BRCP Year 3 Report - June 2017

June 2017

This publication was produced at the request of the United States Agency for International Development. It was prepared by the Pragma Corporation. The author’s views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government.

TUNISIA ICT-ENABLED

BUSINESS REFORM AND COMPETITIVENESS PROJECT BRCP

Year 3 Annual Report

Year Ending April 2017

Prepared for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) USAID Order #AID-OAA-M-13-00020

USAID Tunisia EG ICT-Enabled Business Reform and Competitiveness Project The Pragma Corporation Principal Contact: Paul Davis 116 East Broad Street Falls Church, Virginia 22046

The author’s views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government.

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Business Reform and Competitiveness Project Year 3 Annual Report

TableofContentsINTRODUCTION & OVERVIEW ................................................................................................... 5

Overview ....................................................................................................................................... 7

Year 3 Summary ........................................................................................................................... 9

BRCP CROSS-CUTTING & INTEGRATED STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK ......................................... 11

TASK 1: CREATE JOBS IN ENTERPRISES IN STRATEGIC VALUE CHAINS THROUGH TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE ........................................................................................................ 13

Task 1 Approach ..................................................................................................................................... 14

Sub-Task 1.1: Assist enterprises in target VCs to increase employment, revenues & competitiveness 15

Sub-Task 1.2: On-the-Job Training ......................................................................................................... 17

Sub-Task 1.3: Increase enterprise access to finance ............................................................................. 18

Sub-Task 1.4: Develop export-oriented markets for Tunisian goods and services................................. 22

TASK 2: FILL IN JOBS IN STRATEGIC VALUE CHAINS THROUGH EMPLOYABILITY AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES ........................................................................... 24

Sub-Task 2.1: Employability Capacity Building ....................................................................................... 25

Sub-Task 2.2: Curricula development ..................................................................................................... 26

Sub-Task 2.3: Career Development Centers (CDCs) and the 4C concept ............................................. 27

CDC/4Cs, Tunisia ................................................................................................................................ 29

Sub-Task 2.4: Job Fairs .......................................................................................................................... 31

TASK 3: ENABLING ENVIRONMENT IMPROVEMENT THROUGH TARGETED TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO STAKEHOLDERS AT TUNISIAN GOVERNMENT AGENCIES ................... 32

Partnership with the MCTDE ................................................................................................................... 32

Partnership with the Ministry of Justice and MVTE ................................................................................. 32

Business Registration Reform ............................................................................................................. 32

Secured Transactions Law .................................................................................................................. 33

APPENDICES ............................................................................................................................. 34

Appendix 1: Charts .................................................................................................................................. 35

Appendix 2: M&E Approach .................................................................................................................... 39

M&E APPROACH ....................................................................................................................... 39

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List of Acronyms

4Cs Centers for Careers and Certification of Competencies

AHK German Chamber of Commerce in Tunisia

AmCham American Chamber of Commerce in Tunisia

ANETI National Agency for Employment and Entrepreneurship

ATIC Tunisian Private Equity & Venture Capital Association

BDS Business Development Service

BFPME Bank of Financing Small and Medium Enterprises

BRCP Business Reform and Competitiveness Project

CDC Career Development Center (see 4C, above)

CEPEX Center for Export Promotion

CEED Center for Entrepreneurship and Executive Development

COP Chief of Party

CTAA Technical Center for Agribusiness

CV Curriculum Vitae

EDHIAFA Association for hotels and bed & breakfasts

EFE Education for Employment

EU European Union

FDI Foreign Direct Investment

FENATEX The National Textile Federation

FIPA Foreign Investment Promotion Agency

FTAV Tunisian Federation of Travel Agencies

GDP Gross Domestic Product

GoT Government of Tunisia

HACCP Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point

HRM Human Resource Management

IACE Arab Institute of Heads of Enterprises

ICT Information Communications Technology

IMF International Monetary Fund

INT The National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority

LOP Life of the Project

M&E Monitoring and Evaluation

MDIIC Ministry of Development, Investment and International Cooperation

MENA Middle East and North Africa

MHESR Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research

MICT Ministry of Information and Communication Technology

MIEM Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mines

MOF Ministry of Finance

MOT Ministry of Trade

MOU Memorandum of Understanding

MSME Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise

MVTE Ministry of Vocational Training and Employment

NGO Non-Governmental Organization

OPIC (US) Overseas Private Investment Corporation

PMP Performance Management Plan

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PPP Private-Public Partnership

SEAF Small Enterprise Assistance Fund

SME Small and Medium Enterprise

SMS Short Message Service

STTA Short Term Technical Assistance

TACC Tunisian American Chamber of Commerce (see AmCham, above)

TAEF Tunisian-American Enterprise Fund

UGTT Tunisia General Labor Union

UNIDO United Nations Industrial Development Organization

USAID United States Agency for International Development

VC Value Chain

VOCED Vocational Education

WB World Bank

WBEDB World Bank Ease of Doing Business Survey

WFD Work Force Development

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Business Reform and Competitiveness Project Year 3 Report

INTRODUCTION & OVERVIEW

USAID has designed and financed the Business Reform & Competitiveness Project (BRCP) to assist Tunisia in developing its market economy, and in particular to help the country address its serious unemployment problem. This unemployment problem disproportionately affects youths, females, and economically disadvantaged regions and is a source for social and political unrest. The main objective of BRCP is to increase the number of employed Tunisians.

BRCP is a three-year project from April 2014 through April 2017, which has been extended through the end of 2017. BRCP follows an earlier ICT Value Chain project implemented by USAID in Tunisia.

BRCP aims to expand employment in Tunisia by identifying and addressing the critical constraints which limit the capacity of SMEs in high-potential industries to increase productivity, expand sales and exports, and create new jobs. Target enterprises are researched and selected with a priority towards high-leverage opportunities where resource allocations provide maximum impact. BRCP then works with partner firms to address key limitations in a rapid timeframe, usually 12 months or less.

The program also focuses intensively on building linkages between SMEs and the training/education system in Tunisia, as well as addressing the priority occupational skill enhancement needs identified through our enterprise support programs in order to permanently enhance youth employment opportunities.

BRCP, in collaboration with government and private organizations, works across multiple institutional intervention levels: promoting immediate job growth across a network of partner SMEs via targeted technical assistance programs; strengthening the capacity of training & educational institutions to respond to labor market demand trends; and supporting policy reform in key areas impacting employability in Tunisia.

BRCP’s principal goal is to increase employment through 3 initiatives, organized into Tasks:

Task 1: Enterprise Assistance Increase employment at the enterprise-level through a robust portfolio of targeted technical

assistance programs addressing particular challenges facing SMEs in the Tunisian business environment. ‐ Targeted technical assistance to enterprises in strategic value chains to address key

constraints to competitiveness, growth, and job creation; ‐ On-the-Job training to address specific enterprise-level workforce capacity deficiencies,

resulting in job creation (typically through increased growth and/or competitiveness); ‐ Access to Finance assistance to sustainably improve the ability of enterprises and startups to

access equity and debt investment capital (including microfinance), as well as increase foreign direct investment in Tunisia;

‐ Develop Export-Oriented Markets for Tunisia companies and high potential sectors such as apparel, agribusiness, healthcare, aerospace and ICT.

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Task 2: Enhancing Employability

Increasing employment at the human resource level by aligning SME workforce requirements, job-seeker skills and capabilities, and the efficiency and operation of job-placement networks in Tunisia. Employability Capacity Building through job-matching work with: enterprises to improve their

HR functions; job seekers to improve workforce capacity and job search techniques; and the public sector to increase its aptitude to provide high quality assistance to job seekers and enterprises;

Curricula Reform across the national network of higher education institutions, in collaboration with the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MHESR), to synchronize education in key occupational niche areas with identified employer skill requirements;

Career Development Center creation, expansion, and capacity building in partnership with the MHESR to establish a robust Career Development Center (CDC) system which can serve as platform for systematically enhancing job placement rates and improving the market-relevance of key training/educational curricula;

Job Fairs and Employability Events co-sponsored throughout the country with private and public sector partners including partnerships such as Microsoft/Silatech to introduce innovative online job matching measures and further enhance placement opportunities.

