Terms of Reference for a Consultant to provide their Services to Develop the ISETT-ISSA Learnerships

Introduction

A need has been identified on the ISETT-ISSA Learnership Development Project to acquire the services of a Consultant to assist in the development of four learnerships. These learnerships will be developed from four programmes currently being conducted at ISSA (Institute for Satellite and Software Applications), situated in the Western Cape close to Grabouw. Further background to the ISETT-ISSA Learnership Development Project is presented in Appendix 1.

Objective of the ISETT-ISSA Learnership Development Project

The overall purpose of the ISETT-ISSA Skills Development project is to produce strategic human resource capabilities for the South African ICT Sector, through the transferable means of learnerships. This will be achieved through transforming existing and new programmes at ISSA into learnerships, thereby introducing the workplace component into the educational process. The project is seen to make further indirect contributions to the ICT Sector and the learnership development process, for example development of unit standards, some of which can be employed in other learnerships.

To achieve this, cognisance needs to be taken of the needs of the employers. Aspects such as business skills need to be incorporated into these learnerships, particularly in view of the fact that another objective of this overall project is to encourage the development of new start-up companies.

Appendix 2 presents the specific outcomes of the project.

An overview of the project structure is presented in Appendix 3. The services of the Consultant will be required in part of Stage 3 of the project. The complete project plan is available from the ISETT SETA Project Office.

The Reference Group

At the time of developing this project, it was recognised that there are several stakeholders that need to be included in the development of these learnerships. Most importantly, it was recognised that certain stakeholders would need to be involved in the scoping of the learnerships, the definition and development of the various components of each learnership, and the development of the unit standards.

These stakeholders will form a Reference Group and will typically comprise the following organisations:

  • The project executing agency, ISETT SETA, represented by the ISETT-ISSA Project Manager.
  • The primary implementing organisation, ISSA, represented by the General Manager, the Administration Officer, and the Academic Officer.
  • One of the two key supporting implementing organisations for SMME development, the Bandwidth Barn, represented by the Cape IT Initiative’s (CITI) Manager.
  • The other of the two key supporting implementing organisations for SMME development, the Innovation Hub, represented by the Innovation Hub’s Empowerment Initiatives Manager.
  • Industry representation, namely the ITA, EIF, BITF, and TSDF.
  • SGB representation. There are currently three SGBs active in the ISETT Sector, namely the IT SGB (levels 1 to 5), the IT SGB (levels 5+), and the TSGB.

The Reference Group is currently being formed to guide the development of these learnerships. This Reference Group will be based in the Cape Town vicinity and in the Johannesburg/Pretoria vicinity, but members from other parts of the country may also link in using video conferencing. The Consultant will be required to maintain close liaison with this Reference Group, conducting regular feedback presentations to the Reference Group in order that the Reference Group can monitor that the intermediate and final outcomes will be to the satisfaction of the stakeholders.

Note that there may be a Reference Group associated with each Learnership, but it is more likely, due to time constraints on the part of the Reference Group members, that one Reference Group will service all four learnerships.

Scope of Work to be Performed

The project plan for this Learnership Development Project was developed in September 2001, and was based on available documents at the time. Only those workpackages that specifically target the definition of the learnerships have been extracted from the Project Plan, and are presented below. These workpackages define the developmental process, and form the scope of work for this tender.

Since developing the original Project Plan in September 2001, these workpackages have been discussed with stakeholders in a workshop held in March 2002. At this workshop, consensus was reached that these workpackages adequately describe the process to define the learnerships. These workpackages, represented by the four-digit numbers, are presented in the following table.

WBS Description
3.1.1 Learnership Scoping Document
3.1.1.1 Develop Scoping Document for the Learnership
3.1.3 Learnership Definition
3.1.3.1 Define Objective of the Learnership
3.1.3.2 Define specific & critical cross field outcomes. Critical cross-field outcomes are already defined by SAQA, and they relate to unit standards.
3.1.3.3 Define purposes of each outcome
3.1.3.4 Define the applied competences. Address the practical integrity.
3.1.3.5 Define potential paths for further learning
3.1.3.6 Specify exit level outcomes
3.1.3.7 Define fundamental, core & specific/elective components
3.1.3.8 Define structure of learning experience
3.1.3.9 Define structure of practical work experience
3.1.3.10 Develop learning, workplace & SMME experience content

The following points should be noted:

  • Additional information on the actual content of the current ISSA qualifications is available electronically from the ISETT SETA Project Office.
  • The Consultant will be required to provide services addressing Workpackages 3.1.3.2 to 3.1.3.10.
  • Workpackage 3.1.1.1, “Develop Scoping Document for the Learnership” is complete.
  • Work is in progress on Workpackage 3.1.3.1, “Define Objective of the Learnership”, which will form the start of the “Learnership Definition Document”.
  • The outputs of workpackages 3.1.3.2 to 3.1.3.10 (essentially documents in their own right) will be sequentially added to the Learnership Definition Document. This set of workpackages covers each of the four learnerships to be developed.
  • These workpackages take the development of the learnerships to the end of the definition phase. A further tender will likely be compiled to accommodate the post-definition workpackages of the project, such as the development of the unit standards and registration of the learnerships.

