INTEGRATED SAFEGUARDS DATA SHEET CONCEPT STAGE Public Disclosure Copy Report No.: ISDSC6394 Date ISDS Prepared/Updated: 05-May-2014 Date ISDS Approved/Disclosed: 05-May-2014 I. BASIC INFORMATION A. Basic Project Data Country: Mali Project ID: P145861 Project Name: Skills Development and Youth Employment Project (P145861) Task Team Emanuela Di Gropello Leader: Estimated 17-Mar-2014 Estimated 28-Aug-2014 Appraisal Date: Board Date: Managing Unit: AFTEW Lending Investment Project Financing Instrument: Sector(s): Adult literacy/non-formal education (25%), Vocational training (25%), SME Finance (50%) Theme(s): Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise support (50%), Education for the knowledge economy (50%) Financing (In USD Million) Total Project Cost: 50.00 Total Bank Financing: 50.00 Public Disclosure Copy Financing Gap: 0.00 Financing Source Amount BORROWER/RECIPIENT 0.00 International Development Association (IDA) 50.00 Total 50.00 Environmental B - Partial Assessment Category: Is this a No Repeater project? B. Project Objectives With the overarching objective of supporting youth employability in Mali, the development objective of the proposed project is to support skills for employability and job opportunities for youth in priority sectors. C. Project Description The proposed project will support a two pronged strategy to promote jobs/employment creation and develop skills for Malian youth. Job creation interventions will target the private sector through support to entrepreneurship and key measures to promote the development and job creation potential Public Disclosure Copy of SMEs and micro-enterprises. Skills development interventions will focus on both the formal and informal education and training sector, with emphasis on supporting more relevant and efficient technical tracks from upper secondary to tertiary education, revamping the apprenticeship program and creating new and more relevant opportunities of short term skills development for youth. To maximize impact while avoiding spreading too thinly support will be focused on two or three economic sectors and value-chains. Potential sectors are: agriculture and livestock (including all steps from initial production to processing and sales), building and public works, mining and auxiliary services, and small-scale craft industry (artisanat). Key sub-sectors in agriculture and livestock are fruits and vegetables and the production and processing of animal products (including meat, milk and skin derived products); in building and public works all occupations related to building construction and maintenance and larger public works; in mining all core mining occupations as well as occupations needed in upstream and downstream support services; and in the crafts industry all sectors of activity at the cottage industry level. Sector diagnostics have confirmed that these are sectors with the potential to create over 400,000 jobs distributed in the whole country in the short to longer-term if the right skills and incentives to create jobs are in place. The project will be divided into three components. Component I: Education and Training for Employability Sub-component I.1: Strengthening technical and vocational education and training This sub-component will improve skills for employability by supporting more effective and efficient technical and vocational education. With less than 10% of students enrolled in technical and vocational streams, and the higher potential for employability but also important challenges of this Public Disclosure Copy education and training track, the sub-component will support a higher quality and more demand- driven cost-effective technical and vocational education to improve youth employability. The target group will be the 15 to 29 years old in school youth enrolled in public and private technical and vocational institutions at secondary and tertiary level in the whole country. The project will support the development and application of the competency based approach; a partnership framework with the productive sector and performance framework with public and private providers; the design of entrepreneurship modules to be integrated within the formal curriculum; school to work transition mechanisms; and the training of trainers, all in the secondary and tertiary technical and vocational tracks covering the four or five key sectors identified above. A key aim is to develop a partnership model with the productive sector which can lead to dual-training in several institutions, while involving the productive sector in key steps of TVET delivery from curriculum design, to participating in the teaching process through sharing practitioners and in the management of the institution and skills certification, following the example of successful TVET systems in the world. In terms of specific institutions, the project will support the implementation of the above mentioned transversal activities in a limited sample of both public and private institutions. This would require some classroom rehabilitation as needed, equipment, teacher training, and capacity building to apply the competency based and public-private partnership approach. Both public and private institutions would be held accountable to the government for their results through performance contracts, whose implementation would therefore also require some support. Given their rather limited number, public institutions would be pre-selected with priority given to the support of institutions with potential to Public Disclosure Copy become national or regional poles in one of the key priority sectors/value-chains, possibly in an integrated fashion – from CAP to DUT and covering all key sector related