The World Bank Sierra Leone Skills Development Project (P163723) REPORT NO.: RES50120 RESTRUCTURING PAPER ON A PROPOSED PROJECT RESTRUCTURING OF SIERRA LEONE SKILLS DEVELOPMENT PROJECT APPROVED ON SEPTEMBER 25, 2018 TO THE REPUBLIC OF SIERRA LEONE Education Global Practice Western and Central Africa Region This document has a restricted distribution and may be used by recipients only in the performance of their official duties. Its contents may not otherwise be disclosed without World Bank authorization. The World Bank Sierra Leone Skills Development Project (P163723) ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS CBET Competency-Based Education and Training COVID-19 Coronavirus Disease 2019 ESP Education Sector Plan EVD Ebola Virus Disease FQSE Free Quality School Education GDP Gross Domestic Product GRM Grievance Redress Mechanism GTI Government Technical Institute ISR Implementation Status and Results Report KTF Korean Trust Fund MIS Management Information System MTHE Ministry of Technical and Higher Education MTNDP Medium-Term National Development Plan NCTVA National Council for Technical Vocational and Other Academic Awards NGO Nongovernmental Organization NQF National Qualification Framework PAD Project Appraisal Document PDO Project Development Objective PFMU Project Fiduciary Management Unit SDF Skills Development Fund SDP Skills Development Project TVET Technical and Vocational Education and Training UIS UNESCO Institute for Statistics UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Regional Vice President: Ousmane Diagana Country Director: Pierre Frank Laporte Regional Director: Dena Ringold Country Manager: Abdu Muwonge Practice Manager: Scherezad Joya Monami Latif Task Team Leaders: Ali Hasan Ansari, Mari Shojo The World Bank Sierra Leone Skills Development Project (P163723) BASIC DATA Product Information Project ID Financing Instrument P163723 Investment Project Financing Original EA Category Current EA Category Not Required (C) Not Required (C) Approval Date Current Closing Date 25-Sep-2018 31-Oct-2023 Organizations Borrower Responsible Agency Ministry of Finance Project Development Objective (PDO) Original PDO 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 Page ii of 22 The World Bank Sierra Leone Skills Development Project (P163723) 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 OPS_TABLE_PDO_CURRENTPDO Summary Status of Financing (US$, Millions) Net Effectivene Commitme Disburs Undisburs Ln/Cr/Tf Approval Signing Closing ss nt ed ed 25-Sep- 02-Oct- 20-Dec- 31-Oct- IDA-63090 20.00 18.85 1.09 2018 2018 2018 2023 Policy Waiver(s) Does this restructuring trigger the need for any policy waiver(s)? No Page iii of 22 The World Bank Sierra Leone Skills Development Project (P163723) I. PROJECT STATUS AND RATIONALE FOR RESTRUCTURING 1. The Sierra Leone Skills Development Project (SDP) (P163723) in the amount of US$20 million from IDA credit was approved by the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors on September 25, 2018, and became effective on December 20, 2018. The closing date of the project is October 31, 2023. In addition to US$20 million of IDA credit, the Project Financing Agreement of October 2, 2018, committed US$2 million from the Government of Sierra Leone in counterpart funding. This Restructuring Paper seeks the approval of the Country Director for Sierra Leone to (a) withdraw the counterpart funding requirement of US$2 million that is stipulated in the Project Financing Agreement; (b) revise (downward) a PDO-level indicator target; (c) add an intermediate results indicator related to beneficiary feedback in the Results Framework; and (d) prolong the project closing date from October 30, 2023, to June 14, 2024. An explanation is provided in Section D below. 2. 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. The project has two components: (a) Component 1: Skills Development Fund (SDF) (IDA contribution of US$17 million, counterpart funding of US$2 million). The SDF aims to increase access to demand-led skills upgrading in Sierra Leone through two program windows that has provided competitive training grants to technical and vocational education and training (TVET) program providers and private enterprises. Window 1 has targeted formal (or Window 1, Tier 1) and non-formal Page iv of 22 The World Bank Sierra Leone Skills Development Project (P163723) (or Window 1, Tier 2) training institutions to improve the relevance and quality of their training programs and introduce new short-term courses for out-of-school unemployed and underemployed youth, with a focus on girls. Window 2 has targeted businesses in the priority productive sectors, including agriculture/agro-processing, fisheries, mining/extractives, construction, and tourism to skills gaps to expand their production and markets or upgrade their production process to climb higher up in the value chain. The SDF has provided training grants to a total of 1471 training