Submit Concept Notes for Skills Development Facility (SDF) Window 3: Innovative Training

Deadline: 19 November 2019

The Skills Development Facility (SDF) is currently accepting Concept Notes for Window 3: Innovative Training.

SDF is part of the $100 million Uganda Skills Development Project (USDP) which is a Government of Uganda Project funded by the World Bank, implemented by the Private Sector Foundation Uganda. The SDF aims at promoting employer-led short term training in order to address prevailing skills imbalances and shortages in Uganda. An important element of the initiative is to facilitate collaboration between training providers and industry to promote demand driven skills development with special attention to innovative modes of training.

Window 3: Innovative Training

Window 3 deals with innovative skills training. Private and ‘autonomous’ public training institutions interested in developing new innovative models for delivery of training, new training concepts and new training programs responding to an identified need will be eligible for support. Partnerships between training providers and private companies are encouraged. Training programs or training concepts can be innovative in several ways. They may either cater for groups that have not been catered for before, the mode of training may be new in a Ugandan context, provide expertise not yet in the country, it may be based on new models in financing, e.g. through income-generation or partnerships between the training provider and a company, or the actual content of the training may be novel and be aligned to technological advancement of a product. Applicants must provide proof on the expected demand in the form of a demand assessment and the prospects for financing the innovative training program upon completion of the support.

Innovative training project to be financed by SDF must meet three criteria:

The training must be innovation at the national level, as described above, and have a likelihood to contribute to the country’s economic development
The training must be relevant to the labour market, i.e. there must be an expressed demand by potential employers for the training
The training must be likely to attract a reasonable number of qualified participants

Grant Information

Applications will have a ceiling of $350,000 with a maximum grant element of 75% and a minimum of 25% contribution will be by the applicant.

Priority Funding Sectors

Agriculture
- Green Economy courses
  - Bio-mass development
  - Green house technology
  - Ecological production
  - Sustainable agricultural practices
- Agri-processing
  - Environmentally friendly processing technologies
  - Agri-technology training courses in coffee, dairy value chains, etc.
Construction
- BTVETs developing innovative construction courses that embrace new technologies to enhance quality, reduce costs, reduce accidents and improve faster construction timelines
  - Sustainable low-energy houses
  - Green construction through use of recycled materials to eliminate negative impacts on the environment
  - Use of CNC technology in design of architectural work
  - Inclusion of CNC in the construction curricula of BTVET courses
  - Use of business simulations i.e. scenario-based departments that provide opportunities for learns to build & practice new skills
Manufacturing
- Green Construction Technology
  - Bio-mass manufacturing
  - Production of ‘green’ construction materials
  - Energy efficiency – smart solutions
  - Renewable Energy – Solar Technology/Wind
  - Waste management /Recycling
- CNC technology training courses to improve on productivity, quality and competitiveness of products e.g. in welding, furniture-making, auto-repair
Information Communication Technology (ICT)
- E-teaching tools i.e. Learning Hubs introduced in schools
- Digital marketing – social media i.e. Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, online sales etc.
- Cybercrime fighting- where a course could be developed to target the police and banking institutions to fight crimes/fraud
- Systems development – website design, software applications
- Internet-of-Things
Transport & Logistics
- ICT training courses – Computerized mechanics given the trend of vehicles on the market today i.e.
  - Hi-tech auto mechanics courses using CNC
  - Computerized vehicles mechanical trouble shooting
  - Refresher courses that will lead to behavioral change for professional drivers and reduction in accidents
  - Development of courses to improve services in logistics i.e. cargo handling,
Tourism & Hospitality
- ECO-Tourism/sustainable tourism
  - Tourism training programs directed towards exotic, often threatened, natural environments, intended to support conservation efforts and observe wildlife.
  - Community-based tourism

Eligible Activities

Short and medium-term training programs that intend to introduce new courses not yet available in Uganda (Max. 6 months)
Development of learning and assessment materials
Curriculum development
Equipment, tools and instruction materials
Minor infrastructure development
Activities that can be completed within a period of 6 months will be given priority

Target Beneficiaries

The targeted beneficiaries under this Window include; Private and Public Institutions. Partnerships between training providers and private companies are encouraged.

Eligibility Criteria

The applying institution must have been in existence for at least two year
Applicant must have a track record of delivery of labour market relevant quality skills training
Applicant must indicate planned follow up activities intended to ease the trainee’s entry into the labour market and provide the methodology for post-training monitoring and evaluation to ascertain the effectiveness or otherwise of the training provided.

How to Apply

Interested applicants should submit online concept notes via given website.

For more information, please visit https://www.sdfuganda.org/news/skills-development-facility-sdf-window-3-innovative-training-concept-note