Task 3: Enabling Environment

Provide support and targeted technical services to Government of Tunisia counterparts and other stakeholders in critical employment-related areas with the goal of improving the legal and regulatory environment and enabling greater growth, competition, and employment. In partnership with the Ministry of Communication Technology and the Digital Economy,

promoting the approval of a new, best-practice Digital Telecommunications Code; In partnership with the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research:

‐ Promoting the formal establishment of Career Development Centers as administrative departments within higher education institutions, including budget and full-time staff.

In partnership with the Ministry of Vocational Training and Employment (MVTE), sponsoring the certification of employment agency counsellors to enhance their ability to coach job seekers, as well as promoting vocational training through technical training centers;

In partnership with the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), promoting the adoption of a new law establishing a best-practice, modern secured transactions regime in Tunisia to greatly increase available financing for SMEs;

In partnership with the MVTE and the MoJ, promoting business registration reform including the launch of a user-oriented online informational portal, comprehensively detailing the administrative steps involved in business registration and modification and establishing a road map for the development of a transactional window allowing online registration.

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Overview

The BRCP project has developed operational and informational feedback loops that allow the project to rapidly understand and react to information. This ability to adapt to feedback from project components and partner relationships has been instrumental in achieving project goals. Central to project learning is a focus on the M&E department’s processes and role, towards the goal of leveraging information gathering/verification and encouraging different components to inform and benefit from the project’s other work.

The approach developed and refined by the project is focused on accessing market demand through enterprise-level technical assistance. BRCP’s team of business advisors, local professionals with substantial commercial experience and sector expertise, work closely with potential partner enterprises to establish a shared strategic vision identifying constraints to competitiveness, growth, and job creation. These constraints are addressed through co-funded technical assistance, furthering reinforcing a shared sense of commitment. To create jobs in a resource-effective manner, this approach requires a high degree of flexibility, both to respond to particular factors surrounding specific enterprises and sector value chains, as well as in reacting to project learning originating from the project’s innovative M&E department. With enterprises and institutional partners, BRCP works as well to sustainably improve the capacity of job placement networks in Tunisia. The network of “4C’s”, career development centers in Tunisia, which BRCP creates and supports has evolved as a crucial element in bridging the gaps between the educational sector and the hiring needs of private companies.

BRCP has also undertaken targeted enabling environment reforms in priority legal and regulatory areas related to SME development, continuing the project’s promotion of the new Digital Communications Code, as well as launching business registration and secured transaction reform efforts. These efforts have the potential to greatly benefit SMEs in Tunisia by, respectively, reducing the formalities and costs involved in starting a business, and greatly expanding access to investment funding.

The security environment, although stabilized, remains a serious concern. Terrorist attacks occurred in March 2015 at the Bardo Museum; June, 2015 in Sousse; November, 2015 on Mohamed V Avenue targeting members of the presidential guard; and in March, 2016 in the city of Ben Guerdane near the Libyan border in Southeast Tunisia, which was attacked by Islamic State forces. Security concerns have impacted the investment environment in Tunisia as well as many economic sectors such as tourism.

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Cumulative project results through Year 3 include:

BRCP Jobs Created by Governorate

18,528 full-time (FTE) jobs created/matched: 15,158 FTE jobs created through technical assistance to enterprises and 3,370 through job matching;

290 enterprises assisted with technical assistance and/or on-the-job training;

$37,377,876 in equity and credit capital facilitated in 16 deals;

$11,380,197 FDI facilitated for 27 Enterprises;

1,142 Loans facilitated (13 with BFPME and 1,129 with Taysir Microfinance) for a total deal amount of $5,538,507;

43 CDC’s created and assisted;

41 career development counselors trained and 25 Certified with the Tamheed program (from 19 CDCs);

217 Career Events (11 Job Fairs, 206 Career/Enterprise Days);

Tunis

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Year 3 Summary

In Year 3 specifically, BRCP continued to scale up the project’s core enterprise assistance with respect to sector value chain competitiveness by capitalizing on trends in technical collaboration, allowing the project to streamline its collaborative efforts with enterprises and clusters of enterprises. The project was able to develop common institutional service platforms, designed to address the needs of multiple enterprises grouped by sector or subsector. Most notably, the project established a Foreign Desk, designed to provide comprehensive support for Tunisian companies seeking to expand or develop export markets. Working primarily with groups of firms in high-potential export sectors, the Foreign Desk provides efficient, collective transmission of technical knowledge and market outreach expertise, with the goal of permanently upgrading the export capabilities of Tunisian companies and re-positioning key export sectors.

BRCP also placed significant focus in Year 3 on expansion of and capacity building with the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MHESR)-sponsored ‘4C’ career counseling, certification and training network. The project’s collaboration with the MHESR, and the Direction Générale de la Rénovation Universitaire, resulted in a Ministerial decree formalizing the administrative structure of the 4C institutions, as well as providing implementation guidance and committing to reach 100 4Cs by the end of 2018. BRCP’s capacity building efforts through stakeholder assistance, counselor certification, and co-organized employability events increased substantially.

Rapidly adjusting to the August 2016 change in government in Tunisia, BRCP continued and expanded enabling environment work on the Digital Communications Code, business registration, and secured transaction reform. The project initiated efforts to develop a comprehensive information portal on business registration towards the goal of streamlining steps and reducing costs for entrepreneurs. Working closely with the Ministry of Justice, the project formed a working group and developed a draft law to establish a modern secured transactions regime in Tunisia, which would greatly expand the use of moveable collateral as a source of financing for SMEs.

Across all project components, including access to finance, the project placed significant focus on increasing its presence and service in Tunisia’s underdeveloped and socially vulnerable interior regions, as well as developing cost-effective ways to extend project assistance into these areas.

BRCP Results vs. Targets (Cumulative Y1 + Y2+Y3)

Cumulative

Target

(LOP)

Year 3

Results Y1 + Y2 +Y3

Cumulative

Result

Total jobs leveraged 7,000 7,465 18,528

Firms receiving project assistance 225 78 290

Debt and equity investment leveraged $35M $15M $37.4M

FDI promoted $12M $7.4M $11.4M

Employability events held (Job Fairs, Career Days, etc.) 24 178 217

4C’s created and supported 40 11 43

Curricula adopted 18 6 18

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BRCP Regional Impact

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BRCP CROSS-CUTTING & INTEGRATED STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK

Cross-Cutting Integrated Strategic Initiatives: The Feedback Loop

In order to maximize the project’s impact, BRCP’s activities are joined synergistically through key feedback loops, through which work in one area of the project is both informed by and reinforced with additional support from other complementary project activities. This “cross-provisioning” of services became a point of particular emphasis during Year 2 as project learning revealed the value of greater enterprise level information and the necessity of more comprehensive, agile project assistance.

These feedback loops function both within and across BRCP Tasks. For example, enterprise assistance seeks to identify key constraints to SME job creation, build a shared vision with these enterprise partners, and address these constraints through co-funded, targeted technical assistance. Within Task 1, through intra-task feedback loops, these enterprise partners may be identified as candidates for access to finance assistance as well, or for export promotion activity. Through inter-task feedback loops, this database of enterprise partner information informs Task 2 activities such as curriculum reform and job matching priorities, which can be targeted to respond to real needs identified by these enterprises.

These feedback loops are recursive, functioning in both directions and continually informing and enhancing each other. Enterprise assistance is a primary driver of assistance from other BRCP components, however, information regarding particular enterprise constraints is fed back into an ongoing dialogue with training/educational institutions, the MHESR, and with jobseekers. This design drives permanent improvements in the dialogue between enterprises, job-seekers, and educational institutions, increasing the market-relevance and employment impact of training and academic programs, and improving labor market signaling between networks of employers at the regional and sub-regional levels and prospective job seekers.