institutions and private enterprises. As of the last verification in August 2022, a total of 18,277 students had benefitted from the SDF training, out of which 10,712 had completed training while another 7,565 were still enrolled in training programs. (b) Component 2: Capacity Building and System Strengthening (IDA contribution of US$3 million). The objective of Component 2 is to build the foundation for a demand-led skills development system through (a) establishment of an integrated skills information system to support evidence-based analysis and policy development and (b) piloting of the accreditation of skills training programs with the participation of industries. To date, the project has supported the implementation of three annual TVET surveys2 to collect vital information on students, teachers/instructors, training programs, and training facilities. The project is also financing the development of the Technical and Vocational Education and Training Management Information System (TVET MIS), which will become the main data platform for evidence-based policy and planning decision-making in the TVET sector. Moreover, this component has supported the development of the Competency-Based Education and Training (CBET) curriculum in the TVET sector, with curricula and standards developed for 25 occupations in multiple sectors, including agriculture, construction, fisheries, mining, and tourism sectors. 3. The World Bank-managed Korean Trust Fund (KTF, TF0B6623, US$1.75 million) complements the SDP activities, especially Component 2 (Capacity Building and System Strengthening). The KTF was activated on August 20, 2021. The KTF3 PDO is to enhance policy dialogue on the labor market relevance and quality of vocational education and skills development and their contributions to fulfill the skills gap in Sierra Leone with support from Korean TVET experts. 4. The Ministry of Technical and Higher Education (MTHE) is the main implementing agency of the project. The SDF Secretariat, which has been established under the project, is responsible for the day-to- day implementation of Component 1 project activities, under the supervision of the MTHE. Project activities under Component 2 are jointly implemented by the MTHE and National Council for Technical Vocational and Other Academic Awards (NCTVA). 1 This includes 46 formal and non-formal training institutions and 101 formal and informal businesses enterprises. 2 The first TVET survey was conducted in 2019, the second in 2020, and the most recent survey was in 2021. 3 The KTF consists of two components that are aligned with the SDP components. Component 1 of the KTF is strengthening demand-led skills training through technical assistance to the SDF from Korean experience and leveraging partnership development with Korean institutions and the private sector, while Component 2 of the KTF is providing technical assistance to support the development of occupational standards/model curricula as well as conduct skills development assessment to strengthen the skills development system in Sierra Leone. Page 5 of 22 The World Bank Sierra Leone Skills Development Project (P163723) 5. This Restructuring Paper seeks the approval of the Country Director for Sierra Leone to (a) withdraw the counterpart funding requirement of US$2 million that is stipulated in the Project Financing Agreement due to force majeure—the country’s declining economic performance, as a consequence of the economic impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and, more recently, the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war; (b) revise (downward) the PDO 2 indicator target for the number of TVET providers reporting annual data on students, teachers, training programs, and facilities in the skills information system from 300 to 245; (c) include an intermediate results indicator related to beneficiary feedback in the Results Framework to ensure compliance with corporate requirements; and (d) extend the project closing date by eight months from October 30, 2023, to June 14, 2024. No other changes are proposed under this restructuring. A. Country Context 6. Sierra Leone is a low-income country with a gross domestic product (GDP) per capita of US$516 (2021) and a population of 7.5 million in 2021.4 The country experienced steady economic growth between 2001 and 2014, with an average annual growth of 5.9 percent. The outbreak of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in 2014 and 2015 and a slump in iron ore price caused the growth rate to decline from 20.7 percent in 2013 to −20.6 percent in 2015. The economy returned to growth in the post-EVD years at an annual average of 4.8 percent between 2016 and 2019. COVID-19 has slowed economic growth, with a contraction of 2 percent in GDP in 2020 and an expansion of 3.1 percent in GDP in 2021.5 The economy is expected to continue to expand but not as much as in the pre-COVID period. Annual GDP is projected to grow