip the training facility

Activity 1.4 Identify and develop training materials on financial and administrative management of the training center

Activity 1.5 Provide training on financial and administrative management of the training center

Output 2. MoWT instructional staff capable to effectively manage and deliver safe training for

construction equipment operators

Activity 2.1 Develop a teacher training framework that provides standardized curricula and pedagogical tools to instructors

Activity 2.2 Organize workshops for training content development for both instructors and operators of construction equipment

Activity 2.3 Develop a teacher education curriculum and learning materials

Activity 2.4 Institutionalize the certification as mandatory for instructors

Activity 2.5 Develop training curricula and materials for construction equipment operators

Activity 2.6 Institutionalize the certification of training curricula for construction equipment operators in cooperation with Ministry of Education and Sports

Activity 2.7 Conduct training of instructors

7 Preference for dormitory places will be given to women

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Activity 2.8 Conduct a study tour in Dubai, UAE for instructors

Activity 2.9 Conduct construction equipment operator training

Output 3. Improved gender-sensitive employment opportunities for young men and women in the sector of works and transport through training on the operation of construction equipment

Activity 3.1 Plan and conduct awareness raising workshops for young men and women to attract their interest in the infrastructure development and maintenance sector, with a strong focus on empowering women to join the industry to target gender equality8

Activity 3.2 Design and develop an apprenticeship programme in cooperation with the public and private sector

Activity 3.3 Develop a training impact evaluation system to track performance of students participating in apprenticeships

B.4. Target Beneficiaries

The direct beneficiaries of the project include:

i. 50 MoWT instructors sufficiently trained and became competent enough to conduct operator training for construction equipment operators, including young men and women, at the training center;

ii. 360 construction equipment operators of MoWT and District Local Governments of Uganda participated in the training programme at the training center, sufficiently trained by MoWT instructors, and became fully capable; and

iii. 80 young men and women 9 seeking employment opportunities in the infrastructure development and maintenance sector received training on construction equipment operation by MoWT instructors.

It should be noted that the number of instructors and construction equipment operators that can be sufficiently trained by the project will be affected by various factors such as, but not limited to, the number of classrooms to be established, the number of simulators to be installed, and the construction schedule and progress of the training center. The project will carefully assess these factors and establish the number of target beneficiaries during the inception phase of the project. Like in many developing countries, youth from the poorest families in Uganda tend not to be able to attain formal technical education. This is a direct consequence of the fact that poor youth do not have the levels of education necessary to qualify for accessing technical training. In addition to the above beneficiaries, the project will also contribute to improving the capacity of Government Departments in the road sector, such as MoWT, District Local Governments, Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA), and Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) through provision of training for the above-mentioned instructors and trainees.

8 The project will address specific needs that women might face in accessing training (mobility depending on their

geographical location, permission to attend the training in case of societal/family pressure, etc.) and project

management will assure that workplace requirements of female trainees are taken care of. 9 Within this group of 80 young men and women, the project aims to increase the percentage of female trainees by

100% vis-a-vis the average percentage of women working in the Ugandan construction industry.

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C. Strategy

C.1. Inception Phase

The project will start with a three-month long inception phase. During the inception phase, the project will set up a project office in Uganda while recruiting members of the Project Management Unit (PMU) in consultation with the national counterpart and conducting procurement processes necessary to set up the office such as procurement of a project vehicle. The project will also conduct a comprehensive baseline study to plan and verify the detailed activities, work plan, and target number of beneficiaries. A project inception workshop will be held at the end of the inception phase while involving all the key project stakeholders. The inception workshop is crucial to plan the key project activities to be undertaken in the first year of the project. The inception workshop will address a number of key issues including:

Detailed roles and responsibilities of key stakeholders and Project Steering Committee (PSC);

Discuss roles, functions, and responsibilities within the decision-making structure of the project, including reporting and communication lines as well as conflict resolution mechanisms;

Based on the logical framework of the project and work plan, verify and endorse the first annual work plan. Review and agree on the indicators, targets and their means of verification and re-check assumptions and risks;

Provide a detailed overview of reporting, and monitoring and evaluation requirements (all data will be sex- and age-disaggregated);

Verify and endorse the terms of reference for the PSC, and plan and schedule PSC meetings;

Analyze key findings emerging from studies undertaken during the inception phase;

Develop the communications and visibility plan of the project; and

Discuss the undertaking of a gender-sensitive analysis for the apprenticeship program, both for the instructors as well as the operator trainees.

