Consultant(s) - Accessibility Research to promote inclusive youth participation in TVET

Terms of Reference – Consultancy

Position Title : Consultant(s) - Accessibility Research to promote inclusive youth participation in TVET

Position locations : Batticaloa & Kilinochchi, Trincomalee,Vavuniya & Mullaitivu

Reports to : Gender Equality and Social Inclusion Advisor, STRIVE

Application Deadline: September 21, 2026

Contract Period :October 2026 _ June 2027

1. Background and Rationale:
   

The World University Service of Canada (WUSC) is a leading Canadian International development organization committed to fostering human development and global understanding through education, training, and economic empowerment. Guided by its vision of a world where every young person thrives and belongs, WUSC works as a facilitator and convener, leveraging partnerships across civil society, government, academia, and the private sector. Active in Sri Lanka since 1989, WUSC strengthens systems and fosters collaboration to expand education, entrepreneurship, and employment opportunities for youth, particularly young women through gender responsive and sustainable development initiatives.

STRIVE_The Strengthening TVET Resilience and Inclusive Vocational Employment (STRIVE) Project is a new initiative designed to transform the economic prospects of young people specially young women in Sri Lanka’s Northern and Eastern Provinces. Over five years, the project seeks to reduce poverty, boost regional competitiveness, and propel sustainable economic growth, giving specific attention to advancing gender equality and strengthening resilience to climate and economic shocks. Using a collaborative approach, STRIVE will drive gender responsive, environmentally sustainable collective action among actors in the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) ecosystem. These actors will be supported to increase participation of young people, particularly young women, in enhanced TVET that leads to increased gender equitable employment and self-employment in key sectors facing current and future skills gaps, with emphasis on the green economy. The two priority sectors identified in the North and East include Agriculture, Hospitality and Tourism (H&T), with ICT as a cross-cutting sector for innovation and efficiency.

2. Objectives:

WUSC invites qualified consultant(s) or consultancy firm(s) to conduct research on accessibility to TVET and employment to promote inclusive youth participation in TVET for the STRIVE Project.The overall objective of this assignment is to contribute to the STRIVE project’s inclusive programming by advancing gender-responsive and climate-resilient community engagement and accessibility initiatives across the TVET sector.

And the specific objectives are:

1. Assess barriers and opportunities affecting access to and participation in TVET and transition to employment, with particular attention to young women and other marginalized young people. The analysis will examine social, cultural, gender, attitudinal, institutional, informational, financial, physical, gender and climate-related barriers.
2. Generate evidence for dialogue, and collective action by developing district-level discussion papers that identify priority accessibility challenges and propose incentives, strategies, and collective actions to increase youth participation in TVET and sustainable employment.
3. Support the WUSC technical team to co-design an Inclusive Community Engagement and Social Marketing Strategy and Implementation Plan, in close collaboration with TVET providers, Women’s Rights Organizations (WROs), youth champions, employers, and other relevant stakeholders.

.Qualifications of Consultant(s)/firm

• Demonstrated experience with blend of expertise in primary and secondary research;
• Demonstrated experience in implementing gender sensitive research methods and use of qualitative and participatory approaches;
• Demonstrated experience and knowledge on TVET in Sri Lanka;
• Demonstrated experience in developing campaign activities for community engagement, and BCC focused social marketing activities
• Excellent communication and written English skills required;
• Fluency in Tamil preferred and Sinhala is an advantage
• Demonstrated ability to produce clear and concise quality reports and learning documents.

How to Apply

Please find the detailed Terms of Reference (TOR)

Interested and qualified consultants or firms are invited to submit:

1. A Technical Proposal clearly describing the research methodology and campaign strategy development, and process for community engagement and social marketing.
2. Candidates should send a CV of the research team members
3. A Financial Proposal including work plan, level of effort, cost breakdown, and payment schedule
4. All documents, including the technical and financial proposals, should be submitted electronically via WUSC BambooHR website link:

Any questions regarding the RFP can be sent by email to strive.rfp@wusc.ca with the subject line “ INQUIRIES - STRIVE /Accessibility Research ”. Please note that questions via phone will not be accepted.

Application deadline: 21 September 2026.