Further Requirements of the Consultant

  • Inclusion of the Working Group Sessions. It is recommended that bidders accommodate working group sessions within their methodology. It is crucial that stakeholder support is gained for the four learnerships that are being developed, and the primary means of achieving this is through communication with the Reference Group, which will comprise of some employer representatives. Employer representatives will represent the needs of employers of the skills that will be produced from the learnerships.
  • Format of the Working Group Sessions. It is suggested that each working group session (except the first one) starts with the Consultant presenting the findings to date and motivation of recommendations. This should be followed by discussion and debate with the Reference Group in order to draw on its requirements and needs. The working group session should be concluded with a presentation by the Consultant on their approach to forthcoming work, taking note of input from the Reference Group. Forthcoming deliverables shall be presented.
  • Structuring the Workpackages. Several workpackages are presented above, which define the process in defining the learnerships. In order to make the most effective and efficient use of the time of the Reference Group members, the Consultant is encouraged to consider grouping some of these workpackages so as to reduce the number of working group sessions.
  • Liaison with ISSA. ISSA is the institute that currently presents the qualification programmes, and is therefore best suited to provide input into the development of the learnerships. ISSA is situated near Grabouw in the Western Cape. Communication with ISSA members will likely be frequent, and will take the form of telephonic, email and personal communications. This can be arranged by the Consultant directly with ISSA, with assistance from the ISETT SETA Project Manager if required.
  • Communication with the Reference Group. In order to ensure that all communication with the Reference Group is effectively managed, communication must be arranged through the ISETT SETA Project Manager.
  • Documentation. The Consultant will be responsible for documenting all the outputs of each workpackage, and, irrespective of documentation provided during the execution of the project, will provide a complete set of the final version of all documentation at the conclusion of the project. The Consultant must utilise a version control system that must be described in the proposal. Typically, this should cover the inclusion of version numbers in the footer of documents and in the file name of documents. The Microsoft Office suite must be employed for all documentation.

Duties of the ISETT-ISSA Project Office

In support of the Reference Group, the ISETT-ISSA Project Office will have the following duties:

  • Recruitment of Reference Group members.
  • Assembly and distribution of background and supporting material.
  • Arrange working group venues.

Definition of Acceptable Bidders

ISETT wishes to deal only with the person in the organisation that will be ultimately delivering the work. For this reason, subcontracting of the work by the organisation that bids will not be desirable.

Because the Consultant will have to liaise closely with ISSA, it would be ideal for the Consultant to also be based in the Western Cape. This will not however be a limiting criteria.

Proposal Structure and Content

The proposal must be structured as follows, and contain at least the following information:

  • Overview of Organisations Capabilities/Experience. Emphasis must be placed on past experience in the field of learnership development.
  • References. At least three references need to be submitted with the proposal.
  • Personnel Assigned. A list of the Consultant’s personnel that will be allocated to this project, and identification of the Consultant’s Project Manager. A CV of each person, presenting only information that is appropriate to this tender, is to be included in an Appendix.
  • Description of Services/Work to be performed.
  • Methodology. Since close liaison is required with ISSA, the Reference Group and the ISETT SETA Project Manager, this section needs to detail what working groups will be held, which workpackages will be handled in any particular working group session, what the outputs will be and what the estimated time is that will be required by the stakeholders in these meetings. It is recommended that the Consultant should start these working group sessions with at least a presentation on results to date, followed by debate on the results to date. On conclusion of this debate, the Consultant should then present an overview of the next phase of work to be performed by the Consultant, including the methodology to be adopted, which will subsequently be debated with the Reference Group. The purpose of this debate is to ensure that all participants are satisfied that the best procedure is being employed.
  • Project Plan and Delivery Schedule. The proposal must present a project plan covering the work to be performed, working group sessions and delivery milestones.
  • Payment Schedule. The proposal must indicate the payment schedule, with payments being tied to formal milestones on the project plan. Prior to any invoices being entertained by the ISETT SETA, payment against work done will first require the satisfaction of the Reference Group, which will be secured by the ISETT SETA Project Manager.
  • Equity Considerations. See Appendix 5.
  • Contact Details. Submissions are to include contact details, including telephone number and email address(es).

The proposal should not exceed 15 Pages (excluding Appendices).

Submission of proposal

Proposals should reach ISETT SETA no later than 12:00pm on Monday 1st July 2002. Proposals may be delivered to ISETT SETA, Ground Floor, Block E, Central Park, 400 16th Road, Halfway House, Gauteng, or may be sent via e-mail to the ISETT-ISSA Project Manager. All proposals need to be submitted in Microsoft Word for Windows, or RTF format.

Prospective winning bidders may be called upon to perform a presentation on their proposal, and respond to any required points of clarity.