Design and set-up of the M&E system

Review the inclusion of behavior change (i.e. Bennett hierarchy) in the M&E system

Review in-detail the options for inclusion of youth in the training goals of the project incl. awareness measures to achieve the goals set-out under output 3.

C.2. Project Strategy

The project will support the development of human capital, both instructional staff and operators, through technical and vocational training on construction equipment operations. This will be achieved by establishing a formal training center, which requires both hard and soft project inputs. Based on the past experience of UNIDO’s project in Liberia which supported the human capital development of heavy equipment operators, UNIDO will establish a training center in Luwero, Uganda as well as a dormitory where instructors and students can stay during the time of the training. The project will procure and install necessary facilities and modern training equipment such as simulators. The construction equipment which have been already purchased by MoWT will be equipped as training equipment at the training center as part of in-kind contributions from the national counterpart. The following map shows where Luwero is located. It is approximately 60 km north from Kampala.

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The project will contribute to the capacity improvement of instructors through development of a teacher training framework that provides standardized curricula and pedagogical tools to instructors. In addition, the project aims to institutionalize the certification procedure as mandatory requirement for instructors. With assistance from In cooperation with Komatsu, MoWT has invested in human capital development through trainings conducted in Japan and Uganda. An initial training was organized by Komatsu and held in Japan for 10 instructional staff. Furthermore, additional training for instructors was carried out in Uganda by Komatsu experts. Overall, a total of 47 MoWT instructors have received intensive trainings. As a result, 15 out of 47 trainers who received trainings both in Japan and Uganda have been assessed to have obtained sufficient knowledge and skills. However, further training is required to improve technical and pedagogical skills of the rest of the trainers. In addition, continuous training is required for the above-mentioned 15 trainers. In addition to the intensive trainings in Japan and Uganda, MoWT has made efforts for the betterment of the situation through Joint Follow-Up Logs (JOIFUL) meetings and joint caravan inspections, which are hosted by MoWT supported by Komatsu. Through this arrangement, MoWT conducts joint inspection of equipment with Komatsu and Victoria Equipment during which operator performance is also assessed. The findings and challenges from the field inspections and proposed countermeasures are discussed in monthly JOIFUL meetings. The interactive nature and direct discussions in these meetings contribute to improving performance evaluation and act as a preventive measure to further problems. The JOIFUL meetings will continuously be held by MoWT during the project implementation, so that performance evaluation and preventive measures discussed at the meeting can be reflected into the project activities. Until the training center is established, the project will conduct ToT for MoWT instructors at temporary training site(s) in Uganda which will be discussed and decided in conjunction with national counterparts. A short-term consultant(s) will be recruited to conduct ToT in Uganda. For the development of curricula and training materials for both instructors and operators, the project will collaborate with Komatsu, which has extensive experience in providing training on operations of construction equipment in developing countries especially in Africa. Additionally, when the construction of the training center is completed, the Technical Advisor – ToT, who will be based in Uganda on a long-term basis, will support the MoWT instructors in conducting training on construction equipment operation for operator students at the training center. Furthermore, a study tour will be organized for the instructors to have an opportunity to study at one of Komatsu’s global training centers in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, which is equipped with modern training facilities. The project will ensure that each instructor is formally assessed on a regular basis. MoWT instructors will learn the teaching method through On-the-Job Training (OJT) at the training center after it is