by an average of 4.4 percent between 2022 and 2024.6 7. Macro-fiscal conditions remain challenging, in part due to the structure of the economy and the impact of public health emergencies, which weaken revenue collection and undermine gains in managing the fiscal deficit. Sierra Leone’s economic growth is constrained by lack of diversification and reliance on subsistence agriculture, with a moderate service sector and a low industry share driven by a volatile mining sector. Therefore, the country has experienced macroeconomic stress and fiscal imbalances in the recent past. Between the Ebola outbreak in 2014 and the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the budget deficit averaged 5.7 percent. During the same period, domestic revenue mobilization averaged 12.7 percent of GDP, with an estimated tax gap of 4.5 percent of GDP. Since 2019, Sierra Leone has been ranked at a high risk of debt distress. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, public debt increased by 7.3 percentage points compared to the pre-pandemic debt forecast, spiking to 76.6 percent of GDP in 2020 and further up to 79 percent of GDP in 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic has set back the economy and fiscal balances, which are further affected by the war in Ukraine. 8. Sierra Leone’s population is young and growing rapidly, with the labor market characterized by relatively high participation and low unemployment, high underemployment, and a large informal sector. Between 2004 and 2015, the population grew on average 3.3 percent per year, and almost one- half (45.8 percent) of the population is under the age of 15,7 and although it has declined, the annual population growth rate was 2 percent in 2021.8 Labor force participation rate has grown from 65 percent 4 Provision results of the 2021 midterm population and housing census. 5 https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG?locations=SL. 6 World Bank. 2022. Sierra Leone Economic Update: Leveraging SME Financing and Digitization for Inclusive Growth. 7 World Bank. 2017. Sierra Leone Systematic Country Diagnostic. 8 https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.GROW?locations=SL. Page 6 of 22 The World Bank Sierra Leone Skills Development Project (P163723) in 20149 to 73.4 percent in 2018,10 with 3 percent unemployment11 in 2018. However, underemployment12 is relatively higher—14.3 percent in the general workforce, although higher among young people, 15–24 years, at 19.6 percent.13 Informal employment dominates the economy, accounting for 93.1 percent of the total employment in the country in 2018.14 B. Sectoral Context 9. The TVET sector is managed by the MTHE. TVET in Sierra Leone is coordinated by the TVET Directorate in the MTHE. The NCTVA, an agency in the MTHE, is responsible for the accreditation and certification of TVET institutions. Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and the private sector are major players in TVET, with ownership of 59 percent of all TVET institutes in 2004, which increased to 62 percent15 in 2021. 10. The policy environment and sector coordination are improving. There has been progress in policy development and sector coordination in recent years to expand access to TVET programs in the country. The MTHE published the first national TVET policy in 2019, which laid the framework for addressing the binding constraints in the TVET system while also focusing on a demand-led training approach in TVET. To expand access to TVET programs, the MTHE has increased the number of Government Technical Institutes (GTIs) by 150 percent since 2019, from four in 2018 to ten in 2022. Intra- sectoral coordination has been strengthened by the TVET Coalition of Sierra Leone.16 The coalition meets regularly to promote the TVET development agenda in the country. 11. Obtaining reliable, timely data on TVET enrollment is a challenge,17 and the available data suggest stagnation in enrollment. Nationally, a total of 27,055 students were enrolled in TVET institutions in 2008,18 and the annual enrollment has marginally increased to 27,391 students registered with TVET institutions in 2019.19 Enrollment in vocational programs accounted for 19.2 percent of the 129,196 students enrolled in tertiary education in 2018. In the following year, 2019, the share of students in the overall tertiary education population declined to 15.2 percent of the 180,468 students registered with tertiary institutions.20 9 Margolis, David, Nina Rosas, Abubakarr Turay, and Samuel Turay. 2016. Findings from the 2014 Labor Force Survey in Sierra Leone. World Bank Studies. Washington, DC: World Bank. 10 Government of Sierra Leone. 2018. Sierra Leone Integrated Household Survey Report. 11 Unemployment is defined using a ‘strict’ definition, that is, not working but willing to work and actively searching for employment. 