USAID awards $22M workforce support project in Egypt

This “And the winner is…” feature is part of ongoing Devex coverage and analysis of major donor contract awards that exceed $20 million. Each week, Devex will select a major contract award that we believe our community should know about and can learn from. Many of these prime awards can also lead to subcontract opportunities for both international and local partners. Please contact us directly to recommend contract awards Devex should cover in this series. On Oct. 26, 2015, the U.S. Agency for International Development awarded a contract to U.S.-based private company Management & Training Corp. to provide technical assistance, capacity building and training to support Egypt’s workforce. The official title of the project and contract is “Workforce Improvement and Skill Enhancement,” or WISE. The WISE contract is a cost-plus-fixed-fee completion type, meaning MTC and other bidders were required to propose a fixed fee for meeting the program objectives and delivering an end product. The proposed fee may be adjusted as a result of changes in the work to be performed under the contract. The contract is valued at approximately $22 million over a three-year period. Both the funding plans and timeline may shift depending on MTC’s project performance and availability of funds. The key personnel for this contract — or the positions considered to be essential to the work being performed — were identified as chief of party, technical leads, expatriate advisers and local Egyptian personnel. The entire procurement process — from the solicitation notice through contract award — lasted approximately eight months. The official tender was announced Feb. 17 and bids were due on April 15. For 40 years, USAID has supported Egypt in its effort to become a more market-oriented economy. This transformation includes assisting the country in improving its tax system, trade practices as well as developing strategies that will increase Egypt’s public revenue. The USAID mission to Egypt has focused on supporting entrepreneurs through various technical assistance which, according to the agency, has led to the launch of 149 innovative companies and the expansion of job opportunities. USAID has also helped upgrade 17 vocational training centers in six governorates throughout Egypt to improve worker readiness for private sector jobs. In line with this agenda, the WISE project will form a part of the Trade and Investment Promotion in Egypt — another USAID-funded project in Egypt which is currently in the pre-solicitation stage. TIPE likewise focuses on supporting workforce development and skills enhancement in the manufacturing and services sectors. MTC is expected to achieve WISE project goals through the following strategies: 1. Providing technical assistance and training. 2. Establishing partnerships between businesses and technical secondary schools. 3. Improving and promoting innovation in the provision of workforce development and vocational training programs. 4. Upgrading and improving curricula of selected programs. 5. Advocating for policy and regulatory reform. Founded in 1981 and headquartered in the Centerville, Utah, the American private contractor MTC has implemented vocational system training programs and worked across sectors to develop trade-related tools of assessments. In the past, MTC has provided training and capacity building in support of a variety of donor agencies including USAID, the World Bank, United Nations, and several regional development banks and national governments. WISE is MTC’s first project in Egypt as a lead firm. Previously, according to MTC’s vice president of Economic and Social Development, Gregory R. Niblett, the firm was subcontracted by International Business & Technical Consultants Inc.under a USAID Human and Institutional Capacity Development contract which was also performed in Egypt. This assignment helped MTC gain critical experience in Egypt and secure the WISE award. Check out more funding trends analyses online, and subscribe to Money Matters to receive the latest contract award and shortlist announcements, and procurement and fundraising news.