Luwero

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established. The project will regularly conduct technical assessments on MoWT instructors during OJT and ensure that each one of them has constant satisfactory level of technical knowledge and performance. If some of the instructors’ competency is considered as insufficient as a result of the assessment, the project will ensure that additional follow-up trainings are conducted for them. The curriculum development for construction equipment operators and its accreditation is one of the major activities of the project. The project will collaborate with MoWT and Ministry of Education and Sports to evaluate and review the curriculum developed, and provide accreditation for the new curriculum for operators. The construction equipment operator training consists of three modules:

(1) Foundations: Students will learn work readiness, ethics, occupational health, and work safety. They will also learn the fundamentals of machinery and components as well as introduction to road construction management.

(2) Simulator: Students will develop a theoretical understanding through a combination of classroom and hands-on training on construction equipment operations using simulator(s).

(3) Practical: Students will apply what they have learned to construction equipment operations including road construction management.

In order to ensure the technical compliance with the course objectives, an independent competency-based evaluation system for graduates will be introduced. This will strengthen confidence of potential employers seeking to hire graduates or take on apprenticeships from the training center. In addition, the project puts a particular emphasis on the youth development. This will be achieved by involving young men and women into the target beneficiaries of the training for construction equipment operations, and establishing linkages with public and private sector companies and/or organizations. The project will ensure that the implementation arrangements are designed to ensure the national institutional capacity is strengthened, modern training courses are delivered, private sector is engaged, and the overall efforts are sustainable. Also, the project will design and develop an apprenticeship programme in cooperation with the public and private sector of Uganda. Youth participating in the training programme provided by the project will be given an opportunity to join the apprenticeship programme so that they can gain practical experience of working in a company and/or organization while applying their skills and knowledge obtained through the training programme. The project will track performance of students who have participated in the apprenticeship programme through a training impact evaluation system to be established. Finally, the project considers that it is imperative to ensure the financial and managerial sustainability of the training center to be established. To this end, the project will conduct a series of trainings on sustainable administration of the training center in cooperation with the national counterpart. Short-term expert(s) of the public administration and management will contribute to the development of training contents and materials, and conduct training for national counterpart officers.

C.3. Institutional Arrangement

Project Management Unit A Project Management Unit (PMU) will be established in Kampala within the MoWT office. Upon completion of construction activities of the training center for construction equipment operators, the PMU will relocate its operations to the training center site in Luwero. The PMU will: (a) supervise project implementation; and (b) coordinate activities with all key project partners, in particular MoWT, Komatsu, Sumotomo Corporation, and any other partner that may be supporting specific outputs of this project.

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The project is supported by a UNIDO Backstopping Officer based in UNIDO Headquarters (HQ) in Vienna, Austria, who is responsible for the overall managerial and financial administration of the project. The UNIDO Backstopping Officer and Project Assistant based at UNIDO HQ will provide backstopping support to ensure efficient operations for field staff and support their operational requirements in a timely manner. All project-related financial procedures including procurement will be processed at the HQ. A full-time International Project Manager based in Uganda will be recruited to coordinate and supervise day-to-day activities of the project. Also, a full-time Technical Advisor – ToT will be responsible for provision of continuous hands-on and practical training to provide support for MoWT instructors. A full-time Liaison Officer based in Tokyo, Japan will be also recruited to coordinate activities with key Japanese stakeholders such as Komatsu and Sumitomo. The main responsibilities include, but not limited to, coordination of the training material development, facilitation of procurement processes, and coordination of dispatchment of long-term and short-term experts to Uganda. The PMU will be supported by a local small team for finance, administration, and logistical matters in cooperation with the UNIDO country office in Uganda. Where required, the project will utilize short-term consultants to achieve the objectives outlined in this project. Short-term consultants may be either international or national depending on the task required and availability of the resource within the project area. These may include, but not limited to: curriculum development specialist, technicians for equipment installation, civil engineers, architect, quantity surveyor, construction site supervisors, productivity trainers such as Kaizen 5S, pedagogical skills trainers, procurement specialist and health and safety trainers. The recruitment of project expertise will be conducted according to UNIDO’s rules and procedures for recruitment of consultants which includes, among others, definition of terms of reference and assessment of at least three relevant applications including utilization of UNIDO’s existing technical resource pool.