12 This refers to the time-related underemployment measure, which captures workers who work less than 40 hours but are willing to work more. 13 https://www.ilo.org/shinyapps/bulkexplorer23/?lang=en&segment=indicator&id=UNE_2EAP_SEX_AGE_RT_A. 14Ibid. 15 NCTVA. 2021. Survey Report on Technical Vocational Education and Training Institutions for Sierra Leone. 16 The TVET Coalition was established in 2013 as a platform to advocate and coordinate TVET development in Sierra Leone. It constitutes representations from the Government, private sector, training providers, NGOs, and development partners that are active in the TVET sector. 17 The 2018–2020 Sierra Leone Education Sector Plan (page17) associate difficulty in obtaining comprehensive enrollment with the variation in the range and type of TVET service providers. 18 Government of Sierra Leone. 2018. Sierra Leone Education Sector Plan 2018–2020. 19 Based on UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) date sourced from the MTHE in 2022. 20 Estimates derived from the Sierra Leone UIS tertiary education data for 2018–2019 and 2019–2020 sourced from the MTHE. Page 7 of 22 The World Bank Sierra Leone Skills Development Project (P163723) 12. Overall, Government spending on education is relatively high compared to other Sub-Saharan African countries, but TVET in Sierra Leone is underfinanced and has not been prioritized in sector financing. The Government’s average spending on education was 6.2 percent of GDP annually between 2016 and 2020; over the same period, average annual spending on education was 26.9 percent of total Government spending.21 Education spending significantly increased following the launch of the Free Quality School Education (FQSE) Initiative in 2018, which prioritized universal access to basic education.22 However, TVET has remained poorly funded.23 Between 2008 and 2010, only 2.8 percent of the total education sector budget was allocated to TVET.24 In 2017, less than 1 percent of the education sector budget was allocated to TVET. The allocation to TVET in 2019 was around 3 percent25 of the education sector budget. 13. In addition to the lack of funding prioritization, there are other significant challenges in the TVET sector, and some have become a constraint to growth and development. (a) Skills shortages are significant constraints to private sector development in Sierra Leone. The Doing Business report 2013 cites an inadequately educated workforce among the most problematic factors in Sierra Leone for doing business. Private sector stakeholders have difficulty finding ‘employable’ graduates, and there is an acute shortage of skilled technicians.26 (b) Skills development in Sierra Leone is largely supply driven, with little to no input from employers in the design and delivery of skills development programs. There is lack of a formal mechanism to assess the demands for skills in key economic sectors. For the most part, the Government and other relevant stakeholders identify critical skills constraints based on ad hoc assessments. Industries and businesses have a limited role in defining strategic workforce development priorities. The private sector also plays a limited role in providing inputs to the design of TVET program curricula. Overall, there are weak links between TVET institutions and businesses. (c) There is limited oversight and regulation of the TVET sector in Sierra Leone. The majority of TVET service providers are NGOs and private, and according to the current NCTVA Act, TVET institutes are not mandated to be accredited by the NCTVA. Therefore, oversight of NGO and private sector TVET institutes remains limited. 14. In response to challenges in the development sector, the Government of Sierra Leone has developed the Medium-Term National Development Plan (MTNDP) 2019–2023 and the Education Sector Plan (ESP) 2022–2026. The MTNDP promotes a demand-led approach to training such that TVET curriculum and delivery are responsive to the labor needs of industry and employers; the plan prioritizes specific actions for delivering on a demand-led training in the country, including review and 21 http://sdg4-data.uis.unesco.org/. 22 Education spending accounts for one-third of total public spending: 32.7 percent in 2018, 35 percent in 2019, and 34.2 percent in 2020. 23 https://unevoc.unesco.org/home/Dynamic+TVET+Country+Profiles/country=SLE. 24 https://www.giz.de/en/downloads/giz2018-de- Diagnostic%20Study%20of%20the%20TVET%20Sector%20in%20Sierra%20Leone.pdf. 25 https://mthe.gov.sl/PDF/News/Approved%20TVET-Policy.pdf. 26 World Bank. 2017. Sierra Leone Systematic Country Diagnostic. Page 8 of 22 The World Bank Sierra Leone Skills Development Project (P163723) standardization of curricula and certification of TVET programs, development of national TVET apprenticeship scheme, and strong partnership with the private sector to expand access to training. The ESP places a greater emphasis on developing TVET as one of the pathways for Sierra Leone to become a middle-income country by 2030. The ESP prioritizes universal