1. Background

Tigray is predominantly rural and agrarian, with most households relying on subsistence farming and facing ongoing socio-economic challenges linked to conflict, displacement, and limited access to basic services. Since the 2022 peace agreement, the region has been undergoing a gradual recovery process amid complex political and administrative transitions. While some areas, including Mekelle and surrounding districts, have remained relatively stable, humanitarian needs, livelihood disruptions, and recovery challenges persist across many communities. Given the evolving context and varying information sources, careful contextual understanding and triangulation of information remain important throughout programme implementation and assessment activities.

Situation of Primary Stakeholders: The TVET sector in Tigray is gradually recovering from the impacts of conflict, with institutions and youth still facing resource, livelihood, and employment challenges. Despite these constraints, the region has an established TVET and employment support system led by the Bureau of TVET and Job Creation, supported by training centres and job service facilities. Demand for vocational training remains high, particularly for short-term, market-oriented courses, while businesses and financial service providers are gradually restoring operations and creating opportunities for skills development, employment, and entrepreneurship.

Rationale & Problems Statement: Tigray’s skills and employment ecosystem faces challenges related to the quality and relevance of vocational training programs (curricula, trainers, assessment guidelines, assessors, counselling services), limited employment and enterprise opportunities, and weak coordination among key stakeholders. Training providers require strengthened capacity to deliver market-relevant skills and employment services, while youth continue to face barriers in accessing jobs, business development support, workspace, and finance. In addition, coordination gaps among public, private, and development actors reduce the effectiveness and sustainability of skills and employment interventions. Strengthening local systems and fostering stronger links between skills development and labour market demand remain critical for improving youth employment outcomes.

Target Area Context: Mekelle, the capital of Tigray, is the primary target area due to its concentration of economic activities, training institutions, and support services. The city hosts over 500,000 people, around 1,500 functioning enterprises, six public TVET colleges, 17 private TVET providers, and several operational financial institutions. Four public TVET colleges currently offer more than 40 vocational courses and graduated 1,949 trainees in 2016 and 1,692 in 2017 (Ethiopian Calendar). Despite high youth unemployment, Mekelle provides a strong foundation for skills development, employment, and enterprise support.

Theory of Change: The project aims to strengthen the skills and employment ecosystem by building the capacity of key actors involved in vocational training, employment promotion, and financial inclusion. Through improved training quality, strengthened trainer capacity across 15 vocational professions, enhanced employment and entrepreneurship support, and stronger linkages among training providers, employers, financial institutions, and local authorities, the project seeks to improve youth access to market-relevant skills, wage and self-employment opportunities, and business development services. This is expected to contribute to stronger labour market systems, improved livelihoods, and greater socioeconomic stability in the post-conflict recovery context.

The goal (overall objective) of the project is to support young people in the project area through skills training and tailored post-training employment, and enterprise development supports to enhance their employment opportunities. 

• OUTCOME 1 (Conducive Environment): The capacity of the skills and employment system is enhanced. 
• OUTCOME 2 (Skills Creation): Youths are equipped with the essential knowledge and skills for accessing employment opportunities. 
• OUTCOME 3 (Jobs Creation): Graduates received support to access employment  

2. Objective(s) of the consultancy

The consultant is responsible for conducting a baseline survey, preparing, analysing, and submitting the baseline survey report, which informs the required baseline values and inputs for the SET project.

The baseline survey is an overarching/cross-cutting activity that informs baseline values and required inputs for the project. Thus, the baseline survey covers the following –

1. Baseline values to be updated in the logical framework, so that these can be used for evaluations;
2. Assessment of the employment market;
3. Assessment of the capacity of the trainers and concerned actors for skills and employment development, considering the employment market;
4. Assessment of the training programs, which consists of curricula, trainers, assessment guidelines, assessors, vocational & career counselling services) considering the employment market.

These assessments are integral to the following output, which serves as the foundation and the entry point for improving skills and the employment sector. 

3. Terms and Definitions

Employment market assessment: The labor market assessment (LMA) is a standard tool used by many skills projects in Ethiopia and around the world. It helps identify the professions or occupations demanded in the market, which will be used as a basis for selecting vocational skills for youth. However, this tool, unlike market opportunity assessment for businesses, does not pay sufficient attention to the kinds of businesses needed in the market. As the name says, LMA looks at the market from the labors' (jobseekers) and employers' point of view, which is relevant to wage-employment but not really to self-employment. Therefore, the project rather aims to conduct an employment market demand to cover both kinds of wage- and self-employment.  

Capacity is understood as human, technical, assets and financial resources. 

Capacity-strengthening goes beyond the provision of training. Exposure or exchange visits, coaching, organizing inspirational events, providing training of trainers, etc., are a few other capacity-strengthening methods.  