Project Steering Committee

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A Project Steering Committee (PSC) shall supervise the project, validate its overall direction, implementation and play an alert role where necessary. The PSC shall meet twice a year from the official start date of the project onward. At the PSC meetings, the sustainability of the training center activity after the completion of the project will be also discussed and necessary measurements will be taken. It will be chaired by the MoWT and consist of:

• One or more representatives of the MoWT

• One or more representatives of the Embassy of Japan in Uganda

• One or more representative of private sector partners such as Komatsu

• Representative of UNIDO in Uganda

• PMU personnel (Uganda and HQ)

C.4. Partnership Arrangement

In order to ensure the smooth implementation of the project, it is imperative to clearly identify project partners’ roles and responsibilities.

• MoWT: will assign a key focal point to the project to provide strategic direction, troubleshoot problems that may arise, and monitor the project activities. MoWT will also provide supervisory and administrative support to operationalize the training center. This will involve, but not limited to, provision of support for the accreditation of the curriculum and financial and human resources necessary for the day-to-day operation of the training center. In addition, Ministry managers will work closely with the management team of the training center to improve their financial, managerial, and administrative skills.

• Komatsu: will provide technical support for the project such as assistance for ToT facilitated at Komatsu’s Dubai Training Center, provision of introductory operator training materials, and delivery of technical audit for operation and management of the training center. Komatsu will transfer knowledge on industry best practice to ensure the delivery of training meets the requirements for servicing and operating modern construction equipment. In this regard, Komatsu will play a critical role in assuring the quality of the training courses and to ensure graduates have achieved a level of competence suitable to gain employment in the industry. In addition, when it’s considered necessary by UNIDO and Komatsu, Komatsu will assign a technical expert(s) to this project on a voluntary basis especially for curriculum development and delivery of ToT.

C.5. Gender Mainstreaming Strategy

The project strives to achieve a high female participation rate, despite the fact that the trainings are conducted for construction equipment operators, a traditionally male-dominated sector. Various PPDPs under the LKDF umbrella have tried several options to increase the number of female trainees, which have been published as an international best practice guide entitled “Encouraging more female trainees in Vocational Training in traditionally male-orientated areas: What are we learning?”10. In addition, the World Bank’s Gender Innovation Lab (GIL) and UNIDO have undertaken a study at HDECoVA, the UNIDO-Volvo PPDP in Ethiopia, to find out more about preferences and prospects for female enrollment in male-dominated vocational training courses.11 To ensure that gender considerations are taken into account to the largest extent possible, the proposed project will include a gender perspective in the curricula development, training of trainers,

10 https://www.lkdfacility.org/resources/encouraging-more-female-trainees-in-vocational-training-in-traditionally-

male-orientated-areas-what-are-we-learning 11

https://www.lkdfacility.org/resources/worldbankunidostudy

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the performance management system and the employer surveys. Moreover, when recruiting project management and staff, UNIDO will undertake efforts to achieve a fair gender balance and to ensure that recruited personnel either has existing knowledge on integrating a gender perspective or their capacity will be built in this area. For this purpose, gender related tasks will also be incorporated into the job descriptions. In order to attract more women to the programs, publication material will be produced featuring female trainees. Moreover, the project will address specific needs that women might face in accessing training (mobility depending on their geographical location, permission to attend the training in case of societal/family pressure, etc.) and project management will assure that workplace requirements of female trainees are taken care of. In addition, preference for dormitory places will be given to women. The apprenticeship program will be gender-sensitive and an analysis to better contextualize this will be conducted during the inception phase. As this is a private-sector driven initiative, the probability that the female graduates will find employment in the industry is expected to be high. The project partners will help to reach out to potential female students and promote the training program through their networks. The project will take the gender-related risks into consideration during the inception phase and make necessary amendments to the project plan.

