Banking Sector Letsema Learnership Project

Tender Title: Letsema – Disabled Learner Recruitment / 1
Covering Page

BANKING SECTOR LETSEMA LEARNERSHIP PROJECT

APPOINTMENT OF A SERVICE PROVIDER

FOR THE RECRUITMENT OF LEARNERS WITH DISABILITIES TO PARTICIPATE IN LEARNERSHIPS IN THE BANKING SECTOR

CLOSING DATE AND TIME: 16:00 ON 2 SEPTEMBER 2004

Prospective contractors are to ensure that they have received all pages of this document, which consists of the following sections and appendices:

Section 1:Terms of reference (8 pages)

Section 2:Evaluation criteria (1 page)

Section 3:Instructions and rules for prospective contractors (6 pages)

APPENDICES

Appendix I:Map (1 page)

Appendix II:Contact information (1 page)

Appendix III:Tax clearance (3 pages)

Appendix IV:Declaration of interest (2 pages)

Appendix V:HDI preference forms (10 pages)

Appendix VI:Promotion of Small Businesses (6 pages)

Appendix VII: Draft contract (6 pages)

Please note: The company information, tax clearance certificate, declaration of interest, the HDI preference forms and Promotion of Small Business should be completed and form part of the proposal.

INFORMATION SESSION

Please note that an information session (not compulsory) for this assignment will be held on Friday 27August 2004 from 10H30 to 11h30 at BANKSETA, Block15, Thornhill Office Park, 94 Bekker Road, Midrand, Gauteng. Tenderers should bring their own copies of the tender documentation to the information session.

Please RSVP with Mashadi Motshabi at by 16h00 on Wednesday 25 August 2004.

Tender Title: Letsema – Disabled Learner Recruitment / 1
Section 1: Terms of reference

SECTION 1: TERMS OF REFERENCE

1.1BACKGROUND TO THE PROJECT

The banking sector through the Letsema project seeks to place 5 000 learners on learnerships over a three year period.

The first year of the project launched in March 2004 and saw 825 learners placed with 8 organisations within the banking sector.

The Banking Sector Education and Training Authority (BANKSETA) is seeking to appoint a qualified service provider with experience in active recruitment and recruitment and placement of learners with disabilities and who is located in South Africa to recruit 29 learners with disabilities in accordance with specified selection criteria to start one of two learnerships in March2005. This request for proposal is for 29 learners however the scope of the project may increase to a maximum of 99 learners over a two-year period.

You are as such hereby invited to submit a proposal to deliver services in line with the considerations below.

1.2SERVICE PROVIDER REQUIREMENTS

The following minimum criteria apply to any organisation responding to this RFP and supporting documentation should be provided in any response submitted:

Demonstrate experience in active recruitment by which the learners with disabilities are sought out from relevant institutions and screened;

Present a proposal by which learners are obtained through such an active recruitment process;

Have the ability to respond to and select from unsolicited (word of mouth) applications;

Have experience in assessing the orientation and mobility skills of learners including visual disabilities

Demonstrate an extensive track record in recruitment and placement of learners with disabilities for training programmes/learnerships;

Demonstrate how its proposed recruitment methodology will ensure that suitable learners from an academic and behavioural point of view will be sourced with a high degree of confidence;

Demonstrate suitable methodologies for screening learners for training programmes/learnerships;

Demonstrate a comprehensive recruitment network in relevant institutions; and

Demonstrate the ability to ensure that the workplace where learners are placed is in a position to provide workplace experience for learners with disabilities

The day-to-day management of the service delivery will be Service Level Agreement based.

1.3OUTSOURCING REQUIREMENTS

The following paragraphs describe BANKSETA’s requirements and approach to the outsourcing of the recruitment of learners with disabilities for the Letsema Project. Prospective service providers are encouraged to study the information in this section and to take the requirements into account when formulating their proposal and costing.

1.3.1Term of the contract

The intended term of the contract will be subject to negotiation with an anticipated start date of 30 September 2004.