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Within the project, key Feedback Loops are supported by:

A consolidated, easily accessible database management system containing comprehensive information on companies’ interactions with all aspects of the project;

Participation of representatives from each Task Team in other Task Team meetings, as well as participation by Communications and the M&E Team to identify cross-cutting opportunities.

BRCP enterprise assistance is organized as follows: Technical Assistance (TA) including:

‐ Enterprise management assistance in different areas covering core SME activities; ‐ On‐the‐job trainings covering different strategic needs; ‐ Export missions in key sectors (textile and agribusiness); ‐ Access to finance technical assistance.

HR & Recruitment Assistance (HRR)

Pre‐employment training (PET)

Partnerships with business and professional associations

While job creation and revenue growth ultimately take place at the enterprise level, BRCP works with business and professional associations. Association partners serve a variety of roles for the project. Professional associations refer enterprises for technical assistance, access to finance, market development, and/or recruitment assistance. They also participate in BRCP employability events, multiplying the effect of project resources, work with BRCP partner institutions such as Career Development Centers to ensure scalability and sustainability of project goals, and provide the project with pertinent information.

BRCP has worked with the following association partners:

IACE: Arab Institute of Heads of Enterprse Chamber of Commerce in Sfax CONECT: Confederation of Tunisian Citizen Enterprises

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Chamber of Commerce in Sousse UTICA in Sfax: Tunisian Union of Industry, Commerce and Artisans AmCham: American Chamber in Tunisia Silatech/Microsoft: Doha-based regional NGO to promote employment of Arab Youth ENDA Inter-Arabe: Microfinance NGO FTAV: Federation of Tunisian Travel Agencies Chamber of Commerce & Industry of the South East (Gabes) ATUGE: Association of Tunisian Graduates of (French) Grandes Ecoles ARFORGHE: Association of HR & Training Managers Centre des Jeunes Dirigeants d’Entreprise: Business association of young entrepreneurs and

business directors Chambre de Commerce et d’Industrie du Sud Ouest (CCISO) FACE: Association promoting workplace equality JEENISO: Junior Enterprises of Tunisia Edupartage: Tunisian youth issues association Centre d’Affaires de Sfax: Sfax business center PCS (Pole de Compétitivité de Sousse): Sousse Competitiveness center Chambre Tuniso-Britannique: Tunisio-British Chamber of Commerce Chambre Tuniso-Canadienne: Tunisio-Canadian Chamber of Commerce

TASK 1: CREATE JOBS IN ENTERPRISES IN STRATEGIC VALUE CHAINS THROUGH TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE

Tunisia is a middle-income country with significant geo-locational and human resource capital advantages. However, SME development has been stifled by decades of crony capitalism. Protectionism has stifled competitiveness within the global economy. As a result, many sectors have not developed the necessary organization, capacities, and tools to keep pace with the international marketplace. Small firms in particular have faced a critical lack of investment funding and support and have grown at a drastically slower rate than large firms. Additionally, the training and education system has developed in a manner divorced from the skill demands of enterprises, resulting in large numbers of tertiary graduates who lack key occupational skills.

Overall, the SME sector has tremendous potential and capacity in Tunisia. However, it requires strategic focus and support to begin to achieve this potential. SMEs require better internal organization, familiarity with commonly used tools, stricter cost controls, and better human resource in order to increase competitiveness. As Tunisia further integrates into the global economy, SMEs require the development of markets, compliance with international standards and best practices, and improved quality management. Upskilling of the Tunisian workforce through market-relevant training and education programs must be a priority in order to provide businesses with the necessary skills and capabilities.

Within the broader context of economic and political transition in Tunisia, growth of the SME sector is essential to develop a diversified, dynamic, innovative, and competitive environment capable of providing the required quantity and quality of employment opportunities.

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Task 1 Approach

Job Creation at the enterprise level

BRCP focuses enterprise level work on SMEs in specific Value Chains (VCs) in the Tunisian economy which have been identified within the context of BRCP’s objective of promoting employment through sustainable business growth and competitiveness. These strategic value chains have the highest potential for leveraged impact within the Tunisian economy in terms of economic development and employment, based on a variety of selection criteria including:

Market positioning and competitiveness of the sector/VC value proposition Potential for revenue growth and value-added capture Export promotion and international market development & integration, specifically value

propositions, competitive advantages, branding, and adoption of global standards Employment of women and youth, and in economically disadvantaged regions Improvement of overall Business Development Service (BDS) service sector in Tunisia Formalization from informal employment to the formal labor market Establishment of feedback loops with other BRCP components (access to capital, workforce

capacity building, etc.) Potential for institutionalization of enterprise finance and growth cycles (I.e. evolution of

microenterprises into SMEs, franchise model expertise, etc.)

BRCP approaches SME development from a bottom-up value chain perspective, focusing on targeted technical assistance to address key cost-control, quality management, human resource management, productivity enhancement and market development constraints facing SMEs in Tunisia. In Year 3, BRCP has continued to identify common, sector-specific needs across groups of enterprises, and targeted rapid and efficient enhancements in the competitiveness of clusters and sub-sectors. These include Textiles & Apparel; ICT; Automotive and Aerospace; Agribusiness; and Health and Pharma. Establishing presence and service models in interior regions has also been a project priority in year 3, particularly Beja, Kef, Kasserine, Zaghouan, Kairouan and Gafsa. These underdeveloped regions entail higher cost per job resource allocation numbers, and require greater project responsiveness as options for economic development assistance are more limited. However, these efforts have resulted in significant job creation and placement advances in these socially vulnerable areas.

Task 1 is divided into four Sub-Tasks:

Sub-Task 1.1: Assist enterprises in target value chains (VCs) to increase employment, revenues & competitiveness through design and co-financing of technical assistance;

Sub-Task 1.2: Assist enterprises in target VCs to increase employment, revenues & competitiveness through design and co-financing of on-the-job training assistance;

Sub-Task 1.3: Increase enterprise access to finance, including debt, equity, and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) through technical assistance to both financial institutions and enterprises;

Sub-Task 1.4: Develop new markets for Tunisian goods and services.

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Sub-Task 1.1: Assist enterprises in target VCs to increase employment, revenues & competitiveness

Job Creation at the enterprise level

BRCP has developed an enterprise-oriented model through which the project develops strong relationships with high-potential SMEs and co-develops joint-funded technical collaboration efforts to address priority constraints to enterprise growth and hiring. The project has a team of business advisors with expertise in a wide range of market sectors, as well as in-depth understanding of the Tunisian business environment. These business advisors work directly with partners, and refer to and utilize BRCP’s broader support package (including export promotion, access to finance assistance, workforce development, etc.) to inform the project’s response to enterprise needs.

BRCP Job Creation by Sector, three years through April, 2017

Industry # of Enterprises Jobs % of Total

Manufacture of Wearing Apparel 62 3 002 20%Electricity & Electronics 38 2 848 19%ICT 39 1 572 10%Agribusiness 34 1 535 10%Healthcare 13 1 463 10%Manufacturing 34 989 7%Tourism & Catering 11 949 6%Transport 17 742 5%Retail &Wholesale 5 533 4%Security & Other Services 8 517 3%Financial Services 6 420 3%Construction 11 329 2%Communication 7 191 1%Water Treatment &Waste Management 4 70 0%

Total 289 15 158 100%

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Through three years, BRCP has provided technical assistance to 290 companies:

BRCP Job Creation by Technical Assistance Type, three years through April, 2011

Industry Jobs % of Total

Certification & Quality 6 353 42%Strategic Management 2 948 19%Lean Manufacturing/Management 1 778 12%Human resource management 1 599 10%Training 1 503 10%Soft Skills & Communication 589 4%Marketing Development 250 2%Franchise Development 138 1%

Total 15 158 100%

*Detailed charts by sector, region and gender are provided in Appendix 2

Categories of Assistance are briefly described as follows:

Certification and Quality: Further integration into the global economy has exposed Tunisian companies to higher competition, and correspondingly to stricter quality and certification requirements. Many international companies require basic internationally-recognized certifications as a pre-requisite for doing business in order to guarantee supplier competence and capabilities. Similarly, recent trends in many industries have moved towards faster response times, greater reliability in delivery schedules, higher and more consistent quality requirements, demonstration of social and/or environmental responsibility, etc. Certification process are an effective way of satisfying these exigencies. More importantly, these certifications and the improvements necessary to successfully pass certification audits represent a documented, codified way of improving organization, building capacity, and process improvement for Tunisian companies.