C.6. Synergy with Other Development Partners

The project aims at collaborating with other development partners in Uganda for the promotion of youth employment through construction equipment operator training. For example, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) launched the yen-loan project titled “Kampala Flyover Construction and Road Upgrading Project” in September 2015. The objective of the yen-loan project is to contribute to alleviating the traffic congestion in Kampala through development of grade-separated crossing, improvement of street intersections, and expansion of existing roads. In addition, one of JICA’s development objectives in Uganda includes infrastructure development for economic development; therefore, JICA has a continuous interest in developing and implementing programmes in the infrastructure and road sector in the country. The project aims to cooperate with a development partner like JICA so that the synergy can bring much positive impact to the country. For instance, the project can arrange an internship programme for graduates of the training center for construction equipment operators in conjunction with other development partners, so that graduates will be able to obtain practical work experience using knowledge and skills gained at the training center. Another example of the project in the road sector implemented by other development partners is the “Creating Opportunities for Sustainable Spending on Roads (CrossRoads)” project. It was implemented by European Union (EU) and Development for International Development (DFID) from 2011 to 2015. The CrossRoads project established a training facility to provide trainings for private construction companies in Luwero, Uganda and installed four simulators to assess the operator skills of the private sector workers. The project will consider leveraging the legacy of the CrossRoads project especially considering that the training facility is also located in Luwero. However, those simulators installed are not only outdated, but also manufactured by Caterpillar while the construction equipment purchased by the GoU is manufactured by Komatsu. In addition, the training facility does not have a demonstration yard for practical training or dedicated training staff. During the inception phase of the project, the possibility of collaboration with the training facility will be carefully assessed in cooperation with UNRA, which is currently responsible for management of the training facility.

C.7. Procurement Arrangement

All procurement of goods, works and services will be in accordance with UNIDO rules and procedures following the principle of open international competition. With the exception of a training simulator called Worksite Simulator VC™ manufactured by immersive technologies/Komatsu on a Komatsu specific construction machinery. The counterpart, MOWT, has invested in over 400 pieces of

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construction machinery from Komatsu. As the training will mainly focus on Komatsu specific construction machines the procurement of this simulator will be essential to ensure the most relevant approach for training. The procurement of these simulators will be processed through a waiver of competition. The PMU will be responsible for the preparation of technical specifications required for equipment and training services (i.e. training equipment, etc.). The PMU will receive support from UNIDO’s centralized procurement department for tender launches in accordance with UNIDO rules and procedures. To ensure integrity in all procurement actions personnel mandated with procurement functions will undertake training in CIPS (chartered institute in procurement and supply) and these principles will be streamlined through all management actions for purchasing during the project life cycle including capacity building for field staff based in Uganda.

D. Inputs

D.1. Counterparts

MoWT has agreed to provide the following in-kind contribution to support the project. This includes, but not limited to, procurement of land to accommodate the training center in Luwero, and provision of construction equipment as well as human resources as instructional staff on full-time basis for the training center. Apart from this, MoWT will also provide financial contribution of USD 550,000 per year for the project.

D.2. Indicative Budget (US dollars)

The project financial and technical assistance requirements are summarized in the table below. The project follows the results-based management budget structure. In order to be able to respond to changing conditions and so as to ensure swift implementation, UNIDO may make budgetary adjustments, not foreseen in the project document, according to its rules and regulations. UNIDO will inform the donor of changes between budget components. In the case that shifts between outputs greater than 15 per cent become necessary, UNIDO will submit a revised budget for approval by the donor, showing and explaining the required changes. Changes between budgetary components are not to affect the total budget made available for the project.

