The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Sierra Leone Skills Development Project (P163723) Sierra Leone Skills Development Project (P163723) WESTERN AND CENTRAL AFRICA | Sierra Leone | Education Global Practice | IBRD/IDA | Investment Project Financing | FY 2019 | Seq No: 11 | ARCHIVED on 23-May-2023 | ISR55966 | Implementing Agencies: Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Technical and Higher Education Key Dates Key Project Dates Bank Approval Date: 25-Sep-2018 Effectiveness Date: 20-Dec-2018 Planned Mid Term Review Date: 19-Jul-2021 Actual Mid-Term Review Date: 15-Jul-2021 Original Closing Date: 31-Oct-2023 Revised Closing Date: 14-Jun-2024 pdoTable Project Development Objectives Project Development Objective (from Project Appraisal Document) The Project Development objective (PDO) is to increase access to demand-led skills training and build the foundations for a demand-led skills development system in Sierra Leone. B. Key Results Progress towards meeting the PDO would be measured through the following key outcome indicators: (a) Number of people (disaggregated by gender) having successfully completed demand-led skills upgrading programs: • Number of people (disaggregated by gender) completing skills training programs provided by Window 1 participating TVET institutions • Number of TVET programs participating in Window 1 reaching the milestone of 65 percent of graduates in productive employment after 1 year of completing the training program • Number of people (disaggregated by gender) trained and employed by companies/businesses and self-employed in Window 2 (b) The skills information system operational with increased number of TVET providers reporting annual data on students, teachers, training programs, and facilities (c) Number of TVET programs conducting pilot accreditation with industries participation Has the Project Development Objective been changed since Board Approval of the Project Objective? No Components Table Name Skills Development Fund:(Cost $17.00 M) Capacity Building and System Strengthening:(Cost $3.00 M) Overall Ratings Name Previous Rating Current Rating Progress towards achievement of PDO Moderately Satisfactory Satisfactory Overall Implementation Progress (IP) Moderately Satisfactory Satisfactory Overall Risk Rating Moderate Moderate 5/23/2023 Page 1 of 7 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Sierra Leone Skills Development Project (P163723) Implementation Status and Key Decisions This ISR is being prepared following the implementation support mission which took place between April 11-19, 2023. The project is close to achieving all PDO-level targets (with 5 out of 6 targets already achieved or surpassed), and good progress has been made since the last mission in September 2022 on training completion, the operationalization of the TVET MIS, the initiation of the National Council for Technical, Vocational and other Awards (NCTVA) assessment and certification of trainees, and the rollout of entrepreneurship and business development training for SDF graduates. Key Results. Under the project, 14,130 people have successfully completed demand-led skills training programs against a target of 8,000. With respect to post-training employment outcomes, the number of TVET programs achieving the milestone of 65 percent employment of graduates, is currently four against an end-of-project target of 5 and this target is likely to be met. The target for number of TVET programs conducting pilot accreditation with industry participation (4) has also been surpassed with 27 institutes having piloted program accreditation with industry participation and this number is expected to increase as each institution is implementing multiple programs. Lastly, the TVET Management Information System has reported information on 245 training institutes across Sierra Leone, which is critical to ensure evidence-based planning and policy-making. Formal employment remains a major challenge for graduates, however, the project is seeking to mitigate this challenge by (i) ensuring NCTVA assessment and certification of graduates, (ii) rolling out entrepreneurship training and (iii) a new package of digital skills training. Assessment and Certification of SDF graduates. The NCTVA assessment and certification process for SDF graduates has commenced with 211 trainees having been assessed. NCTVA plans to assess and certify 7,000 SDF graduates. This activity is expected to help increase the employability of training beneficiaries by providing them with a nationally recognized certification. Entrepreneurship training for SDF graduates. As formal job opportunities seem very limited in the current economic environment, the project is looking to provide a subset of beneficiaries with entreprenuership and business skills training to set up or expand their businesses. A firm has been contracted to conduct this training and it is expected that 2,000 SDF training graduates will benefit from this training over the coming months. Initiating digital skills training to enhance the employability of youth. To help improve the employment prospects of youth, the project is planning to rollout a digital skills training package for youth. This would focus on basic and intermediate level digital skills training. Operationalizing the TVET MIS. Significant progress has been made in addressing the gaps in the TVET MIS including adding missing data, improving data visualization, and the integration with other databases. Moving forward, the key next steps involve updating the recently collected enrollment data and deciding on a launch. Risks Systematic Operations Risk-rating Tool Risk Category Rating at Approval Previous Rating Current Rating Political and Governance Substantial Substantial Substantial Macroeconomic Substantial Substantial Substantial Sector Strategies and Policies Substantial Moderate Moderate Technical Design of Project or Program Substantial Moderate Moderate Institutional Capacity for Implementation and Substantial Moderate Moderate Sustainability Fiduciary High Substantial Substantial Environment and Social Moderate Moderate Moderate Stakeholders Substantial Low Low Other -- -- -- Overall Substantial Moderate Moderate 5/23/2023 Page 2 of 7 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Sierra Leone Skills Development Project (P163723) Results PDO Indicators by Objectives / Outcomes Increase access to demand-led skills training programs IN01295961 ►Number of people having successfully completed demand-led skills