Strategic Management: Strategic management broadly describes technical assistance focused on strategic planning and resource allocation decisions/processes at the management level. Specific types of assistance vary by company and market environment. A company seeking to penetrate new export markets may receive assistance designing and/or improving the implementation of an export strategy including market analysis, stronger internal communication processes (for example between sales and production), etc. Similarly, a company facing delivery delays may collaborate on a technical assistance to improve supply chain responsiveness and visibility on the part of management.

Targeted Training: Training assistance addresses specific, definable skill gaps tied to the creation of jobs (and often attributable to the overemphasis in the Tunisian system of education on theoretical concepts over practical knowledge). Many enterprises are otherwise potentially competitive, however lack particular competencies and are unable to effectively obtain the relevant skillsets. Providing training removes this constraint and results in a sustainable improvement in competitiveness. Examples range from stainless steel welding to JAVA software developers. These are usually competencies where no training is available in the local environment, or where such skills do exist, enterprises are unable to secure them.

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Lean Manufacturing/Management: Lean manufacturing is a particular method of systematic

process improvements designed to improve manufacturing performance/productivity linked to reduction in inefficiencies. Lean Manufacturing technical assistance can improve a variety of performance indicators including productivity, production costs, etc. as well as respond to other constraints (i.e. production line reorganization to increase production capacity in a fixed space).

Human Resource Management: Human Resource assistance is designed to help enterprises more effectively locate, recruit, retain, and develop their workforce. As specifically linked to job creation, it typically involves increasing employee productivity, improving the dynamic characterizing management/employee communications, more effective management and employee relationships and practices, and the promotion of more flexible and performance-based employee evaluation and promotion systems.

Soft Skills & Communication: Soft skills define a company’s skill at interacting with people. They can be broadly described as “emotional intelligence” and include language skills, empathy, leadership skills, presentation skills, etc. This is a highly visible area of weakness in Tunisia, and affects not only customer-facing positions and sectors, but also communication and collaboration within non-customer-focused business areas. .

Marketing Development: This includes all technical assistance to enterprises related to market outreach/branding. This is not traditionally a strength of Tunisian enterprises and is crucial in terms of market development as well as added-value capture through, for example, branding.

Franchising Development/Management: Franchise development is a promising area in Tunisia; however, many enterprises lack the processes, procedures, and knowledge to effectively franchise. This includes defining and maintaining a core brand image, establishing well-documented procedural manuals, and standardizing product offerings across multiple locations.

Sub-Task 1.2: On-the-Job Training

BRCP On-The-Job training is technical response designed to increase employment through enterprise competitiveness and growth by addressing specific enterprise-level workforce capacity deficiencies, the resolution of which can be directly tied to the creation of new positions. These deficiencies include systemically underdeveloped areas of workforce competency, such as soft skills and collaboration, as well as industry-specific skills in certain sectors where Tunisia has not kept pace with global market developments. Tunisia’s elimination of protectionist economic measures and growing integration in the global economy has opened many new market opportunities, however, it has also exposed Tunisia to increased competition and higher market standards, which in turn require an upskilling of the Tunisian workforce.

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Sub-Task 1.3: Increase enterprise access to finance

Lack of access to finance for enterprises in Tunisia, particularly SMEs, is a severe constraint to economic growth and employment. Due to a traditionally hyper-conservative risk outlook, as well as a concentrated banking structure lacking in competitive pressures, the Tunisian banking sector has traditionally underserved the SME sector, and remains ill-equipped to undertake best practice cash-flow and character-based lending analysis and approval decisions. Yet, the sector has huge growth potential. A number of local investment funds have emerged (forming the Tunisian Private Equity and Venture Capital Association), however many of these funds are SICARs, which are the investment arms of commercial banks. Some have been formed solely for tax benefits, and moreover, the vast majority continue to exhibit the parent bank’s traditional conservative credit culture.

BRCP provides technical assistance to both institutions and enterprises to facilitate dynamic deal flow. On the supply side, BRCP provides technical assistance to lenders on risk management and cash-flow based lending. On the demand side, BRCP works with partner SMEs to provide integrated technical assistance: improving the viability and competitiveness of enterprises on the one hand, while on the other addressing gaps and deficiencies in enterprise investment proposals. BRCP does not provide actual financing, but functions as a facilitator and credibility partner. In addition to Tunisian lenders and equity funds, BRCP has collaborated with the Tunisian American Enterprise Fund (TAEF) to facilitate four deals.

$33,377,876 in equity and credit capital raised for 16 enterprises;

13 loans approved through the Pilot Lending Program with BFPME for a

total of $3,951,052;

1,129 loans facilitated through technical assistance to Taysir Microfinance

for a total of $1,587,455;

$19,904,105 in foreign direct investment facilitated for 27 enterprises.

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BRCP has facilitated $33,377,876 in credit and equity financing.

N° Enterprises Sector Equity ($) Credit ($) Total ($) Financial Institutions

Equity Banks

Y1

Herbiotech Mfg. (Cosmetic Oils)

$1,152,000 $1,152,000CAPSA, AMEN

SICARE

Tunisie Callebotis

Mfg. (Steel Duckboard)

$990,000 $1,810,000 $2,800,000 AMEN Capital AMEN, ATTIJARI,

BFPMEKoka Haiyi Automotive

Automotive $947,500 $947,500 $1,895,000 SICAR Invest BNA, QNB

Y1 $3,089,500 $2,757,500 $5,847,000

Y2

Phone Service Center

ICT/BPO $270,000 $270,000 BTK

Atlas Packaging

ICT/BPO $1,196,000 $1,679,000 $2,875,000 ATD BIAT, QNB

Proxym IT ICT/BPO $750,000 $750,000 TAEF

Marion Textile $720,000 $720,000 TAEF

APM Bachmara

Textile $260,000 $260,000 TAEF

Silirend Manufacturing (Animal Processing)

$3,315,789 $4,052,632 $7,368,421ATD, SIM SICAR,

CAPSA, MAXULA, UIS

QNB, BTK, ATB, Modern Leasing

Mega Printing Packaging $2,500,000 $2,500,000 TAEF

BFPME (Y2) $2,189,473

Y2 $8,741,789 $8,191,105 $16,932,894

Y3

SOCOF

$210,000 $305,000 $515,000

SAVIMO $1,578,947$1,578,947

TUSALCO‐ SLAMA HUILES

$3,000,000$3,000,000

Hannibal Oil

$228,000 $322,000$550,000

SIMETAL

$1, 300,000$1,300,000

Marion

$305,000$305,000

BFPME(Y3) $1,761,579

Taysir approved (Y3)

$1,587,455

Y3 $5,321, 947 $5,276,034 $10,597,981

TOT $17,153,236 $16,224,639 $33,377,876

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Pilot Lending Programs

BRCP implemented an innovative pilot lending program with BFPME (Banque de Financement des Petites et Moyennes Entreprises – SME Financing Bank) streamlining the treatment of SME loan proposals. BRCP performed an initial diagnosis of the BFPME loan approval process and provided a series of recommendations to optimize and streamline this process. These recommendations were implemented through the pilot program, analyzed, and presented to BFPME with the goal of scaling and institutionalizing new best practice compliant loan analysis/approval processes at the bank.