The budget breakdown per output is referenced in the Annex I (RBM budget structure and official financial report certified by UNIDO financial services will be

submitted as per the structure below. A detailed mapping of the budget is hereby attached in the annex for project planning purposes)

E. Indicative Work Plan The overall work plan is described in the Annex II.

F. Project Monitoring and Evaluation

The Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) system will be established with the project stakeholders using criteria, indicators, and means of verification derived from the project logical framework. It will include data collection and analysis, gathering of baseline information, and the preparation of work-plan and budget expenditures assessments. Data will always be disaggregated by sex and age. These measures will be a key management tool so as to ensure the effective and efficient implementation of the project.

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The monitoring of the activities and financial disbursements will be the responsibility of the PMU. The project management team will prepare regular progress reports on project activities detailing progress achieved in terms of the scheduled programme of work, the problems and constraints emerging over the period, gender-based statistics, and recommendations for correcting them. In addition, a detailed work plan will be prepared while identifying activities to be implemented for the following six-month period. Each report will be sent to the donor, with copies being sent to the national counterparts for their information, review, and recommendations for any appropriate action that needs to be taken. Meetings of the PSC will also be held once every six months. A progress report, assessing, in a concise manner, the extent to which the project’s scheduled activities have been carried-out, the outputs produced, and the progress made towards achieving the project goals will be prepared and distributed two weeks ahead of each PSC meeting. The PSC will analyze the report and will make recommendations for any future follow-up actions required to improve project performance. The project will be subject to an independent evaluation at the end. The project evaluation will be based on assessments of project results and impacts in accordance with the logical framework.

G. Sustainability and Risk

G.1. Sustainability

Institutional Sustainability UNIDO believes in building upon existing institutions to ensure local ownership. UNIDO’s experience from past projects has shown that using an existing institution to deliver training helps develop the existing vocational training system in terms of quality of training, alignment with market demands for skills training, and fostering of collaboration between the public vocational training system and the private sector; and it helps in keeping long-term financial requirements low. The commitment and participation in the project of the highest governmental level responsible for vocational training will contribute also to ensuring the sustainability of the training center. Partnerships with local industry will enable UNIDO to gather feedback that will be incorporated into the instructional material to ensure students receive specific training, which is required by the private sector. UNIDO’s past experience has shown that employers generally complain about the lack of work ethics, attitude and/or understanding of working environment. These soft-skills will be incorporated into the programme to improve attitude and behavior, which will strengthen graduates’ readiness to enter the job market. To complement the soft-skills training, courses on how to handle interviews, preparing CVs and job search strategies will be made available to all prospective graduates. UNIDO will engage the private sector to contribute long-term support to the training institutions. These contributions can be in the form of technical training, training materials, and technical expertise. These partnerships can be built as a measure to strengthen sustainability of the training center. Sustainability of Training The project will facilitate knowledge building and technology transfer in the country. This project will support the Government’s effort to increase the quality of human capital, reduce the skills gap and improve the ability of the workforce to adapt to changes in economy. The provision of training of instructors will raise the level of TVET to adapt with the continuous changes in technical systems, for example digital systems, increased use of computers, and automation. The development of curricula to industry standards and training with modern equipment will advance TVET training to serve a growing economy. One major objective of this project will be to sustain the technical gains made by improving capacity and management of the institutions and ensuring a strong bridge is established between the training

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center and the private sector. The private sector must be able to realize the benefits from the training that is provided by the project via