upgrading programs (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 4,831.00 14,130.00 8,000.00 Date 31-Oct-2018 28-Feb-2022 31-Mar-2023 14-Jun-2024 This is the number of trainees that have completed training as of March 31, 2023. This target has been Comments: exceeded. IN01295971 Number of people completing skills training programs provided by Window 1 participating TVET institutions (Number, Custom Breakdown) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 3,842.00 10,462.00 5,000.00 Date 31-Oct-2018 28-Feb-2022 31-Mar-2023 14-Jun-2024 IN01295972 Number of TVET programs participating in Window 1 reaching the milestone of 65 percent of graduates in productive employment after 1 year of completing the training program (Number, Custom Breakdown) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 0.00 4.00 5.00 Date 31-Oct-2018 28-Feb-2022 31-Mar-2023 14-Jun-2024 IN01295973 Number of people (disaggregated by gender) trained and employed by companies/businesses and self-employed in Window 2 (Number, Custom Breakdown) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 989.00 3,668.00 3,000.00 Date 31-Oct-2018 28-Feb-2022 31-Mar-2023 14-Jun-2024 Build the foundations for a demand-led skills development system IN01295962 ►The Skills Information System operational with increased number of TVET providers reporting annual data on students, teachers, training programs and facilities (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 245.00 245.00 245.00 5/23/2023 Page 3 of 7 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Sierra Leone Skills Development Project (P163723) Date 31-Oct-2018 28-Feb-2022 31-Mar-2023 14-Jun-2024 The TVET survey was conducted in November-December 2021 Comments: IN01295964 ►Number of TVET programs conducting pilot accreditation with industries participation (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 2.00 27.00 4.00 Date 31-Oct-2018 28-Feb-2022 31-Mar-2023 14-Jun-2024 This target has been exceeded. The exact number is to be verified but at least 27 institutes have partnered with industry in the following areas: (1) on the job training (2) industrial attachment of trainers Comments: (3) updating the curriculum (4) student assessments. The number of programs will be more than 27 as institutes run multiple programs Overall Comments PDO The end target dates have been revised to coincide with the new project closing date (June 14, 2024). Overall 5 out of 6 PDO level indicators (and sub-indicators) have been achieved. The PDO indicator target for the skills information system has been restructured to 245 institutes and therefore this is also now considered met. The only remaining PDO level sub-indicator that is yet to be achieved is the Number of TVET programs reaching a milestone of 65 percent employment rate of graduates. This is likely to be achieved by the next mission. Intermediate Results Indicators by Components Component 1 Skills Development Fund IN01295963 ►Number of participating TVET institutions/providers conducting tracers study (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 15.00 16.00 30.00 Date 31-Oct-2018 28-Feb-2022 31-Mar-2023 14-Jun-2024 Currently 16 grantee institutions are participating in the TVET tracer study. Additional tracer studies are Comments: likely to be completed by December 2023 to allow sufficient time for job-seekers to find employment. IN01295965 ►Number of trainers in participating TVET instittutions obtaining practical industries' experience (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 27.00 145.00 100.00 Date 31-Oct-2018 28-Feb-2022 31-Mar-2023 14-Jun-2024 IN01295966 ►Number of TVET programs updated with industries' inputs (Number, Custom) 5/23/2023 Page 4 of 7 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Sierra Leone Skills Development Project (P163723) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 31.00 31.00 10.00 Date 31-Oct-2018 28-Feb-2022 31-Mar-2023 14-Jun-2024 The information will come from two sources. The first is SDFS grantee institutions that update their curriculum through industry input. The second is through the programs adopting the Competency-Based Comments: Education and Training curricula that have been developed by NCTVA. IN01295968 ►Number of partnerships with industries established by participating TVET institutions/providers (Number, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 34.00 34.00 30.00 Date 31-Oct-2018 28-Feb-2022 31-Mar-2023 14-Jun-2024 IN01295970 ►Percentage of beneficiaries who expressed satisfaction with the Skills Development Fund Training (Percentage, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value 0.00 -- 94.00 90.00 Date 20-Dec-2018 -- 31-Mar-2023 14-Jun-2024 Component 2 Capacity Building and System Strengthening IN01295967 ►Structure of the annual report on students, teachers, training programs and facilities by TVET institution developed (Yes/No, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value No Yes Yes Yes Date 31-Oct-2018 28-Feb-2022 31-Mar-2023 14-Jun-2024 IN01295969 ►Process for pilot accreditation of TVET programs with industries' participation developed (Yes/No, Custom) Baseline Actual (Previous) Actual (Current) End Target Value No Yes Yes Yes Date 31-Oct-2018 28-Feb-2022 31-Mar-2023 14-Jun-2024 Overall Comments IR For all indicators in the results framework, the end target date has been revised to coincide with the new project closing date (June 14, 2024). All intermediate results indicator have been met except the number of TVET institutes participating in Tracer Study. This is likely to be met by December 2023 when all grantees have completed their activities and submitted their final reports. 5/23/2023 Page 5 of 7 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Sierra Leone Skills Development Project (P163723) Performance-Based Conditions Data on Financial Performance Disbursements (by loan) Project Loan/Credit/TF Status Currency Original Revised Cancelled Disbursed Undisbursed % Disbursed P163723 IDA-63090 Effective USD 20.00 20.00 0.00 18.85 1.10 94% Key Dates (by loan) Project Loan/Credit/TF Status Approval Date Signing Date Effectiveness Date Orig. Closing Date Rev. Closing Date P163723 IDA-63090 Effective 25-Sep-2018 02-Oct-2018 20-Dec-2018 31-Oct-2023 14-Jun-2024 Cumulative Disbursements Restructuring History Level 2 Approved on 10-Mar-2023 Related Project(s) 5/23/2023 Page 6 of 7 The World Bank Implementation Status & Results Report Sierra Leone Skills Development Project (P163723) There are no related projects. 5/23/2023 Page 7 of 7