Microfinance

To further address the challenges that VSMEs in Tunisia face in accessing external financing, BRCP partnered with Taysir Microfinance in Year 3. Several MFI’s are active in Tunisia, following decree-law no. 2011-117 which extended the ceiling for MFI investments from 5,000 TND ($2,200) to 20,000 TND ($8,800). In addition to providing another avenue by which to address the growth constraint of structurally low investment levels in Tunisia, microfinance is of particular interest based on the potential to reach economically disadvantaged demographics and interior regions.

BRCP and Taysir instituted an ambitious institutional-strengthening pilot program focused on improved client identification and loan analysis/risk management processes. A BRCP senior microfinance expert worked with Taysir to analyze and diagnose the companies loan processes, branch operations, and client selection. Following the analysis, BRCP designed new credit procedures to decentralize the credit approval decision, avoiding unnecessary and costly delays involved in transferring all applications to the central office, and to implement a set of practical analytical tools to be applied depending on the credit amount and specific risks of the client. This will allow Taysir to better manage and secure its portfolio, and will form the basis for more sophisticated products tailored to new client segments with higher loan totals. In October of 2016, a work session was held to prepare Taysir central and branch representatives for the application of the new processes. In December 2016, management and staff participated in a seminar following the formal decision to launch the new approach. Taysir committed to a maximum delay of 7 days before the approval decision, and BRCP and Taysir completed the drafting of a new credit manual.

Foreign Direct Investment

BRCP placed a targeted focus on promoting FDI, empowered by a partnership with the MDIIC’s Foreign Investment Promotion Agency (FIPA).

Through Year 3, BRCP has facilitated $19,904,105 in FDI for 16 enterprises:

21

N° Enterprises Investment category FDI ($)

Y1

Tulipe Telecom Human Capital $370,038

Tunisie Sucre Human Capital $367,676

DESI Equipment Provision $27,880

STEA Equipment Provision $48,614

Tulipe Telecom Equipment Provision $67,279

SCEET Equipment Provision $346,320

Nabiha Story Equipment Provision $130,575

Y1 6 $1,358,384

Y2

Phone Service Center Human Capital& Equipment Provision $135,903

Plastech Equipment (Molds) $219,270

Iplast Equipment (Molds) $36,944

Koka Automotive Direct Cash Flow Investment $103,227

Marcus Equipment (Machinery) $348,000

ETI Direct Cash Flow Investment $42,105

Tulipe TELECOM Equipment Provision $167,713

SCEET Equipment (Assembly Line) $306,978

LEAR Corporation Equipment (Assembly Line) $227,728

Lacroix Equipment Provision $725,849

Silirend Share of Capital $263,158

Ecotex Equipment (Spec. Machinery) $89,748

Y2 12 (including 2 repeat) $2,666,622

Y3

EMS Equipment Provision $368 520,00

Roze Tunisie Equipment Provision $890 220,00

Lacroix Equipment Provision $1 239 870,00

FILIN Human Capital $52 947,00

Elektron Equipment Provision $204 853,50

YAPT Equipment Provision $676 134,98

CASCO Software provision $182 412,74

Faucon Equipment Provision $130 372,62

EMS Equipment Provision $94 350,00

Kromberg & Schubert Equipment Provision $947 657,40

MBT Equipment Provision $937 500,00

Cimpress Equipment Provision $804 133,95

Sagemcom Equipment Provision $9 350 126,07

Y3 12 (including 1 repeat) $15 879 098,25

Total 27 unique $19,904,105

22

In Year 3, BRCP expanded FDI promotion efforts, in collaboration with the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency FIPA. BRCP had previously organized a series of workshops in Year 2 articulating stronger, tailored value propositions for the aerospace and automotive sectors. This was expanded in Year 3 to include the ICT sector, and involved international marketing teams as well as private sector representatives.

In Year 3, BRCP arranged a meeting between the Tunisian Minister of Development, Investment, and International Cooperation and Boeing officials in their Washington, DC offices. In late June, 2016, BRCP organized an outward trade mission with FIPA to visit the headquarters of BDS in St Louis as well as Boeing Commercial Aircraft (BCA) in Seattle. GITAS and seven Tunisian aerospace companies participated in the trade mission. BRCP then dedicated a section of the project website to interested aerospace companies providing detailed information on the capabilities and certifications of Tunisian aerospace suppliers. Utilizing the same approach, BRCP has set up a template for similar webinars with the German aerospace association (BLDI) and the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) in the US as well as Canada.

In the automotive sector, in collaboration with FIPA, CEPEX, and TAA, BRCP organized participation in the Automekanka trade fair in Frankfurt in September, 2016. The outward mission targeted the Chinese market, and involved a meeting between the Chinese auto association CAAM and TAA, as well as follow up visit to Beijing in October.

Sub-Task 1.4: Develop export-oriented markets for Tunisian goods and services

Through its targeted enterprise competitiveness enhancement work, BRCP has identified a number of export-focused value chains which present a strategic opportunity for rapid expansion of export sales and job creation. Additionally, these value chains act as a conduit encouraging Tunisian integration into global markets; as well as fostering innovation, best practices, and competition through trade and incoming investment. BRCP’s intervention strategy essentially reflects a “pull-based” approach, focused on increasing and upgrading value-added market opportunities and demand for high potential Tunisian VCs. This demand-based approach facilitates the strategic targeting of technical and training support resources in a manner which generates the highest payoff in terms of sustainable export and employment leveraging impact. BRCP’s export market and FDI development activities, undertaken in collaboration with FIPA, the Tunisian Foreign Investment Promotion Agency, and CEPEX, the Tunisian Export Agency, targeted several strategic sectors including aerospace, automotive, textiles & apparel, and agribusiness.

Textile & Apparel export trade mission to Germany

A second trade mission (building on the Year 2 trade mission) to Germany took place in April, 2016, with the four categories of suppliers each traveling to Germany for targeted B2B meetings. Twenty-four companies participated and presented samples to large German buyers. Follow up support including organizing on-site visits for German brands to Tunisia in August, September, and October 2016, as well as continued support for Tunisian companies participating in other export-oriented trade fairs. CEPEX, FENATEX, MFC Pole, and other textile sector stakeholder agencies and organizations were integrally involved in these initiatives with the goal of sustainably improving the ability of Tunisian producers to organize, participate in, and realize deals from export opportunities.

23

Fancy Food Show Trade Mission

Tunisia has strong potential across a number of global markets for a variety of agricultural products, including organic products. Agribusiness accounts for one quarter of all investments in manufacturing activity, is second in terms of production and added value, and ranks third nationwide in employment. Tunisia is the leading exporter of dates and olive oil, and 15% of Tunisian exports are in the agribusiness sector.

Chief among these is the Tunisia’s olive oil industry, which is responsible for the cultivation of 20% of the world’s olive trees. Developing these markets will result in significant job creation in Tunisia; however, the country currently lacks the market connections, quality controls and standards to compete effectively under its own brand. Market development/up-scaling requires improved quality standards, adding value, generating higher export volumes, and raising the brand image of Tunisian olive oil. Tunisia currently sells the majority of its bulk exports to Italy and Spain, where it is mixed with their domestic production and rebranded.

Realizing the potential of the sector in Tunisia requires development along two primary strategic axes:

Increasing the added value of Tunisia’s food products, or capturing more of the value chain through increased compliance with global standards, effective marketing, and the exploitation of strategic market niches such as the organic sector;

Aggressive export market expansion both in and away from Tunisia’s traditional Euro-centric export base. In particular, markets such as the United States offer the potential for increased revenues through specialized, well-branded products such as olive oil, dates, figs and processed vegetables.