occupations. On the other hand, private institutions would be selected competitively. Overall, while the private sector has strong potential, including being more efficient, more attuned to local labor market needs and accountable to parents than the public sector, the complementarity between the public and private sector has not worked well, with a private sector stifled of resources specializing in low cost low relevance tertiary sector fields and used as a low quality “demand-absorbing” sector. To address this issue the project will provide matching grants to competitively selected private institutions to deliver technical and vocational programs in the key identified sectors/value-chains. It is expected that private institutions would be led to specialize in the high demand fields under provided by the public sector, becoming more relevant and diversified, while being spurred to become higher quality through performance contracts. Initial implementation arrangements: While specific implementation arrangements are still under discussion, this sub-component would be implemented through the Project Implementation Unit (PIU) in close coordination with the Ministry of Education through the Direction Nationale de l’Enseignement Technique et Professionnel and Ministry of Tertiary Education through the Direction Nationale de l’Enseignement Superieur. Options of managing the competitive funding for private sector institutions through FAFPA are also being explored. Procurement and financial flows would be overall managed by the PIU on the basis of yearly work programs prepared by the above mentioned Technical Departments and approved by the project Steering Committee. Sub-component I.2: Strengthening skills development for out of school youth This sub-component will improve skills for employability by supporting skills development for out of school youth. The project will support a scaling-up of the dual-apprenticeship program and a fully Public Disclosure Copy revamped decentralized training program. Dual-apprenticeship program: Dual apprenticeship programs combining formal training to confer cognitive and technical skills (1/3 of the time) and apprenticeship (accounting for 2/3 of the time) spent in a formal or informal organization have been shown to be an effective and high impact form of apprenticeship . A recent evaluation of the SwissContact program, which closed in 2011 and which from 2005 to 2009 benefited about 8,000 youth, showed a placement rate of 95% of the apprentices in the labor market. Building on the lessons of the first phase supported by SwissContact, the project will support an expansion of the program, while also upgrading it by: (a) opening it up to the non-craft industry sector, including enterprises from the formal sector, and to inactive, unemployed and under- employed youth (youth already employed in a craft industry will not be eligible anymore); (b) strengthening technical and numeracy and literacy skills of the master apprentices, as well as limited additional equipment if needed; (c) improving youth skills certification and placement (suivi) mechanisms; (d) adding entrepreneurship training at the end of the program to further enhance the potential for job creation; and (e) providing institutional strengthening of the professional associations involved, while supporting the further decentralization of the program and an improved legal framework . Apprenticeships, whose average time would need to be determined but would likely vary by occupation, would include, as in the first phase, 80% of time in the workplace and 20% of time in training at a public or private training center. The project would largely support the training in the centers, as well as the TA, capacity building and training needed to upgrade the program along the above directions. Public Disclosure Copy Youth non formal skills training program: The international evidence on the effectiveness of informal education and training is mixed. Some of the key factors of success coming out from rigorous reviews and impact evaluations of programs in Africa, Latina America and elsewhere appear to be the: flexibility in the delivery mode (using varying types of providers, including community centers and local practitioners) to reach out broadly but also recognizing that work is a part of youth lives in many regions; decentralized management of the program with strong community involvement combined with central support ; use of local facilitators responsible for community mobilization, coordination, program monitoring; combination of technical with literacy, numeracy and life skills; and interventions to facilitate transition to work, with focus on entrepreneurship training and provision of seed money to start an activity, because non formal training programs must consider that most youth will be self-employed or work for a small, informal en terprise. The project will support a decentralized non formal vocational education and training program for out of school youth , with features that allows it to reach the most vulnerable out of school youth in both urban and rural areas and post-conflict areas, while satisfying local demand for skills. The program would also reach out to the rural and hard to reach areas by providing training in a very flexible way to reflect local conditions and needs in terms of length, on-the-job/in-class education and training mix, delivery mode, and priority sub-sectors/occupations. To take into account the local dimension, the program would be managed in a decentralized way through the regional assemblies (Conseils Regionaux) in coordination with local community associations and with the technical support of the MFPE central and deconcentrated