access and improved quality in TVET, through targeted actions that include the development of the National Qualification Framework (NQF), establishing a sustainable financing mechanism for TVET through partnership with the private sector, and so on. C. Project Status 15. Progress toward the PDO was rated Moderately Satisfactory in the most recent Implementation Status and Results Report (ISR) dated October 27, 2022. Progress has been made toward achievement of the targets of two of the three PDO-level indicators. For PDO-level indicator 1, the Year 4 target is the completion of demand-led skills upgrading program for 8,000 people by December 2022. Despite a two- year delay in the commencement of skills training, the cumulative trainee enrollment at the implementation mission in September 2022 was 18,277 students, of whom 10,712 have completed training, with 7,565 in active training. The Year 4 target for PDO-level indicator 3 relating to the number of TVET programs conducting pilot accreditation with industries’ participation has been met. The Year 4 target PDO-level indicator 2 (number of TVET institutes reporting annual data on students, teachers, training programs and facilities) has not been met, and the delayed progress in achieving the expected result for this indicator was the basis for rating progress toward the achievement of the PDO as Moderately Satisfactory. 16. The project has achieved many positive results in increasing access to demand-led skills training and strengthening the TVET system in Sierra Leone. (a) As mentioned, under Component 1, the project has benefitted 18,277 individuals through demand-led skills training. This figure is substantial given that current enrollment in TVET in the country is 32,062. The project has also benefitted vulnerable populations including 8,906 out-of-school youth, 992 youth from low-income households, 517 persons living with disabilities, and 140 teenage mothers. Moreover, the project has helped activate skills training in many previously dormant training institutes, particularly in the GTIs while supporting curricula review to TVET institutes. This support allowed the training institutes supported by the project to move from a low baseline of mostly purely theory-based teaching to more practical-based training. (b) Under Component 2, the project has made significant contributions toward strengthening the TVET such that training becomes more responsive to the labor needs businesses and employers. The project financed the development of CBET curricula for 25 occupations with industry input. The project is also supporting reforms to improve the policy and regulatory environment in the sector, including support to update the NCTVA Act of 2001, and the development of a dual TVET apprenticeship framework. The project has also supported annual TVET institute surveys in the country, and this information is now being used for the rollout of the CBET curricula. 17. Fiduciary compliance. The ratings for procurement performance and for financial management (FM) in the latest ISR were Satisfactory and Moderately Satisfactory, respectively. The fiduciary risk remains Substantial. The FM rating is Moderately Satisfactory due to the inability of the project to utilize Page 9 of 22 The World Bank Sierra Leone Skills Development Project (P163723) the accounting software due to connectivity issues. The existing FM procedures and systems at the Project Fiduciary Management Unit (PFMU) of the Ministry of Finance meet the minimum World Bank requirements for FM. There are no ineligible expenditures pertaining to the implementing agencies and no outstanding audits. 18. E&S compliance was rated Satisfactory in the latest ISR, and there are no outstanding issues. There are no civil works activities, and there is no land acquisition or displacement. A grievance redress mechanism (GRM) has been established and is functional. D. Rationale for Restructuring 19. The Government of Sierra Leone submitted a letter dated July 20, 2022, requesting a restructuring of the SDP. The proposed Level 2 restructuring responds to the Government’s request, by seeking to remove the counterpart funding requirement and adjusting the financing for Component 1 to reflect this reduction in financing, revising the end-of-project target for PDO-level indicator 2, adding a beneficiary feedback indicator to the project’s Results Framework, and extending the project closing date from October 30, 2023, to June 14, 2024. 