The World Bank Accessing Overseas Employment Opportunities for Moroccan Youth (P150064) REPORT NO.: RES46552 RESTRUCTURING PAPER ON A PROPOSED PROJECT RESTRUCTURING OF ACCESSING OVERSEAS EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR MOROCCAN YOUTH APPROVED ON MARCH 19, 2015 TO AGENCE NATIONALE DE PROMOTION DE L’EMPLOI ET DES COMPÉTENCES (ANAPEC) SOCIAL PROTECTION & JOBS MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA Regional Vice President: Ferid Belhaj Country Director: Jesko S. Hentschel Regional Director: Keiko Miwa Practice Manager: Anush Bezhanyan Task Team Leader: Manjula M. Luthria The World Bank Accessing Overseas Employment Opportunities for Moroccan Youth (P150064) ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ANAPEC National Agency for the Promotion of Employment and Skills (Agence Nationale de Promotion de l’Emploi et des Compétences) MENA Middle East and North Africa The World Bank Accessing Overseas Employment Opportunities for Moroccan Youth (P150064) BASIC DATA Product Information Project ID Financing Instrument P150064 Investment Project Financing Original EA Category Current EA Category Approval Date Current Closing Date 19-Mar-2015 30-Apr-2021 Organizations Borrower Responsible Agency Agence Nationale de Promotion de l’Emploi et des Agence Nationale de Promotion de l’Emploi et des Compétences (ANAPEC) Compétences (ANAPEC) Financing (in USD Million) FIN_SUMM_PUB_TBL SUMMARY Total Project Cost 0 Total Financing 0 Financing Gap 0 DETAILS -NewFin3 Project Development Objective (PDO) Original PDO The project development objective (PDO) is to strengthen institutional capacity to pilot the reform of international labor intermediation services in Morocco and better prepare the Moroccan workforce for greater integration with international labor markets. The World Bank Accessing Overseas Employment Opportunities for Moroccan Youth (P150064) OPS_TABLE_PDO_CURRENTPDO Summary Status of Financing (US$, Millions) Net TF Approval Signing Effectiveness Closing Commitment Disbursed Undisbursed TF-A0100 19-Mar-2015 14-Apr-2015 14-Apr-2015 30-Apr-2021 3.05 2.16 .89 Policy Waiver(s) Does this restructuring trigger the need for any policy waiver(s)? No I. PROJECT STATUS AND RATIONALE FOR RESTRUCTURING Status: The project has made steady progress throughout with the identification, selection, job-matching and pre- departure training of Moroccan youth seeking overseas employment in the second phase after securing additional financing. The implementing agency, ANAPEC, has worked closely with partners in Germany to identify the sectors and employers willing to hire from abroad, these employers then visited Morocco to interview the job seekers (December 2019) and selected about hundred youth to whom tentative job offers were made. These selected candidates were then placed into extended and advanced language and inter-cultural training at the Goethe Institute in January 2020 which subsequently switched to online training around March-April 2020 on account of Covid-19 and there onwards continued at an adjusted and slower pace than would have been the case in-person. This training is now completed, and candidates are finishing the qualifying exams which would allow them to proceed to the stage of visa applications for entry into Germany. This pilot project, while small, has led the way in changing the narrative about the importance of creating systems for legal pathways for mobility between North Africa and Europe, employers have acquired and publicized a high regard for the improved overseas employment intermediation services offered in Morocco through ANAPEC and have become more open to expanding such partnerships in training and recruitment, and interested donors have followed with similar initiatives to design pathways for international mobility. Progress towards achievement of Project Development Objective and overall implementation progress have been rated Satisfactory since October 2018. US$2.16 million (71 percent) has been disbursed. Rationale for extension of closing date: The rationale for the request for an extension of the closing date is due to several key factors, specifically: (i) The process of visa issuance that is delayed because of the Covid-19 and (ii) The concomitant travel restrictions. It is estimated that the process will be completed for the entire cohort of candidates The World Bank Accessing Overseas Employment Opportunities for Moroccan Youth (P150064) by this summer 2021. Meanwhile, all employers-around forty in all- have confirmed their continued commitment to the project and the placement of these selected candidates, as planned prior to the pandemic. Due to Covid-19, all the partners involved in the project, as well as those who comprise a future audience for such initiatives in other sectors and destination countries have requested more time this year to be able to engage more fully on sharing experiences and extracting lessons. Given these combined challenges, the team is thus requesting a seven-month extension of the Trust Fund closing date from April 30, 2021 to November 30, 2021. This extension would allow for the arrival of the candidates into their place of work in Germany. The project has resources dedicated to travel and post-arrival support which can be used appropriately with the extension until November 30, 2021. All requirements of Bank Policy and Bank Directive on Investment Project Financing for closing date extension have been met: (i) the PDO remains achievable; (ii) the performance of the Borrower remains satisfactory; (iii) the World Bank and the Borrower agree on actions that will be undertaken to complete the project on time; (iv) the project is not subject to suspension of disbursements; and (v) there are no outstanding audit reports and the audit reports are satisfactory to the World Bank. II. DESCRIPTION OF PROPOSED CHANGES This restructuring proposes the extension of the closing date by seven months from April 30, 2021 to November 30, 2021 as explained above. The project is funded by the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Transition Fund, and the extension was approved by the MENA Transition Fund Steering Committee on an absence of objection basis on April 7, 2021. Disbursement estimates and implementation schedule have been revised to reflect the proposed closing date. III. SUMMARY OF CHANGES Changed Not Changed Change in Loan Closing Date(s) ✔ Change in Disbursement Estimates ✔ The World Bank Accessing Overseas Employment Opportunities for Moroccan Youth (P150064) Change in Implementation Schedule ✔ Change in Implementing Agency ✔ Change in Project's Development Objectives ✔ Change in Results Framework ✔ Change in Components and Cost ✔ Cancellations Proposed ✔ Additional Financing Proposed ✔ Reallocation between Disbursement Categories ✔ Change in Disbursements Arrangements ✔ Change in Overall Risk Rating ✔ Change in Safeguard Policies Triggered ✔ Change of EA category ✔ Change in Legal Covenants ✔ Change in Institutional Arrangements ✔ Change in Financial Management ✔ Change in Procurement ✔ Other Change(s) ✔ Change in Economic and Financial Analysis ✔ Change in Technical Analysis ✔ Change in Social Analysis ✔ Change in Environmental Analysis ✔ IV. DETAILED CHANGE(S) OPS_DETAILEDCHANGES_LOANCLOSING_TABLE LOAN CLOSING DATE(S) Original Revised Proposed Proposed Deadline TF Status Closing Closing(s) Closing for Withdrawal Applications 28-Feb-2019, 30- TF-A0100 31-Oct-2018 30-Nov-2021 30-Mar-2022 Apr-2021 The World Bank Accessing Overseas Employment Opportunities for Moroccan Youth (P150064) OPS_DETAILEDCHANGES_DISBURSEMENT_TABLE DISBURSEMENT ESTIMATES Change in Disbursement Estimates Yes Expected Disbursements (In US$) Fiscal Year Annual Cumulative 2015 0.00 0.00 2016 0.00 0.00 2017 598,412.06 598,412.06 2018 3,026.77 601,438.83 2019 940,200.00 1,541,638.83 2020 0.00 1,541,638.83 2021 908,361.17 2,450,000.00 2022 600,000.00 3,050,000.00 Note to Task Teams: End of system generated content, document is editable from here.