BRCP has worked extensively in the agribusiness sector, both in enterprise support and export development. The project ramped up agribusiness export support leading towards the 2016 New York Fancy Food Show, the largest specialty food exhibition in North America. Tunisia was selected as the partner country. BRCP engaged experts in Olive Oil, Marketing, and US Import Food Safety Regulations to work with local producers and stakeholder agencies (CEPEX, PACKTEC). The goal of this initiative was full service support to accelerate Tunisian export development in the North American market, where Tunisian-branded olive oil comprises under 5% of sales.

BRCP and CEPEX organized the Tunisian trade mission to the NYFFS after extensive work with producers on import regulations, branding and product quality, marketing pitches, and distribution channels in the North American market. Following the show, BRCP’s Foreign Desk provided one-on-one follow up support with participating enterprises in order to leverage interest from US buyers and develop sustainable long-term export capacity.

24

The Foreign Desk

In Year 3, in partnership with AmCham, BRCP created a Foreign Desk specializing in export support for Tunisian enterprises on an individual and sectoral level. Project learning through the first two years of the project demonstrated that Tunisian enterprises were in need of comprehensive export support, from competitiveness enhancement, through B2B contacts, and extended follow up to realize opportunities. The Foreign Desk works on an intimate level with partner enterprises to understand their operations and export potential, as well as with international buyers to facilitate the establishment of business linkages. Tunisia, although a significant exporting country, has no fully functional professional buying offices. The Foreign Desk was created to fill this role, as well as to enhance the competitiveness of Tunisian exporters by offering BRCP assistance to develop stronger supply chains, lower costs and improve production methods, and improve brand and marketing capabilities. The Foreign Desk also drives participation in outward and inward trade missions and organizes trade fair participation, in close collaboration with CEPEX, the Tunisian export agency.

TASK 2: FILL IN JOBS IN STRATEGIC VALUE CHAINS THROUGH EMPLOYABILITY AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES

The achievement of meaningful, sustainable progress towards defusing Tunisia’s unemployment crisis requires not only the creation of new positions, but dramatically improving labor market information signaling/job matching systems as well. This entails bridging the gap between key occupational skill needs of employers and the qualifications/skill sets of youthful job-seekers, building improvement recruitment and communications systems at the enterprise level and between the enterprise sector and academic/training institutions, and improving the coherence and effectiveness of job training and retention policies and systems.

With regard to employers, BRCP has documented key Tunisian employer deficiencies which have led to inadequate employee recruitment and retention. These include poor HR skills and tools, inadequate capacity to create appropriate position descriptions and effectively link them to viable career paths, unrealistic demands, underuse of potentially useful tools such as internships, and lack of meaningful engagement with the educational system.

For job seekers, there exists a large and persistent skill gap between educated Tunisians and the workforce demands of the labor market. There is a recurring friction between the theoretical orientation of educational content in higher education institutions and the practical implementation of these concepts that is required by private enterprises. This skill gap also includes basic support skills such as language skills, soft skills (communication and collaboration), proficiency in basic ICT tools (word processing, spreadsheets), and business skills (selling, persuasion, supervision & subordination).

Finally, job placement tools/mechanisms ware drastically underdeveloped and often unable to adequately support labor market information exchange and intermediation functions.

Task 2 Approach

Through its strategic partnerships with the Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MHESR), the Ministry of Vocational Training and Employment (MVTE) and its affiliate ANETI (National Agency for Employment and Entrepreneurship), as well as a large network of private partners, BRCP

25

implements a number of strategic initiatives and targeted events to promote employability and job matching. These include capacity building events such as training of trainers and workshops aimed to support and build career services capacity, as well as job matching events such as job fairs, enterprise days, etc.

Partnership with business associations

BRCP works in collaboration with several stakeholders to contribute actively in job matching activities, mainly private-sector and state-supported business associations (for instance Chambers of Commerce, UTICA, CONECT, Microsoft & Silatech, and ARFORGHE).

Task 2 is divided into four Sub-Tasks:

Sub-Task 2.1: Employability Capacity Building

Sub-Task 2.2: Curricula Development

Sub-Task 2.3: Career Development Centers

Sub-Task 2.4: Job Fairs

The four Task 2 activities are implemented by BRCP in a synergistic manner, where each mechanism enhances the impact of the others and in turn maximizes overall employment leveraging impact. For example, jobs created through Task 1 technical assistance, training, or access to finance may present/create clear opportunities for job matching solutions through Task 2 initiatives. Similarly, enterprise information on difficulty recruiting particular job profiles helps to effectively inform curriculum reform support efforts.

Sub-Task 2.1: Employability Capacity Building

BRCP seeks to address deficiencies in the Tunisian labor market by working with enterprises to improve their HR management capabilities, job seekers to improve skills development and job-search techniques, and public sector aptitude to provide a higher quality of assistance to enterprises and job seekers. The BRCP Employability Team has developed a focused, network-driven approach to maximize effective job-matching activities in Tunisia. This approach includes the strategic utilization of BRCP job matching tools and resources, including Job Fairs, Career Development Centers (CDCs), Career Days, Open Door Days, HR coaching, and intensive collaboration with the National Agency for Employment & Entrepreneurship (ANETI).

BRCP’s integrated, network driven approach to labor market capacity building is based on the following strategic pillars:

HR capacity building: BRCP works closely with enterprises to improve their human resource management capacities, as well as encourage them to develop strong partnerships and active

Results through Year 3:

3,370 (full-time equivalent) Jobs Matched

26

communication with job placement service providers and educational and vocational institutions; in order to significantly narrow the gap between employer requirements and job seeker preparation. This assistance includes locating employers with unmet recruitment needs and assisting them to:

Craft clear, attractive, career-linked job descriptions; Locate, contact and effectively pre-screen candidates; Planning, scheduling and hosting employment events at CDCs, ANETI bureaus, or enterprise

premises in order to match jobs and build sustainable relationships between employment stakeholders;

Coaching job seekers to enhance employability: Through educational workshops, events and materials, BRCP seeks to improve the employability and job search skills of job seekers in Tunisia. In close collaboration with partners such as ANETI, Career Development Centers, ARFORGHE (Tunisian Association of HR Managers), and Tounes Ta3mali, BRCP provides:

Locating, contacting, and following up with candidates for urgent positional needs on the part of enterprises;

Access to BRCP partner employment tools such as the innovative Tounes Ta3mali online employability platform as well as the Tamheed candidate evaluation tool;

Job search, CV writing, and interview skill (Techniques de recherches d’emploi) workshops during employability events, designed in collaboration with partners in order to boost job seeker skills as well as transfer capabilities to job placement partners;

Pre-employment training.

Enhancing public sector aptitude to provide better assistance to enterprises and job seekers: BRCP’s partnerships play a key role in sustainably improving the function of job placement networks and stakeholders.

Tamheed/Tounes Ta3mal: Through its partnership with Microsoft/Silatech, BRCP has facilitated the formal training of 28 CDC counselors and the certification of 9 in the Tamheed certification program;

ANETI employment agencies: BRCP works intensively with ANETI in order to assist counselors in the full range of job placement activities, build ANETI capacity, and place job seekers; Career Development Centers: Through the network of BRCP created Career Development Centers (CDCs), BRCP promotes the development of dynamic employment counseling/outreach service capability across Tunisia (described in greater detail below).

Sub-Task 2.2: Curricula development

BRCP, in close collaboration with the MHESR and private sector employers, seeks to create or upgrade higher education curricula to improve the employability of graduating jobseekers. Tunisia


Created and/or upgraded 18 higher education or vocational training

curricula

27

graduates 80,000 higher education students per year. However, only roughly 15,000 graduates find jobs within a given year. The Tunisian educational system suffers from a variety of problems, including a focus on teaching theory over practice, a recent decline in the level of language skills, a lack of educational focus on social skills and communication, and limited practical orientation towards the private sector needs of employers. As a result, while highly qualified on paper, graduates often lack a variety of necessary skills to be effective in the workforce.