20. While demonstrating ownership of the implementation process, the Government is unable to disburse the US$2 million counterpart funding because of the fiscal impact of COVID-19 and the Ukraine crisis. In the Project Financing Agreement, the Government had committed to a US$2 million counterpart funding to contribute to the implementation of Component 1 (Skills Development Fund). The COVID-19 pandemic weakened the fiscal space available to the Government of Sierra Leone, which has been exacerbated by the financial and economic impact of the ongoing war in Ukraine. Moreover, the Government has attributed the failure to disburse counterpart contribution to fiscal constraints. The Government cited limitation in its fiscal capacity as one of the reasons for the project restructuring request that it submitted to the World Bank in July 2022. This is an issue that expands across the World Bank portfolio in Sierra Leone. As a result, the restructuring seeks to remove the counterpart financing requirement of the project, and this will also involve revising the cost for Component 1 to account for this reduction in funding. 21. Even though the disbursement of the counterpart funding has not materialized, the performance of Component 1 has been strong—with the target of PDO-level indicator 1.1 already exceeded—134 percent of the target set for the end of the project. Hence, the removal of the counterpart funding requirement will not hinder the accomplishment of the relevant PDO targets for Component 1. In addition, the component has demonstrated efficiency in the utilization of the budgeted amount to achieve more with fewer resources. Moreover, the project has also benefitted from exchange rate gains of about US$1.7 million, which has helped mitigate the lack of counterpart funding provide for Component 1 activities. 22. For PDO-level indicator 2, the maximum number of TVET institutions responsive to the annual TVET surveys in the last three years is lower than the original target set in the Project Appraisal Document (PAD); therefore, the target requires a downward revision. The indicator relates to the number of TVET providers reporting information on students, teachers, training programs, and facilities. The project indicator has a set target of 300 TVET institutions reporting the required information to the TVET MIS annually, beginning in 2019 to the end of the project. The NCTVA has conducted three rounds of survey data collection (2019, 2020, and 2021) and each year, the project has fallen short of meeting the target of 300 TVET institutes. In the last survey in 2021, the NCTVA could only contact 297 institutes, Page 10 of 22 The World Bank Sierra Leone Skills Development Project (P163723) out of which they were only able to collect information from 245 TVET institutes. At present, NGO and private TVET institutes—the major training providers of TVET—are not legally obligated to share any information with the NCTVA. The low survey response rate across the annual surveys can be attributed to a weak regulatory environment for the TVET sector that does not obligate NGO and private TVET institutes to seek NCTVA accreditation, or provide institutional data that the NCTVA may require of them. 23. Given that none of the annual surveys has been able to identify 300 institutes and given the low response rate to the surveys, the restructuring seeks to revise the end-of-project target from 300 institutes to 245 institutes. Revising the target downward does not weaken the relevance of the survey data to guide policy makers and planners in evidence-based decision-making to improve the TVET system in Sierra Leone. It is also worth noting that with each round of data collecting, the quality of data has significantly improved, identifying deficiencies in service delivery. For example, of the institutes surveyed, 78 percent cited a lack of modern training equipment as a major challenge, and 68 percent and 65 percent cited poor infrastructure and lack of electricity, respectively, as challenges in carrying out their functions. There are also examples of the survey data being utilized for planning purposes; for example, data on equipment and facilities were recently utilized to help short-list training courses to roll out the newly developed CBET curricula. 24. The project is also taking steps to strengthen the regulatory environment for TVET institutions. This includes providing financing to update the NCTVA Act which would make NCTVA accreditation mandatory for all TVET institutions in the country and would also require regular sharing of information by institutions. 25. There is a need to include a beneficiary satisfaction indicator in the project Results Framework to ensure compliance with corporate requirements. At the time of project preparation, the inclusion of a beneficiary satisfaction indicator was not mandatory. However, to ensure compliance with corporate requirements, a beneficiary feedback indicator will be added to the Results Framework as part of the restructuring. 