Awarding of contract

On the assumption that ISETT does not receive more than six submissions, it is anticipated that the successful applicant will start work on this project on 15th July 2002. Although not cast in stone, this contract should be concluded within approximately three months. Quicker delivery will be viewed favourably, but not to the detriment of the thoroughness and quality of the deliverables.

Contract Price

The contract price shall be a fixed price, including VAT, with VAT specified as a separate line item. All travel and living expenses are to be included in this value, and no additional claims will be entertained by ISETT SETA. Bidders are requested to submit the contract price separately to the proposal (in one envelope).

Bidders will be evaluated on price, amongst other factors, in accordance with the evaluation form presented in Appendix 5. The bidder should therefore bid solely on what is requested in this Terms of Reference. Where the bidder feels greater value for money can be achieved through additional activities, these additional activities should be presented as “further options”, so as not to disadvantage the bidder in the price evaluation.

Proprietary Rights

The Contractor agrees that all rights, to be acknowledged, understood and adhered by the Contractor on acceptance of bid by ISETT SETA, including, without limitation, all intellectual and other proprietary rights, in and to any materials, data, or information, including all computer programs (in source code or object code) and documentation related thereto, which have been provided by ISETT SETA to the Contractor in connection with the performance of any of the services are owned and shall continue to be owned by ISETT SETA or its licensors. ISETT SETA shall have unrestricted access to all such materials, data and information. The Contractor shall deliver any or all such materials, data and information to ISETT SETA immediately upon the request of ISETT SETA.

The Contractor agrees further that all rights, including all intellectual and other proprietary rights, in and to any methods, processes, procedures, systems, inventions (whether patentable or not), devices, discoveries, concepts, ideas, algorithms, formulae, know-how, data and databases, technology, products, software (in executable and source code), templates, documentation, specifications, compilations, designs, reports, trade-marks, and any enhancements, modifications, or additions to the foregoing or to any products owned, marketed or used by ISETT SETA, which have been created or developed by or for the Contractor in connection with the performance of any of the Services hereunder (collectively, the “Work Product”) shall be owned exclusively by ISETT SETA.

The Contractor hereby assigns any and all rights it may have in the Work Product to ISETT SETA. The Contractor shall, at the request of ISETT SETA, obtain a waiver of moral rights from each of its employees and any other individual who participated in the creation or development of any works in connection with this Agreement. The Contractor agrees to do and execute or cause to be made, done or executed all such further and other things, acts, deeds, documents, assignments and assurances as may be necessary or reasonably required to give full effect to assignment to ISETT SETA of its rights hereunder.

Handling of Queries

The ISETT SETA Project Manager,

Neville Nicholas
Telephone: +27 (0)11 805 5115
Cellphone: +27 (0)82 825 3830

will act as the central point of contact on all queries that bidders may have.

Appendix 1: Background to the ISETT-ISSA Learnership Development Project

Information and communications technology (ICT) is one of the fastest growing areas of the economy, cutting across a wide range of sector domains, as a successor to the industrialisation era. Inherent in this growth is the sudden realisation that strategic skills in the information sector are one of the main drivers of economic and social development.

The ISETT-ISSA project seeks to implement a strategic scarce skills programme in Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) Human Resource Development (HRD). This will be achieved by transforming a number of academic courses and modules at the Institute for Satellite and Software Applications (ISSA) into learnerships.

ISSA is situated in the space facilities built near Grabouw in the 1980s, at Houwteq in the Western Cape area. This facility was built to house systems for the design, programme management, integration and testing of small satellites and launch vehicles. ISSA started operating as a training institute from 1998, created and operated by the Department of Communications (DoC), whose vision is “to improve the quality of life of all South Africans by establishing a networked information community”. DoC seeks to increase access to communications for all citizens of South Africa. In seeking to implement this mandate, the department realised two challenges:

  • To address the needs of the previously disadvantaged individuals (PDIs), while tracking and participating in the latest technologies.
  • To develop strategic skills and promote research and development, stemming from the fact that participation in ICT by a country largely impacts on the economy of that country. In order to realise the full potential, the country needs strategic skills to manage those systems and also participate in research and development.

The ISSA recruits potential students primarily from the PDI community, and particularly women from rural areas and from African universities. These students are required to have graduated (BSc) in the field of Mathematics, Applied Mathematics and Physics, from previously disadvantaged universities.

It is the intention to convert four courses offered at ISSA into the following learnerships:

  • Computer Networking Learnership, using ISSA’s current Networking programme
  • Electronics Engineering Bridging Learnership, using ISSA’s current Postgraduate Diploma in Engineering (PDE) programme
  • Telecommunications Learnership, using ISSA’s current Masters in Engineering Science (MES) programme
  • Software Engineering Learnership, using ISSA’s current Masters in Software Engineering (MSE) programme

The process of development of these learnerships will be supplemented by a dedicated SMME drive, involving incubator students. Mentorships will be employed as a means of inducing some of these outputs (graduates) into entrepreneurial businesses. This will by design establish an SMME framework to streamline and support the SMME learners with business capabilities on a needs based platform.