BRCP has created or upgrade 18 higher education and/or vocational training curricula with the goal of shrinking the skill gap between graduating students and employers. Through BRCP’s job creation work with enterprises, as well as job-matching work with enterprises and job placement stakeholders, the project has been able to clearly identify skills and competencies which are in high demand. BRCP involves partners at each step of this process, including CDC counselors who represent a crucial link between educational institutions and enterprises, as well as enterprises themselves in order to establish tight and efficient informational linkage networks. Internships, for example, which to varying degrees are mandatory for graduation, can serve as a valuable link between CDC counselors, who seek to place students, and enterprises, who can report on missing competencies or skills.

Sub-Task 2.3: Career Development Centers (CDCs) and the 4C concept

BRCP and the Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MHESR) have partnered to improve the employability of graduating students in Tunisia through the formation of a comprehensive network of “4Cs” (Centers for Careers and Skill Certification) embedded in universities. These are anchored around the services provided by Career Development Centers (CDCs) sponsored by USAID, and include services provided by World Bank-financed Certification Centers.

BRCP has created and supported 43 4C Centers whose goal is to:

Provide comprehensive career development resources to enable students and graduates to find employment;

Enhance the employment-related skills of graduating students; Establish a functional communication triangle between education, employers and job

seekers; Encourage more effective use of internships; Build and maintain an alumni network to facilitate job searches; Provide recruitment feedback and guidance to employers.

CDCs thus serve as a crucial scalable, sustainable institutional link between higher education and private enterprise. BRCP works with the CDCs to organize Career Day events, provides access to innovative tools such as the Tounes Ta3mal platform, and monitors the CDCs in order to evaluate their effectiveness, provide motivation, and optimally manage the allocation of BRCP resources to bolster CDC institutional capacity.


43 4Cs created and supported

75 jobs matched by 4C counselors

28

BRCP support for the creation and promotion of these 4C centers includes:

Training of Trainer (ToT) events to upgrade 4C counseling and networking capacity, organized across a variety of themes including career planning and management, promotion using social media, job search technique workshops, entrepreneurship, and communication;

Leveraging relationships with strong partners such as Silatech and Microsoft to reinforce the 4C network and build Career Counselor capacity through the Tamheed Career Counselor training and certification program and the Tounes Ta3mal online career development platform. 42 Career Counselors have been trained in these tools over the project’s three years.

Capacity building through co-organized employability events allowing 4C centers to source and screen candidates, focus resources on successful employability event design and tracking, teach job search technique workshops, and develop and maintain key functional relationships with private sector employers.

Production of a Manual of Procedures for 4C counselors which is distributed to new and current counselors as a reference to better understand the structure and role of a Career Development Center as well as manage and implement 4C functions.

Near the end of the first year of the project, the Minister of Higher Education issued a decree establishing the 4Cs as separate entities within educational establishments, initiating a major step towards the successful sustainable expansion of the CDC network. In the third quarter of Year 3, following continued BRCP support and promotion of the 4C’s, the Minister issued a decree formally establishing the 4Cs as administrative departments within educational institutions, followed by implementation guidelines supporting budget solutions and full-time staff for the 4C centers. The MHESR has committed to the goal of establishing 4Cs in all academic institutions throughout Tunisia by the end of 2018. Following the decree, BRCP and the MHESR co-organized a 4C Launch Event and Road Show, traveling through 16 governorates to introduce and promote the 4C structure to academic stakeholders, job seekers, and the business community throughout Tunisia.

29

CDC/4Cs, Tunisia

# Career Development Centers

4Cs Regions Established in

1 University of Sousse Sousse Launched in 2014 2 University of Kairouen Kairouen Launched in 2014 3 University of Jendouba Jendouba Launched in 2014 4 University of Gafsa Gafsa Launched in 2014 5 University Tunis El Manar Tunis Launched in 2014 6 ISET Zaghouen Zaghouen Launched in 2014 7 Tunis Business School Ben Arous Launched in 2015 8 ISET Rades Ben Arous Launched in 2015 9 ISET Sidi Bouzid Sidi Bouzid Launched in 2015

10 ISET Kelibia Kelibia Launched in 2015 11 ISET Gabes Gabes Launched in 2015

12 ISET Nabeul Nabeul Launched in 2015

13 ISET Ksar hellal Monastir Launched in 2015

14 ISET Tataouine Tataouine Launched in 2015

15 ISET Beja Beja Launched in 2015

16 Tunisian Polytechnical School Tunis Launched in 2015

17 University of Sfax Sfax Launched in 2015

18 University of Monastir Monastir Launched in 2015

19 ISET Djerba Medenine Launched in 2015

20 ISET Charguia Tunis Launched in 2016

21 ISET Bizerte Bizerte Launched in 2016

22 ISET Seliana Seliana Launched in 2016

23 ISET Tozeur Tozeur Launched in 2016

24 ISET Jendouba Jendouba Launched in 2016

25 ENISO Sousse Launched in 2016

26 ISSAT Sousse Launched in 2016

27 ISET Sousse Sousse Launched in 2016

DJERBA

TUNISIA

ALGERIA

LIBYA

MONASTIR

ZAGHOUAN

MEDENINE

EMPLOYABILITY & WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT – 4C

2014 ‐ 2016

ARIANA

BEN AROUS

MANOUBA

30

28 ISET Mahdia Mahdia Launched in 2016

29 ISET Kebili Kebili Launched in 2016

30 ISET Medenine Medenine Launched in 2016

31 Faculté des Sciences Humaines et Sociales de Tunis

Tunis Launched in 2016

32 Faculté des Sciences économiques et de Gestion de Nabeul

Nabeul Launched in 2016

33 ISET Kasserine Kasserine Launched in 2017

34 Faculté des Sciences économiques et de Gestion de Nabeul

Tunis Launched in 2017

35 ISET Com Ariana Launched in 2017

36 ENIS Sfax Sfax Launched in 2017

37 ISG Tunis Bardo Launched in 2017

38 ISAMM Mannouba Launched in 2017

39 ISCAE Mannouba Launched in 2017

40 Université de Gabes Gabes Launched in 2017

41 Faculté de science et technologie sidi Bouzid

Sidi Bouzid Launched in 2017

42 University of Carthage Carthage Launched in 2017

43 ISG Sousse Sousse Launched in 2017

Sub-Task 2.4: Job Fairs

Through the course of the project, BRCP has developed and refined an innovative invitation-only job fair model based on direct engagement with employers, well in advance of events, in order to choose the best enterprise partners and communicate with them clearly. Close M&E monitoring of early job fair models, specifically continuing follow-up with participant jobseekers to verify actual hirings, indicated poor results. These models included general, multi-sector job fairs, sector specific job fairs, large company-specific job fairs, and virtual job-fair models. Through analysis and the provision of related services to augment job fair effectiveness, the project has identified three key factors for success:

The degree of enterprise engagement is crucial. Focusing on enterprises with real, well-identified, time-sensitive recruitment needs ensures a level of focus and motivation;

A high level of pre-screening has a direct impact on the commitment and level of engagement of partners, as well as the quality of the job fair itself;

A timeline of 2 months between the first steps and the event is the maximum allowable to ensure adequate and accountable results.

In addition, job fairs must be reinforced by targeted technical assistance with both candidates and enterprises, intensive complementary utilization of web-based tools to more effectively screen candidates and distribute information, a strong communications/outreach effort, and functional organization of strong partnerships (i.e. ANETI, CONECT Business Association, CDCs, Chambers of Commerce, etc.) to fill specific job fair needs and roles.

