Call for Proposals: Skills Innovation Challenge (India)

Deadline: 3-Sep-23

ILO, in partnership with UNICEF/YuWaah, calls for innovative solutions from not-for-profit organizations in India that support upgrading informal apprenticeships through digital transformation.

September 2023DOWNLOAD

The global megatrends, such as technological advancements, demographic shifts, climate change, globalization, and more recently COVID-19 pandemic are making major disruptions in the world of work, causing the loss of some jobs while creating new ones. Capitalizing opportunities, under such circumstances, will depend on building an agile workforce capable of transitioning smoothly to newly created jobs through appropriate and timely skilling, reskilling and upskilling.

Upgrading informal apprenticeships refer to the gradual improvement of a training system embedded in the culture and traditions of societies, aiming at making the informal apprenticeships system more dynamic to respond to current and future changes and to support the creation of dynamic local economies.

Objectives and Scope

The objective of the Challenge Call is to identify, incubate, test, and disseminate innovative solutions in India that support upgrading of informal apprenticeships through digital transformation:

• The proposed solutions have to apply digital means in order to tackle one or more of the following issues:
  • Anticipate skills required in targeted sectors and design structured training programmes on a systematic basis and at lower cost
  • Provide complementary theoretical training in informal apprenticeships for targeted occupations with improved outreach and cost effectiveness
  • Conduct skills assessments in informal apprenticeships with greater outreach and improved cost effectiveness
  • Improve productivity and occupational safety and health in workplaces in informal apprenticeships
  • Increase women and their families’ awareness of the potentials of non-traditional jobs in digitally supported occupations
• The proposed solutions targeted at women, especially those in disadvantaged and remote groups, will receive bonus points during the evaluation process.

Awards Description

A total of four winning organizations will be selected and receive the following support:

• Financial Support: The top four winning organizations will be awarded USD 20,000 each to implement their proposed solutions. (The expenditure of the grant needs to be completed by the end of December 2023, though the project implementation may continue after January 2024.)
• Technical guidance: The winning organizations will receive technical support from the ILO, UNICEF/YuWaah and their partner organizations, where applicable, to refine, develop, and pilot their ideas.
• Global visibility:  The winning organizations will receive support to raise awareness of their solutions through attending an international event and/or showcasing their work on websites and social media channels of the ILO and UNICEF/YuWaah, among others.
• Access to a network of innovators in skills development:  The winning organizations will be invited to join the ILO Skills Innovation Network, where they will get access to tools, resources, and knowledge-sharing opportunities.

Eligibility of Applicants

• Legally registered not-for-profit organizations in India that carry out non-profit oriented work, including non-governmental organizations (NGO), universities, other research and educational institutions (including public TVET institutions, schools, and training providers), and other relevant organizations, can submit proposals to the Challenge Call.
• The applicant organization must have contractual capacity and have been in existence for at least two calendar years before the deadline of the submission for applications (10 August 2023).
• The applicant organization must provide a detailed budget and indicate a contribution from the proposing organization corresponding to at least 10 percent of the value of the proposal, which can be represented by in-kind or staff costs.
• Application documents and following correspondences must be made in English.
• The ILO and UNICEF/YuWaah reserves the right to carry out reasonable due diligence, including contacting references provided and other third parties to confirm the eligibility of participants, and may refuse to award the grant to a participant if there is suspicion of any irregularity, fraudulent activities, etc.

For more information, visit International Labour Organization (ILO).