offices. Depending on local conditions and sub- sectors, three main types of delivery modes could be envisaged: (a) the few ministries’ public training centers and private training centers (selected competitively); (b) NGOs, and community organizations/centers; and (c) the workplace/local practitioner. Facilitators would be hired and Public Disclosure Copy trained to help with the implementation of options (b) and (c). The training part would follow as much as possible a competency based approach, whose completion in the four or five key priority sectors will be supported by the project, with programs’ teaching schedules flexible to accommodate local needs. All programs would include core literacy and numeracy and some entrepreneurship training provided according to modules also developed through the project, which could be combined with start-up kits, and lead to skills certification. Initial implementation arrangements: The dual-apprenticeship program would be implemented by FAFPA as lead public organization for the funding and implementation of apprenticeships and short term in-service training programs in Mali, in partnership with the Federation of Craftsmen (Federation des Artisans du Mali, FNAM), other industrial associations, and training providers called upon to deliver complementary training modules. FAFPA would be strengthened under Component III. The non-formal skills training program would be implemented largely through the PIU by the Direction Nationale de la Formation Professionnelle (DNFP) of the MFPE and its deconcentrated agencies, and the Regional Assemblies. The specific roles and responsibilities of each of these bodies would need to be defined based on an institutional and fiduciary assessment. All bodies would receive institutional strengthening under Component III. As needed, program agreements/contracts would be signed between private sector institutions and NGOs and the Regional Assemblies (or the deconcentrated agencies of the DNFP) to deliver the training programs. Component II: Jobs for Youth Component II will aim to support the establishment of conditions for jobs creation for young people Public Disclosure Copy through self - employment but also through the recovery and development of micro-enterprises and SMEs. This will require close collaboration between private sector organizations and public agencies in charge of investment promotion. The project will be anchored on the Government’s Private Sector Development vision, and will complement ongoing initiatives (e.g. IDA’s own PCDA and the PACEPEP program funded by the Embassy of Denmark). The design of the component will consider successful experiences developed in other countries, which could be useful to the Mali’s case (e.g. Nigeria YouWin and Côte d'Ivoire Technoserve programs). Sub -component II.1: Entrepreneurship for the Youth This sub-component will support the employability of youth through entrepreneurship development. Most youth are likely to be self-employed in Mali making it imperative to address the key constraints to self-employment in a comprehensive way. While component I will support the development of some entrepreneurship skills in formal and informal education and training, this sub-component will bring the support much further by accompanying young would-be entrepreneurs all the way from initial conception of the project to its launch through a business plan competition, coaching and seed funds. The sub-component will target young Malians, 15-25 (or 29) years, educated or not, whether they are in school, or dropped out of school. More specifically, the sub-component will support the creation of new MSMEs through the organization of a business plan competition to identify and nurture young talent, and by providing training and coaching, and start-up funds to launch projects in high potential sectors (agriculture, livestock, construction and public works, services such as ITC, health, etc.). The private sector will be closely involved in the management of this program. The specific design of the sub-component will build on the lessons of African and international cases relevant to the case of Mali. Public Disclosure Copy Initial implementation arrangements: The specific implementation arrangements of this sub- component still have to be worked out. It is envisaged that, under the broader coordination of the Government, the sub-component will be outsourced to a private entity still to be defined. Sub -component II.2 : Support to Enterprises The project will support enterprises in targeted sectors through the following instruments: (a) Matching grants to help high potential local SMEs (e.g. rice importers in Office du Niger, small and medium size mango and papaya producers in Sikasso) improve their productivity, production processes, processing and/or marketing, by facilitating their access to finance, value chain development and just in time specific skills, and developing partnerships with good practice investors. The matching grant will be designed building on international experience with regard to management and targeting, focusing on priority sectors/value chains and including effective M&E frameworks and impact evaluation mechanisms. They will finance TA and equipment. (b) Technical assistance to selected banks to help them provide medium term finance to successful SMEs (targeting priority value-chains) in close collaboration with IFC. (c) Support to the establishment of the investment and guarantee funds being created by the government that would provide long term financing to SMEs in selected value-chains (along the line of matching grants). Public Disclosure Copy The project will also leverage IFC’s strategic directions and