26. Additional time is needed to close out some activities under Component 2 as well as some KTF- financed activities complementing both components of the project. Some critical activities implemented under Component 2, including the planned assessment and certification process for 7,051 completers of Window 1 training, the completion of the TVET NQF, and the rollout of the CBET curriculum for selected TVET programs, will run into the second half of 2023. Similarly, the KTF is financing complementary activities to the skills project that will be completed in the second half of 2023. Some pending activities under the KTF include conducting a skills assessment to evaluate the impact of the SDF on student labor market outcomes, facilitating knowledge exchange visits between Sierra Leone and the Republic of Korea TVET counterparts, and conducting a private sector engagement workshop to link TVET training providers and students with industry. To allow for an orderly completion of all activities on both the skills project and the KTF project, extension to the project closing date is proposed, by 7.5 months, from October 30, 2023, to June 14, 2024. II. DESCRIPTION OF PROPOSED CHANGES A. PDO and Component Description Page 11 of 22 The World Bank Sierra Leone Skills Development Project (P163723) 27. There are no proposed changes to the PDO, the components, and implementation arrangements. B. Costs and Closing Date 28. The costs for Component 1 have been revised due to the lack of counterpart funding. Originally, the cost for Component 1 was US$19 million, out of which US$2 million was in counterpart funding. Since the counterpart funding is not going to materialize, the Component 1 cost has been reduced to US$17 million. This reduced amount will not require scaling down of any Component 1 activities or targets. 29. An extension of the project closing date is proposed to allow for orderly completion of all project activities and all activities financed through the KTF. It is proposed that the closing date be extended by 7.5 months from October 30, 2023, to June 14, 2024. This would be the first extension in the project closing date since the project became effective. The KTF will also be extended by the same duration. C. Results Framework 30. The end target for PDO-level indicator 2 will be modified from 300 to 245 (see table 1). In addition, a beneficiary feedback indicator will be added to the Results Framework as part of this restructuring to assess beneficiary satisfaction and ensure civic engagement compliance (see table 2). The end target achievement data for all results indicators have also been changed to align with the new project closing date. No further changes are proposed to the other indicators in the project’s Results Framework aside from changing the end target date for all indicators to align with the new project closing date. Table 1. Results Framework Proposed Revisions to PDO-Level Indicator PDO Indicator Change Baseline End Target PDO indicator #2: The skills information Original: system operational with increased 300 number of TVET providers reporting End target revised No change Proposed End annual data on students, teachers, Target: 245 training programs and facilities Table 2. Results Framework Proposed Revisions to Intermediate-Outcome Indicator Intermediate Outcome Indicator Change Baseline End Target IR#7 [NEW]: Percentage of beneficiaries who expressed satisfaction with the New indicator added n.a. 90% Skills Development Fund Training D. Implementation Arrangements 31. There will be no change to the implementation and institutional arrangements under this restructuring. The MTHE will continue to be responsible for the overall implementation, prompt and efficient coordination, oversight, and monitoring of the project activities. Within the MTHE, various directorates and units, such as the TVET Directorate and NCTVA, will continue to be responsible for the implementation of Component 2 activities. The SDF Secretariat will continue to implement the activities under Component 1. The PFMU of the Ministry of Finance will continue to be responsible for fiduciary management of the project. Page 12 of 22 The World Bank Sierra Leone Skills Development Project (P163723) Page 13 of 22 The World Bank Sierra Leone Skills Development Project (P163723) III. SUMMARY OF CHANGES Changed Not Changed Results Framework ✔ Components and Cost ✔ Loan Closing Date(s) ✔ Other Change(s) ✔ Implementing Agency ✔ DDO Status ✔ Project's Development Objectives ✔ PBCs ✔ Cancellations Proposed ✔ Reallocation between Disbursement Categories ✔ Disbursements Arrangements ✔ Disbursement Estimates ✔ Overall Risk Rating ✔ Safeguard Policies Triggered ✔ EA category ✔ Legal Covenants ✔ Institutional Arrangements ✔ Page 14 of 22 The World Bank Sierra Leone Skills Development Project (P163723) Financial Management ✔ Procurement ✔ Implementation Schedule ✔ Economic and Financial Analysis ✔ Technical Analysis ✔ Social Analysis ✔ Environmental Analysis ✔ IV. DETAILED CHANGE(S) OPS_DETAILEDCHANGES_COMPONENTS_TABLE COMPONENTS Current Current Proposed Proposed Cost Action Component Name Component Name Cost (US$M) (US$M) Skills Development Fund 19.00 Revised Skills Development Fund 17.00 Capacity Building and System Capacity Building and System 3.00 3.00 Strengthening Strengthening TOTAL 22.00 20.00 OPS_DETAILEDCHANGES_LOANCLOSING_TABLE