1.3.2Pricing

The pricing quoted by the service provider must include all expenses including but not limited to sourcing, screening, short listing, interviewing, assessment, venues, transport and final proposal. The assessment instrument acceptable to the BANKSETA is the 15FQ+ from the service provider Psytech SA and should include a CTB2 (Clerical Test Battery) and CRTB2 (Critical Reasoning TestV2).

1.3.3Possible joint ventures

Any alliances between service providers will be considered provided that evidence of formally agreed upon contracts form part of the proposal. The BANKSETA will not be responsible for establishing or managing any relationship formed as part of a joint venture or sub-contracting process.

1.4OUTSOURCING PROCESS

The following sections describe the process followed by BANKSETA for the outsourcing of the recruitment of learners. Prospective service providers are encouraged to study this section for a complete understanding of the structure of the RFP and the description of the services and the metrics for rendering and measuring the services.

Tender Title: Letsema – Disabled Learner Recruitment / 1
Section 1: Terms of reference

1.4.1Introduction

The banking sector has determined the need for the Letsema Project and has defined the required overall objectives and output.

The service description table highlights each service deliverable that is required from the service provider and provides a clear delineation of responsibility between the service provider and BANKSETA.

1.4.2Service Description

The service description table will be attached to the eventual outsourcing contract as a schedule and will form the governing basis of service delivery. There are 5 service deliverables in this table.

SERVICE DESCRIPTIONS

Deliverable / Outcome / Description / Service Level Agreement Responsibilities / Date Signed Off
Service Provider / BANKSETA
1. Recruitment Strategy / Recruitment strategy refers to a detailed description of how learners will be recruited and needs to bear in mind the following:

All legal requirements must be met
It should produce suitable learners matching agreed upon criteria
Learners must have a disability as defined in the Employment Equity Act and meet the minimum National Skills Development Strategy requirements: 85% black, 54% female
Active recruitment must be used. In addition the service provider needs to consider and respond to unsolicited (word of mouth) applications. Learners recruited through word of mouth may not exceed 50%
25% of learners recruited will be placed on a Management Development Learnership and must meet the minimum entry requirements for that learnership
75% of learners will be placed on a Financial Services Advice Learnership and must meet the agreed upon minimum entry requirements for that learnership
All learners recruited must be unemployed[1]and under 30 years of age
Recruitment may be national but with placement only in Gauteng, Kwa-Zulu Natal, Eastern & Western Cape and Free State

Submit the strategy, within 10 working days of signing of contract
Submit the advertisement within 10 working days of signing of contract
Submit application forms within 10 working days of signing of contract
Amendments when required must be completed within 2 working days and resubmitted for signoff

Provide criteria for the recruitment of learners to service provider upon signing of contract
Provide information on workplace readiness to service provider by 22 October 2004
Strategy is signed off or referred back for amendments by BANKSETA within 5 working days of receipt but by no later than 22 October 2004

2. Screening and short listing of learners / Screening refers to the process of matching learners against the agreed upon selection criteria provided by the BANKSETA /

Match learners against the agreed upon selection criteria. This activity needs to be completed by no later than 30 November 2004
Submit fortnightly reports in the agreed format to the BANKSETA on progress

Confirm with service provider the agreed upon selection criteria for both the Financial Services Advice Learnership and the Management Development Learnership by 22 October 2004
Provide the service provider with placement numbers in provinces per learnership by 22 October 2004

3. Select suitable learners / The selection process needs to include a structured interview as well as an assessment tool/s that will assess at least, but not limited to the following:

Trainability
Numeric skills
Verbal skills

In addition, the selection process will include both a credit and criminal check for pending claims and judgements
The dimensions/competencies that will be assessed by the tools/s shall be indicated by the BANKSETA/Training Provider
The selection process may require collaboration with the Selected Training Provider /

Provide BANKSETA with structured interview(s) for sign off by 31 October 2004 but before interviews begin
Provide BANKSETA with interview schedule at least two weeks before interviews commence for quality assurance purposes
Provide successful learners with information pack