4. Deliverables or expected results

  3.1 Inception report 

  3.2 Baseline survey report 

5. Main Tasks and Activities of the Consultant

• Attend a briefing meeting to clarify the expectations of these Terms of Reference.
• Conduct a preliminary literature/desk review.
• Prepare the inception report, taking into consideration the preliminary literature review and the feedback of Helvetas and its partners and submit it to the MEAL Officer/senior MEAL expert and /or Humanitarian coordinator.
• Continue conducting literature review as required.
• Conduct data collection/a field research of the baseline survey, including those assessments described in sections 2 and 5.
• Organize, clean and compile the collected data as required.
• Run quantitative and qualitative analyses as per the agreed ToR.
• Prepare a first draft Baseline survey report (+ annexes) and submit it to the MEAL Officer/senior MEAL expert and /or Humanitarian coordinator.
• Reflect the feedback of the project staff and produce further draft versions.
• Conduct a debriefing meeting and/or validation workshop (will be discussed which one is required) to present key findings and baseline values and to collect feedback and inputs for the preparation of the final report.
• Prepare a final Baseline survey report (+ annexes) and submit it to the MEAL Officer /senior MEAL expert and /or Humanitarian coordinator.
• Submit all data sets, contacts, consents, etc. of the informants to Helvetas.

6. Working methodology

• Be gender, social equity and conflict-sensitive bearing in mind the project being in the volatile post-conflict situation.
• Be ready to have necessary communication and meetings (physical, TEAMs, email, phone) with respective project staff from Helvetas and its partner, Nexus Ethiopia.
• Where changes are required or foreseen against the agreed inception report and this Terms of Reference, the consultant is responsible for informing and seeking consent well in advance from the MEAL Officer or the Project Manager in request for changes in writing.
• Reports and all annexes have to be well written in English.
• Briefing meeting, literature/desk review (both given by the project and external documents), field research (interviews, key informant interviews and focus groups), analysis, and reporting are the main methodologies required for this baseline survey.
• Use a mixed approach for data collection and analysis to assess both quantitative and qualitative aspects.
• Use figures, tables, illustrations, pictures and voices/quotes for visualization and inspiration purposes.
• Collect the consent of the informants for the collection of their data and pictures.
• Use the KoBo open-source data collection tool for the collection of data. 
• The contents of the inception report shall cover, but not be limited to, the following: -

1. Cover page 
2. Table of contents 
3. Abbreviations 
4. Project and contexts - explaining how the consultant understands it (maximum 2 page) 
5. Preliminary desk review’s summary (maximum 2 pages) 
6. Proposed research methodology (maximum 8.5 pages) 
   1. the baseline’s objective + deliverables,
   2. Main research questions
   3. a list of indicators and baseline values to be assessed,
   4. sampling method & size, types and number of informants, 
   5. proposed data collection tools/means, 
   6. strategy to make the research ethical, gender, social equity and conflict-sensitive. 
7. Detailed work plan (maximum 1.5 pages)
8. Foreseen limitations/challenges and mitigation measures (maximum 1 pages)
9. Annex 1 - Detailed questionnaires (clearly responding to main research questions and deliverables) and 
10. Other necessary annexes

• The contents of the baseline survey report shall cover, but not be limited to, the following –
  • Cover page 
  • Table of contents 
  • Table of figures and tables 
  • Abbreviations 
  • Executive summary (maximum 3 pages) 
  • Introduction (maximum 3 pages - brief contextual information and project) 
  • Definition of terms (1 page) 
  • Research methodology (maximum 3 pages – only describe key information. Then refer to the final/agreed inception report and annex all other detailed information) 
  • Limitations/challenges (1 page) 
  • Findings, Analyses & Recommendations (maximum 35 pages) are articulated and presented clearly, covering the following aspects - 
    • List of indicators with updated Baseline values;
    • Assessment of the employment market; 
    • Assessment of the capacity of the trainers and concerned actors for skills and employment development, considering the employment market; 
    • Assessment of the training programs, which consists of curricula, trainers, assessment guidelines, assessors, vocational & career counselling services) considering the employment market.
  • Annexes (list of informants, references, agreed ToR and final inception report). 

7. Time frame of the assignment:  July 20th to September 30th, 2026

8. Programme Schedule

9. Roles & responsibilities of the project staff

Nexus Ethiopia

• The Project Manager of SET takes the overall responsibility and quality assurance of the baseline survey.

• Finance Officer supports payments and logistical arrangements required by the consultant, data collectors/enumerators and concerned staff.

HELVETAS Ethiopia

• MEAL Officer/senior MEAL expert/Humanitarian coordinator leads the baseline survey and guides the consultant to measure all baseline values from the logical framework and get it updated following the baseline survey and its final report. The MEAL Officer ensures the process is smooth, effective and efficient with the following facilitation and coordination –

  • Coordinates between the consultant and the project staff (Helvetas/partner)

  • Organizes meetings such as briefings, debriefings, and validation workshop. 

  • Compiles the feedback of the project staff for both inception and baseline reports and shares it with the consultant. 

  • Is responsible for ensuring the use of relevant research methodologies and questionnaires.

• Senior MEAL Expert participates in relevant meetings/workshops, reviews ToR, inception, draft and final reports to assure the quality of the baseline survey from the MEAL technical point of view.

• Safety and Security Expert provide security guidelines and updates to the consultant as needed for the movements required in the Amhara and Tigray regions for field research and onsite meetings and events (e.g., validation workshop). 

• Humanitarian Coordinator provides necessary supervision to the Project Manager in coordination with the partner and Deputy Country Director.

• Deputy Country Director provides necessary technical advice related to different assessments to be covered in the baseline survey.