Page 15 of 22 The World Bank Sierra Leone Skills Development Project (P163723) LOAN CLOSING DATE(S) Original Revised Proposed Proposed Deadline for Ln/Cr/Tf Status Closing Closing(s) Closing Withdrawal Applications IDA-63090 Effective 31-Oct-2023 14-Jun-2024 14-Jun-2024 . Page 16 of 22 The World Bank Sierra Leone Skills Development Project (P163723) . Results framework COUNTRY: Sierra Leone Sierra Leone Skills Development Project Project Development Objectives(s) 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 Page 17 of 22 The World Bank Sierra Leone Skills Development Project (P163723) Project Development Objective Indicators by Objectives/ Outcomes RESULT_FRAME_TBL_PDO Indicator Name PBC Baseline Intermediate Targets End Target 1 2 3 4 5 Increase access to demand-led skills training programs Number of people having successfully completed 0.00 500.00 3,000.00 5,500.00 8,000.00 8,000.00 8,000.00 demand-led skills upgrading programs (Number) Action: This indicator has been Revised Number of people completing skills training programs provided by 0.00 0.00 250.00 1,000.00 3,000.00 5,000.00 5,000.00 Window 1 participating TVET institutions (Number) Action: This indicator has been Revised Number of TVET programs participating in Window 1 reaching the 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 3.00 5.00 5.00 milestone of 65 percent of graduates in productive employment Page 18 of 22 The World Bank Sierra Leone Skills Development Project (P163723) RESULT_FRAME_TBL_PDO Indicator Name PBC Baseline Intermediate Targets End Target 1 2 3 4 5 after 1 year of completing the training program (Number) Action: This indicator has been Revised Number of people (disaggregated by gender) trained and employed by 0.00 0.00 150.00 700.00 2,000.00 3,000.00 3,000.00 companies/businesses and self-employed in Window 2 (Number) Action: This indicator has been Revised Build the foundations for a demand-led skills development system The Skills Information System operational with increased number of TVET providers reporting annual 0.00 50.00 245.00 245.00 245.00 245.00 245.00 data on students, teachers, training programs and facilities (Number) Rationale: Action: This indicator has The end-of-project target for this indicator has been revised downwards from 300 to 245 TVET providers. This revision is due to the low response rate of TVET been Revised institutes (many of whom are not required to report to the Ministry of Technical and Higher Education or NCTVA) and the overambitious target of having the basic information on 300 TVET providers in Sierra Leone. Page 19 of 22 The World Bank Sierra Leone Skills Development Project (P163723) RESULT_FRAME_TBL_PDO Indicator Name PBC Baseline Intermediate Targets End Target 1 2 3 4 5 Number of TVET programs conducting pilot accreditation with 0.00 0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 4.00 industries participation (Number) Action: This indicator has been Revised PDO Table SPACE Intermediate Results Indicators by Components RESULT_FRAME_TBL_IO Indicator Name PBC Baseline Intermediate Targets End Target 1 2 3 4 5 Component 1 Skills Development Fund Number of participating TVET institutions/providers 0.00 0.00 0.00 10.00 20.00 30.00 conducting tracers study (Number) Action: This indicator has been Revised Number of trainers in participating TVET 0.00 0.00 20.00 30.00 50.00 100.00 100.00 instittutions obtaining Page 20 of 22 The World Bank Sierra Leone Skills Development Project (P163723) RESULT_FRAME_TBL_IO Indicator Name PBC Baseline Intermediate Targets End Target 1 2 3 4 5 practical industries' experience (Number) Action: This indicator has been Revised Number of TVET programs updated with industries' 0.00 0.00 2.00 3.00 5.00 10.00 10.00 inputs (Number) Action: This indicator has been Revised Number of partnerships with industries established by participating TVET 0.00 0.00 5.00 10.00 15.00 30.00 30.00 institutions/providers (Number) Action: This indicator has been Revised Percentage of beneficiaries who expressed satisfaction 0.00 90.00 with the Skills Development Fund Training (Percentage) Rationale: Action: This indicator is A beneficiary feedback indicator is being added to the results framework as part of this restructuring to ensure civic engagement compliance. New Component 2 Capacity Building and System Strengthening Structure of the annual No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes report on students, Page 21 of 22 The World Bank Sierra Leone Skills Development Project (P163723) RESULT_FRAME_TBL_IO Indicator Name PBC Baseline Intermediate Targets End Target 1 2 3 4 5 teachers, training programs and facilities by TVET institution developed (Yes/No) Action: This indicator has been Revised Process for pilot accreditation of TVET programs with industries' No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes participation developed (Yes/No) Action: This indicator has been Revised IO Table SPACE Page 22 of 22