BANKSETA will provide the service provider with an information pack for successful learners by 31 October 2004
Sign of the structured interview(s) within 5 working days
Attend interviews as required for quality assurance purposes

4. Recruited learners’ details / The recruited learners’ details will include a document reflecting the demographic and geographic details of all successful learners as well as the supporting documents for each learner. The responsibility of the service provider is to ensure that all successful learners will have been timeously notified of the contract signing date, time, and venue to be determined by BANKSETA. In addition the service provider must notify unsuccessful learners of the outcome /

Provide the BANKSETA with the details of learners in the prescribed format as well as supporting documents by 31 December 2004
All unsuccessful learners will have been notified by 31 January 2005

The BANKSETA will provide the service provider with the prescribed format for learners’ details as well as a list of required supporting documents by 22 October 2004

5. Assisting with the placement of learners / This will include an assessment of the workplace to determine the readiness of the workplace to accommodate the requirements of learners with disabilities and advising the employer on what needs to be done to prepare the workplace. In addition it will include the monitoring of the learner’s adjustment in the workplace for a period of three months /

Assess and advise on the readiness of the workplace by 31 December 2004 and make recommendations where applicable
Monitor the learner and provide monthly feedback to the BANKSETA and escalate any concerns as they arise

Provide information on the exact placement of learners by 30 November 2004

Please note:

BANKSETA makes no guarantee to the completeness of the Service Description. Prospective service providers are encouraged to identify and document additional service descriptions for inclusion in their response to the RFP. If applicable, prospective service providers are requested to indicate if there are certain services that are required in the execution of this assignment that are excluded from the proposal.

Tender Title: Letsema – Disabled Learner Recruitment / 1
Section 2: Evaluation Criteria

SECTION 2: EVALUATION CRITERIA

All tenders will be assessed in line with the criteria below:

Technical requirements (80 points)

Company understanding of the objectives of the assignment and its relevant components.
Proposed methodology in addressing the implementation of the assignment specific to the requirements and activities as reflected in the Terms of Reference section.
Company’s relevant experience in projects of a similar nature and ability to complete projects within tight deadlines. This should include demonstration of adequate resources available for successful completion of the assignment.
A project plan clearly addressing the timelines and deliverables with associated budgets specific to each activity of the assignment. The project plan must be in line with the implementation of the proposed methodology specific to the requirements of the Terms of Reference.

Equity ownership by HDI’s and promotion of small businesses (10 points)

(See Appendix V and VI of this document)

Equity ownership by HDI
Is the company an SMME as defined by the National Small Business Act, 1996 (Act 102 of 1996) and/or does it promote small business?

Financial requirement (10 points)

The service provider should charge for recruitment on a per learner basis and should include and itemise all costs pertaining to the assignment.
Tender Title: Letsema – Disabled Learner Recruitment / 1
Section 3: Instructions and Rules

SECTION 3: INSTRUCTIONS AND RULES

3.1SUBMITTING PROPOSALS

3.1.1Three hard copies and one electronic copy of the proposal should be submitted to the BANKSETA offices. The closing date and time for both the hard copies and electronic version is strictly 16:00 on 2 September 2004.

3.1.2Submissions can be delivered between 08:30 and 16:30, Mondays to Fridays prior to the closing date, and between 08:30 and 16:00 on 2 September 2004.

3.1.3No late submissions will be considered.

3.1.4Submissions should be delivered to the address hereunder and clearly marked with the tender number:

BANKSETA

94 Bekker Street

Midrand

Thornhill Office Park

Building 15

(See Appendix 1 for a map)

3.1.5Submissions should be in a sealed envelope marked with

Letsema –Recruitment of learners with disabilities

Tender Number: BS/2004/SK/007/CON/02

3.1.6The contact person is Christine Fritz, who can be contacted at (011) 805-9661 or by e-mail at

3.2QUERIES

Any clarification required by a prospective contractor regarding the meaning or interpretation of the Terms of Reference, or any other aspect concerning the tender, may be requested in writing, i.e. via e-mail. The tender number should be mentioned in all correspondence to Christine Fritz (). Requests by telephone will not be considered.