(i) Relevant training required for their operations; (ii) Strengthened soft-skills such as work ethics and attitude; and (iii) Quality of training conducted is to a level where the private sector can focus on investing in

advanced or job-specific training rather than retraining of basic skills. In addition, the project will ensure the sustainability of the training after the completion of the project through cooperation with the UNIDO Uganda office. The UNIDO Uganda office will periodically visit the training center for construction equipment operators and monitor the training activities including the quality level of the training. The UNIDO Uganda office will then prepare a report by detailing training contents, quality level, challenges and recommendations after a visit and submit it to the donor as well as national counterparts. Financial Sustainability It is critical to establish a training system, which does not require intensive financial running costs for its operations. The finance is a main constraint of the sustainability of the training center operations; the funds generated from school fees and government allocations are not sufficient or adequate to sustain operations. The project will examine financial solutions, which will apply a combination of low-cost training solutions, fees generated via students, scholarship schemes, and a possible training charge from the companies, to sustain financial requirements for operations of the school to a high standard.

G.2. Risks and Mitigation Measures

Description of Risk Risk Rating Mitigation Measures

Safety and security

Low

Uganda has a longstanding history of hosting refugees with more than 1.1 million refugees and asylum-seekers as of October 2018. The country has received more than 1 million refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan since July 2016. These protracted situations as well as the recent influx of refugees have strained the resources of the humanitarian system and put enormous pressure on the resources of host communities and on the environment. That being said, the security situation in the project areas, namely Kampala and Luwero, has been stable. The project will make sure to monitor the political and security situation in the project areas through close communications with local authorities, donor agencies, and international organizations.

Selection of beneficiaries

Medium

With a large number of unemployed populations, especially youth, there is a risk of the increased frustration amongst young men and women that are not involved in the project activities. During the selection of beneficiaries, it is important to set the clear selection criteria and ensure all the young men and women who meet the criteria will be invited to the selection process. These criteria will take the higher unemployment rates of women as well as the underlying factors for their low

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involvement in the sector into account.

Limited positive interventions to increase intake of female trainees

Low

There is a certain risk of low/limited female participation, considering that the sector is more prone to attract men. The will include the awareness raising and other actions under the gender mainstreaming strategy (as described in section C.5.), as well as the fact that the training facilitates access to opportunities in the road sector in general, so also to activities and related services that may be more attractive to women.

Delay in a project schedule due to procurement from outside of the country

Medium

If the equipment identified as necessary for the project needs to be procured from outside of Uganda, it may impact the project schedule. It should be well noted that it takes more time to procure from outside of the country than locally. At all times where project equipment is available locally, efforts will be made to secure these items to improve delivery time and contribute to the local economy.

H. Prior Obligations and Pre-requisites

Above all, followings are essential pre-requisites for effective project implementation: (i) availability of suitable facilities and qualified technical staff, (ii) direct expertise from Komatsu, and (iv) cooperation from partnering agencies in line with the arrangement clarified in the C.3. Partnership arrangement.

I. Legal Context

The present project is governed by the provisions of the Standard Basic Cooperation Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Uganda and UNIDO, signed on 27 May 1994.

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Annex II. Tentative Work Plan and Time Schedule

The work plan and time schedule for the first year is provided below. For the whole period of the project, please see the attached PDF file.

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Annex III. Logical Framework

Results Chain Indicators Baselines

(reference year 2019)

Targets (reference year TBE)

Sources and means of verification

Assumptions

Overall objective

To contribute to the National Development Plan II aimed at revitalizing the economy of Uganda especially in the sector of works and transport

1. Total length of the road (kms) supported through maintenance undertaken by trained personnel from the training center

TBD

To be established after baseline data collected and the inception phase

MOWT data

Komtrax data for operation of machinery

Training reports

The political and economic situation in Uganda is comparatively stable

The GoU provides adequate funding to ensure the operation and maintenance of equipment (i.e. fuel, spare parts, salaries for operators, etc.)

2. # of people who have benefited from skills training supported by the project

Outcome

To ensure the sustainability of construction equipment procured and managed by MoWT through the development of a training centre for construction equipment operators

3. % reduction in machine failure as a result of improved skills in operations and maintenance of the equipment.