operations so as to strengthen impact and delivery effectiveness, with a particular focus on value-chain financing instruments. Initial implementation arrangements: The specific implementation arrangements of this sub- component also still have to be worked out. As for sub-component II.1, it is envisaged that this sub- component will be outsourced to a private entity still to be determined (under the general coordination of the Government). The involvement of local authorities (Regional Councils) at an early stage may also be considered through a decentralization of the intervention, which may have the advantage of retaining young people and support them in their cities. Component III: Institutional Strengthening and Pro ject Management This component would support: (a) a more coherent skills certification and employment promotion framework and effective data collection and processing on employment for the country, including capacity building for a more effective labor market observatory; (b) a more effective communication and multi-sector consultation framework; (c) the institutional strengthening of the technical departments and agencies in charge of the implementation of Components I and II; (d) technical support to national organizations in charge of the private sector promotion such as API Mali, CNPM, and OPI, chamber of commerce, Club des InvestisseursFrancais, REAO; and (e) project management activities, including capacity building, fiduciary processes and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) at PIU level. D. Project location and salient physical characteristics relevant to the safeguard analysis (if known) Although the project will start in a limited number of regions to test these new innovative experiences for Mali, it may be extended to the whole country. Public Disclosure Copy E. Borrowers Institutional Capacity for Safeguard Policies A Project Implementation Unit (PIU) will be put in place and a staff will have the responsibility to prepare the ESMP (and if necessary the RPF) when the sites are identified and monitor it. However, since the PIU hasn't been set up yet, it is impossible to assess the institutional capacity for safeguards policy. F. Environmental and Social Safeguards Specialists on the Team Salamata Bal (AFTCS) Maman-Sani Issa (AFTN2) II. SAFEGUARD POLICIES THAT MIGHT APPLY Safeguard Policies Triggered? Explanation (Optional) Environmental Assessment OP/ Yes Under Component I, the project will finance the BP 4.01 rehabilitation of classrooms in existing schools (within existing school premises). Most schools will be identified during implementation. Since these will be simple civil works, simple ESMPs based on the scope of activities will be prepared during implementation when all sites are identified. These ESMPs will be reviewed by the World Bank safeguards specialist during Public Disclosure Copy implementation. In addition, under Component II, it is envisaged that the project will finance matching grants. An ESMF will be prepared in order to mitigate the unlikely risk that the activities financed by the matching grants (TA and equipment) may have a negative social or environmental impact. The ESMSF would be approved and disclosed (in country and through the World Bank Infoshop). Natural Habitats OP/BP 4.04 No The project will not finance any activities close to protected natural habitats, or that could lead to significant conversion of natural habitats. Forests OP/BP 4.36 No The project will not have impacts on the health and quality of forests; or affect the rights and welfare of people who depend upon forests. The project does not aim to bring about changes in the management, protection, or utilization of natural forests or plantations. Pest Management OP 4.09 No The project may finance fertilizers but will not finance agricultural entrants such as pesticides (negative lists will be prepared). Physical Cultural Resources OP/ No The project will not affect physical cultural BP 4.11 resources. Indigenous Peoples OP/BP 4.10 No There are no indigenous people in the project Public Disclosure Copy area. Involuntary Resettlement OP/BP TBD The project is unlikely to involve involuntary 4.12 resettlement and land acquisition, but this will be confirmed during project preparation. Safety of Dams OP/BP 4.37 No The project will not operate close to any dam. Projects on International No The project will not affect international Waterways OP/BP 7.50 waterways. Projects in Disputed Areas OP/BP No The project will not intervene in disputed areas. 7.60 III. SAFEGUARD PREPARATION PLAN A. Tentative target date for preparing the PAD Stage ISDS: 06-May-2014 B. Time frame for launching and completing the safeguard-related studies that may be needed. The specific studies and their timing1 should be specified in the PAD-stage ISDS: An Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF) will be prepared and disclosed if possible prior to negotiations (tentatively scheduled for July 2014). If a Resettlement Policy 1 Reminder: The Bank's Disclosure Policy requires that safeguard-related documents be disclosed before appraisal (i) at the InfoShop and (ii) in country, at publicly accessible locations and in a form and language that are accessible to potentially affected persons. Framework is necessary, it will be prepared and disclosed during the first year of implementation. Mali being a fragile state, there is no requirement of disclosure prior to appraisal. IV. APPROVALS Public Disclosure Copy Task Team Leader: Name: Emanuela Di Gropello Approved By: Regional Safeguards Name: Johanna van Tilburg (RSA) Date: 05-May-2014 Coordinator: Sector Manager: Name: Kaliope Azzi-Huck (SM) Date: 05-May-2014 Public Disclosure Copy