Written enquiries will be accepted up to 16:00 on 25 August 2004 and will be responded to at the briefing session to be held on 27 August 2004. Responses to written enquiries as well questions raised at the briefing session will be published on the BANKSETA website ( by 16:00 on 31 August 2004.

3.3FORMAT OF PROPOSALS

Prospective contractors are advised that their proposal should be no longer than 20A4single sided pages, font Arial 12, excluding the appendices contained in this document, and written in plain English and simply presented.

Prospective contractors are to set out their proposal in the following format. Parts 3 – 6 must be based on the information supplied in the Terms of Reference of this document.

Part 1:Covering letter

Part 2:Company information

Part 3:Understanding of the environment and the assignment

Part 4:Technical approach and methodology

Part 5:Relevant experience and staff details

Part 6:Cost proposal

Part 7:SARS tax clearance certificate

Part 8:Declaration of interest

Part 9:HDI preference forms

Part 10:Promotion of small business

Part 1: Covering letter

The proposal must be accompanied by a letter signed by a person of suitable authority to commit the prospective contractor. This letter should contain the following paragraph:

“We have examined the information provided in your tender documents and offer to undertake the work described in accordance with the requirements as set out in the tender document. The prices quoted in this tender are valid for sixty (60) days and we confirm that this tender will remain binding upon us and may be accepted by you at any time before this expiry date.”

In the case of a consortium, the letter must contain the following paragraph as well as a signature from each party to the consortium committing to the paragraph.

“We hereby confirm that we accept the contents of the proposal and that we authorise the contracting party to act on our behalf.”

Part 2: Contact information

Prospective contractors should complete Appendix II.

Part 3: Understanding of the environment and the assignment

Prospective contractors should demonstrate in this part their understanding of the components of the assignment as well as their understanding of the environment.

Part 4: Technical approach and methodology

Prospective contractors must submit as part of the proposal, a project plan which shall at least include the following:

Detailed technical approach, tools and techniques noting exactly how the prospective contractor proposes to carry out each activity for the assignment to achieve the identified outcomes. Identify any possible problems that might hinder delivery and indicate how problems will be avoided, or overcome.

Timelines for key activities and outputs.

Deliverables.

The persons responsible for the execution of the noted activities.

The number of hours, if relevant, required to complete each activity and the number of hours to be provided by each member of staff.

Prospective contractors are to present such information in a matrix. The following is provided merely as a guideline for the project plan – prospective contractors are free to elaborate as they see fit:

Outcome/output / Activity and approach / Staff member(s) involved (name and position) / Workdays/ hours for each staff member / Timelines

Part 5: Relevant experience and staff details

Prospective contractors should indicate:

Experience and expertise with practical fieldwork and previous assignments in the area of active recruitment
Active recruitment by which learners with disabilities are sought out from relevant institutions and screened
Adequate resources available for successful completion of the assignment
The ability to work within tight deadlines

Provide a summary chart on all the staff to be used. Identify the position(s) and persons involved in the direct delivery of the noted activities and in the overall management of the work. For each staff member there must be a brief capability statement clearly demonstrating why they are suitable to fill their position.

Name / Position in team / Current position / Years of experience / Age / Education / Specialist areas of knowledge and capability / Race (HDI) / SA citizen (yes or no)

Provide the details of three companies that you have rendered a service to, other than the BANKSETA:

Information required / Reference 1 / Reference 2 / Reference 3
Name of company
Name of contact person
Contact number
Details and duration of service

Part 6: Cost Proposal

Charges should include all costs pertaining to the assignment.

Any budget amount indicated in this document shall be deemed to be a guide only and prospective contractors are expected to submit a costing that is fair and reasonable.

Value Added Tax must be included and shown separately.