TBD from JOIFUL / Komatsu data

+ MOWT

To be established after inception

JOIFUL meetings

Komtrax

Districts and MOWT provide adequate supervision of road maintenance operations.

MOWT commits all personnel located in districts incl. operators not directly employed

4. # of safety incidents and accidents reduced as a result of the training. TBD JOIFUL /

MOWT data To be established

after inception

MOWT data and reports from the districts

Physical damage verification

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reports of MOWT.

by MOWT to participate fully in the training.

Outputs

1. Fully-operational and functional training centre for the safe and effective operation of construction equipment established

5. Training center constructed and equipped fully capable for the delivery of training services in a safe and controlled environment.

0 1

Construction completion and commissioning reports.

Ugandan companies in the road construction sector willing to contribute to curricula development

GoU / national authorities (i.e. Ministry of Education) commit to see through the accreditation process and not delay.

6. # of positive quality audits carried out by the technical partner (i.e. Komatsu).

0 TBD during inception.

Komatsu training facility audit reports.

7. # of competency-based curricula developed within the 1st year of the project and endorsed by national authorities (i.e. Ministry of Education) and validated by local contractors.

0 1

Curriculum development documents incl. learning material.

Validation workshop and national endorsement.

8. # of internal quality assurance systems established at the training center. 0

TBD during inception.

Quality management systems for day-to-day operation of the school.

MOWT fully commits personnel to develop SOP for the management of the school.

9. Training center equipped with a fully capable safety training room (i.e. safety dojo) for the

0 1 Equipment /

commissioning MOWT releases

internal policy to make safety

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delivery of health and safety training modules.

report. mandatory training for all personnel (not only operators).

10. # of hazard risk + lesson learned reports prepared to ensure zero safety incidents at the training center.

0 Min. 10 per year

Safety / hazard risk identification reports.

Driven by MOWT management for trainers to complete these reports as essential and regular part of hazard / safety risk mitigation measures.

2. MoWT instructional staff capable to effectively manage and deliver safe training for construction equipment operators

11. % of trainers that improved their skills using project internal assessment matrix of safety, maintenance and operation knowledge.

0 (baseline to be collected using existing training

evaluations)

TBD during inception

Komatsu skills assessment profile radar chart.

Trainers see value in ToT as skills are deemed useful beyond training completion

MOWT empowers and motivates trainers to ensure they continuously develop their skills.

MOWT issues internal policy to ensure that health and safety is a mandatory training and practice for all its personnel.

12. # of trainers provided with the technical and pedagogical skills necessary to deliver upgraded and new training curricula by the end of the project.

0 Min 15

ToT attendance records/certificates of completion

13. # of trainers that participated in capacity building initiatives by the end of the project.

0 Min 10 Training reports

14. # of trainers and MOWT staff that received accredited certificates for health and safety related training.

0 Min 50

Health and safety certificates.

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15. % of female trainers developed by the project.

0 TBD during inception.

HR log for MOWT.

MOWT recruits / employs females to be developed as trainers.

3. Improved gender-sensitive employment opportunities for young men and women in the sector of works and transport through training on the operation of construction equipment

16. # of public awareness campaigns targeting young men and women to introduce opportunities in the field of heavy equipment, with a strong focus on empowering women

0 Min 2 per year

Social media / press releases public action

Ugandan youth see value in training as skills are deemed useful to get a job in the works and transport sector.

17. % of female students seeking employment opportunities in the infrastructure development and maintenance sector who receive training on construction equipment operation by MoWT instructors.

average % of women working in the Ugandan

construction industry [exact % TBD during

inception]

100% more vis-a-vis the average % of

women working in the Ugandan construction

industry

M&E reports.

18. % of graduates achieving gainful employment 12 months after completing the training programme of MOWT, disaggregated by gender.

0 TBD during inception.

M&E reports

19. # of companies in the works and transport sector, foreign or local, hiring graduates of the training center, disaggregated by gender.

0 TBD during inception.

M&E reports