In addition to job fairs, which are large, highly visible events held in conference centers or other locations, BRCP has focused on smaller, more targeted micro-employability events. These include Career Days, held at CDCs, and Enterprise Days, held at enterprise or ANETI employment agency premises. These events focus on intensive work with employer HR departments, more selective candidate screening, and serve one or more enterprises typically with similar recruitment needs. The smaller scale focus allows for quicker, more flexible planning, requires far fewer resources, and the narrowed scope allows for a more focused degree of collaboration with partners and candidates. While large job fairs drive greater project visibility and help solidify project partnerships, these smaller events result in a far higher percentage of actual jobs matched with participating enterprises.


217 Career Events

11 Job Fairs (352 jobs matched)

206 Career/Enterprise Days (2,943 jobs matched)

TASK 3: ENABLING ENVIRONMENT IMPROVEMENT THROUGH TARGETED TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO STAKEHOLDERS AT TUNISIAN GOVERNMENT AGENCIES

BRCP supports targeted technical services to key Government of Tunisia counterparts and other stakeholders in critical areas designed to improve critical aspects of the legal and regulatory environment in a manner which will promote increased private investment and employment.

Partnership with the MCTDE

BRCP, in partnership with the Ministry of Communications Technologies and the Digital Economy, is promoting the drafting and passage of a new Digital Communications Code. The new code will replace the 2001 Telecom Code.

BRCP has worked closely with the Ministry team and the regulator, INT, to promote consensus on the new Digital Communications Code. The Ministry has begun working intensively on reviewing and expanding upon the BRCP draft of a new Digital Communications Code and has set ambitious targets for completing the drafting process, submitting the draft to the Council of Ministers, and, ultimately, to Parliament by the end of 2017. The new Digital Communications Code will be a major legislative achievement for the government, and will introduce a high standard for transparency and good governance for the new government of Tunisia. BRCP has also advised the Ministry on a draft policy for promoting universal service as well as the successful tender the Ministry completed in early 2016 for new licenses for 4th Generation wireless telecom service licenses.

The Code will:

‐ Promote competition and broadband deployment, including in unserved and underserved regions of Tunisia;

‐ Encourage new private investment in telecom infrastructure; ‐ Create an independent, transparent, and accountable regulatory body; ‐ Streamline regulation by combining several agencies that currently regulate different facets of the

industry (for example, by integrating the spectrum management agency into the telecom regulator);

‐ Stimulate creation of new jobs, new businesses, and economic growth.

Partnership with the Ministry of Justice and MVTE

BRCP collaborated in Year 3 with the Ministry of Justice, and with the MVTE, on two crucial economic reforms: business registration reform and the development of a modern secured transactions law.

Business Registration Reform

The existing process of business registration in Tunisia is costly and complex. This affects Tunisia’s World Bank’s Doing Business ranking, creates obstacles to the creation of SMEs, and promotes informality. Pursuant to agreements made during the Joint Economic Committee in May, 2016 between the governments of Tunisia and the United States, BRCP initiated a targeted Business Registration Reform

with the initial goal of establishing an online informational portal detailing the administrative processes involved in business registration and modification.

Designed and implemented in collaboration with the MoJ and MVTE, the portal is designed from the perspective of the user, allowing Tunisian citizens to clearly access the steps, costs, timeframes, legal justifications, and authorities involved in the creation of an enterprise. The portal, verified by the MoJ, also serves as a reference for business registration in Tunisia. The site went live at the end of 2016, and through an extensive outreach effort by BRCP and project partners, the site has received over 30,000 hits.

Secured Transactions Law

A second reform effort agreed to at the JEC and implemented by BRCP is secured transactions reform. Access to investment funding remains critically deficient in Tunisia, especially for SMEs. BRCP has worked with the MOJ and a working group composed of other public agencies (Ministry of Finance, Central Bank, Commercial Registry) and influential private associations (APBT – Professional Association of Tunisian Banks) on a draft secured transactions law. This law is based on the UNCITRAL model and is consistent with international best-practices and the IFC’s secured transactions system. The draft law governs the creation, registration and enforceability of security interests in moveable property, and requires the establishment of a centralized electronic collateral registry. If enacted, the law will enable the broad use of moveable property as collateral, thereby mobilizing a substantial and currently under-utilized source of financing. This will particularly benefit SMEs and consumer groups such as youth and women who traditionally lack access to immoveable property to use as collateral. The draft law is currently under final review at the Ministry of Justice and is expected to be submitted to Parliament by the fall of 2017.

APPENDICES

Appendix 1: Charts

3 002

2 848

1 572 1 535

1 463

989

949

742

533

517 420 329

191 70

Enterprises Assisted Distribution by Jobs Created, April 2014 - April 2017

Textile&Apparel Electricity&Electronics ICT

Agribusiness Healthcare Manufacturing

Tourism&Catering Transport Retail &Wholesale

Security&Other Services Financial Services Construction

Communication Water Treatment &Waste ManagementSource: M&E analysis

-

200

400

600

800

1 000

1 200

1 400

Jobs Created by Region and Gender, April 2014 - April 2017

Gender Male Gender Female

1460

642

474

327

146

14480

40 2811 10

8

Task 2 - Jobs Matched by Sector, April 2014 - April 2017

Textile & Apparel

ICT

Tourism&Catering

Manufacturing

Healthcare

Retail & Wholesale

Financial services

Agribusiness

Security & Other services

Publishing activities

Construction

Advertising and market research

Source: M&E analysis

-

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900826

298

148

31 43 29 11 8 -

31 3 15 1 2 12 1

364

148

415

22

500

8

110

28 1

108

5 11 - - 1

187

Jobs

cre

ated

Jobs Matched by Gender and Location, April 2014 - April 2017

Male FemaleSource: M&E analysis

Appendix 2: M&E Approach

M&E APPROACH

The M&E component is positioned as a management tool that works at every stage of BRCP implementation to ensure that project activities are designed, implemented, and carried out in a manner consistent with optimized outcomes (impact and results). This component is continually being evaluated and revised to ensure maintenance of reporting standards and accuracy, as well as practicality. The Tunisian business environment presents certain challenges to the collection and verification of certain types of data. BRCP as a whole, and the M&E component in particular, work together to generate effective reporting and verification procedures. M&Es project is process-oriented, fact-based, and result-driven.

BRCP’s principle goal is to increase employment. M&E established a rigorous, conservative verification process for measuring employment impact in enterprises, job fairs, and other activities and events. BCRP’s job creation tracking component is based on three main principles:

Causality: BRCP does not take credit for jobs created/matched through BRCP action unless the following conditions are met:

‐ A direct link exists between BRCP assistance and job creation/matching ‐ Job creation/matching chronologically follows BRCP assistance implementation ‐ The partner would not have been able to create the position without BRCP

assistance;

Veracity: A created position must be a full-time, contractual position for one year or more of employment. Local labor practice for some industries is to operate through short-term contracts, renewable at intervals until conversion into permanent contracts. M&E’s approach is to accept these positions when they have been renewed exceeding the initial three months, followed by confirmation through ongoing tracking at later dates.

Excluded from the job count baseline are: ‐ Final Project Internships: (required by educational institutions for degrees) ‐ Informal sector jobs – job without contracts (or licenses for entrepreneurs) ‐ Temp/Interim assignments ‐ Part-Time jobs ‐ Re-hires (M&E verifies that hires are for new positions only)

Additionality: Jobs created beyond the initial implementation period as a result of BRCP

activity are included provided there is a direct, established link between BCRP activity and the subsequent later creation of the position.

M&E is an integral part of BRCP’s project design and implementation. M&E attends regular Task meetings, as well as working with Tasks from the early stages through the end of an initiative. Involvement at the early stages allows M&E to incorporate proper information gathering and expectations from the very beginning. By participating and collecting information throughout processes, M&E is positioned to identify potential problems early on and work on addressing them.

BRCP Year 3 Report - June 2017

Documents

Transcript of BRCP Year 3 Report - June 2017