TERMS OF REFERENCE (TOR)

Technical Assistance & Capacity Building for the Commission for TVET (CTVET)

Rationale and Background

The ACTIVATE Project aims to transform Ghana's Agricultural Technical and Vocational Education and Training (ATVET) system. Strengthening apex regulatory mandates, accreditation mechanisms, and quality assurance frameworks is essential for sustainable sector-wide reform.

The Commission for TVET (CTVET) is the apex statutory regulatory body responsible for setting quality assurance standards, accrediting A/TVET programs and facilitators, managing national qualifications, and overseeing Competency-Based Training (CBT) enforcement. CTVET faces key systemic challenges, including accreditation fee structures that hinder compliance, donor dependency for curriculum updates, and the need to operationalize Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL). The intervention is established to provide specialized technical assistance to insulate and strengthen CTVET's regulatory operations.

Objective of the Assignment

The primary objective of the proposed technical assistance is to deploy a 6-month Technical Assistance program tailored to CTVET's regulatory mandate. Specifically, the proposed technical assistance aims to:

• Mainstream CBT Accreditation & Enforcement: Optimize accreditation pathways and establish sustainable enforcement models that eliminate donor dependency.
• Operationalize & Digitize RPL Systems: Formulate national RPL policies, and deploy a digital RPL candidate-tracking platform.
• Develop Sustainable Regulatory Financing: Structure revenue-neutral fee-for-service auditing models, PPP co-financing and statutory TVET levy proposals.

Target Stakeholders/Agency

Primary Beneficiary Agency: Commission for TVET (CTVET) — Management, Quality Assurance Directorate, Standards & Curriculum Directorate, Assessment & Certification Directorate, and Agriculture Sector Skills Body (ASSB).

Secondary Stakeholders: Accredited TVET Institutions, and Industry Bodies.

Scope of Work and Deliverables

The Service Provider will execute regulatory technical assistance and capacity building for CTVET as detailed in Table 4.1 below.

Proposal Submission Guidelines

5.1 Technical Proposal Guidelines

• Firm Track Record & Institutional Experience: Evidence of 10+ years record of accomplishment in TVET regulation, methodology for CBT/RPL digitization.
• Technical Approach & Methodology: Detailed conceptual framework for executing thematic areas.
• Work Plan & Gantt Chart: Comprehensive 6-month schedule mapping sequential activities, expert level-of-effort (person-days), execution milestones, and deliverable sign-offs.
• Team Composition & CVs: Operational structure and CVs for Key Experts assigned to the proposed technical assistance areas.

5.2 Financial Proposal Guidelines

The Financial Proposal must be submitted separately and include a lump-sum summary, detailed daily fee rates for Key Experts, and itemized reimbursable expenses for workshops, field assessments, and travels.

Evaluation Criteria

Proposals will be evaluated using Quality and Cost-Based Selection (QCBS) applying a 70:30 ratio (70% Technical, 30% Financial). The minimum technical passing score is 50 points out of 70 (70%).

Duration of Assignment / Number of Days

The assignment will run for six (6) calendar months, with a cumulative level of effort of 30 person-days across all key experts, distributed over the contract period.

Governance, Transparency, and Performance-Based Disbursal

The Service Provider will report directly to the ACTIVATE Project Director and submit monthly progress reports. Payments will be disbursed in milestone tranches upon formal verification and sign-off of deliverables outlined in Section 4.1.

Required Consultant Expertise and Team Composition

The Service Provider should propose a multidisciplinary team of 3 core experts with the following expertise:

• Team Leader / TVET Quality Assurance, Accreditation & Regulatory Systems Specialist: 12+ years of experience in TVET systems, CBT quality assurance, accreditation, regulatory compliance, institutional assessment, and development of national TVET standards and guidelines. The expert should have demonstrated experience working with TVET regulatory and accreditation bodies.
• RPL, Assessment & Digital Systems Specialist: 8+ years of experience in RPL systems, competency-based assessment, assessor and verifier development, qualification frameworks, and digitization of assessment and certification processes. Experience in designing or implementing digital registration, assessment, verification, and data management platforms is required.
• TVET Financing, Cost-Recovery & Policy Specialist: 10+ years of experience in public-sector financing, cost-recovery models, fee-setting, financial sustainability, PPP/co-financing mechanisms, and policy development. The expert should have demonstrated capacity to undertake regulatory cost analysis and develop sustainable financing and revenue models for TVET systems.

Submission Guidelines

Technical and Financial Proposals must be submitted as separate PDF files by 5th November 2026 to the link below: Submissions will be reviewed on a rolling basis. WUSC reserves the right to proceed to the next stage of the procurement process once suitable submissions are identified during the rolling review.