The British Embassy in Cairo is pleased to announce the opening of a call for bids for the Egypt Skills for Prosperity Programme. This programme is being delivered in eight countries, and is part of the Global Skills Programme under the UK Government’s Prosperity Fund.

The deadline to submit bids to Prosperity Programme Team is 31st May.

Overview

The Egypt Skills for Prosperity Programme provides £8 million in funding over 3-years, until 2023. The programme focuses on three strands of work:

1. Equity – Promote equitable access to higher education particularly for low-income youth, young people with disabilities, and young women from poor communities who wish to pursue further studies at public universities in underrepresented subjects such as Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM).

2. Quality – Improve the soft skills ecosystem within public universities by equipping undergraduates, and post-graduates with in-demand and employability skills.

3. Relevance – Work with the British and Egyptian industry to improve the pathways of transition from higher education to employment, particularly in STEM careers, for the target groups outlined above.

The proposed impact of Egypt Skills for Prosperity is increased capacity for inclusive economic growth due to improved employability skills, employment opportunities, labour market access and productivity of priority target beneficiaries. This impact is linked to the overall objectives of the UK Government’s Prosperity fund to reduce poverty and promote inclusive economic growth.

Interested organisations are expected to achieve three main interlinked outcomes: support equitable supply and access to higher education, improved skills set for target beneficiaries, and improved pathways of transition from higher education to employment corresponding to the three identified strands of work.

The Egypt Skills for Prosperity Programme, with its three strands of work, will be delivered by a consortium of partners with relevant expertise. All organisations are welcome to bid or form part of a bidding consortium. In particular, we encourage non-profit organisations and multilateral agencies to consider leading or joining a consortium. All lead organisations will need to clearly specify partner organisations within their consortium in the bid.

Bidders need to submit:

1. Programme proposal with a maximum page limit of 30 pages – not including annexes and supporting documents – (enclosed is an example template (MS Word Document, 43KB), but bidders are welcome to use their own proposal templates)
2. Activity based budget- ABB (enclosed budget template (MS Excel Spreadsheet, 476KB), cost guidance (PDF, 230KB, 10 pages), and Accountable Grant Costs (PDF, 206KB, 4 pages))
3. For a full list and further information on requirements, eligibility, and evaluation criteria, please see the call for bids document (PDF, 502KB, 9 pages), which includes a bidding and evaluation process timeline.

All documents to be submitted to P-Naismith@dfid.gov.uk by 31 May.

For enquiries or information, please contact the Egypt Skills for Prosperity Programme Manager: Mona.Tantawy@fco.gov.uk

Garden centres will be able to reopen to the public from today (Wednesday 13 May).

All garden centres reopening should put in place social distancing, cleaning and protective measures for both staff and customers. In particular, they should ensure that people can stay 2m apart wherever possible, as is already the case in supermarkets and other shops which have remained open in recent weeks. Further detailed guidance for businesses has been published by BEIS.

Biosecurity Minister Lord Gardiner said:

We know that this time of year is crucial for the horticulture industry and are very aware of the impacts of coronavirus on the sector.

Our decision to reopen garden centres and nurseries in a safe way, will allow businesses to sell their products directly to the public and in doing so bringing about wider benefits to consumers, especially for physical and mental wellbeing, which gardening can bring.

It is vital all garden centres implement strict social distancing and I urge businesses to use the Government’s extensive guidance and the Horticultural Trades Association’s Safe Trading Guidance when planning their reopening.

To help Garden Centres put in place appropriate measures, the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) has also produced Safe Trading Guidance, closely aligned to the Government’s guidance and specifically for garden centres, which includes a series of recommendations to protect customers.

The guidance document has been based on insight from leading HTA retailers, the British Retail Consortium, and from government advice as a recommendation of best practice regarding social distancing. Recommendations include advice on customer numbers in stores, entrance and exit protocols, and queueing and checkout procedures. It also contains practical advice on how to protect the health and wellbeing of staff.

Five new ministerial-led taskforces have been set up to develop plans for how and when closed sectors can reopen safely, following publication of the UK’s roadmap to rebuild Britain.

Businesses and shops in indoor environments or with closer contact between people, like pubs, hotels and non-essential retail, will likely have a higher risk of transmission, as is the case with many places of worship.

It is the Government’s ambition to open as many of these other businesses and public places as possible over the coming months, when the scientific advice provided allows us to.

Similarly, the Government recognises this has been a particularly challenging time for the international aviation industry.

These taskforces will be crucial to the reopening of Britain’s economy and each one will lead on developing new COVID-19 secure guidelines for the reopening of public places and businesses, where and when it is safe to do so.

The five new ministerial taskforces will look at the following sectors:

• pubs and restaurants (Department for Business, Energy and industrial Strategy)
• non-essential retail (including salons) (Department for Business, Energy and industrial Strategy);
• recreation and leisure, including tourism, culture and heritage, libraries, entertainment and sport (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
• places of worship, including faith, community and public buildings (Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government)
• international aviation, reflecting the unique challenges that sector is facing (Department for Transport)

As part of this science-led approach, each taskforce will work across Government and engage with key stakeholders in public health, industry, trade unions and devolved administrations to:

• ensure that COVID-19 secure guidelines are developed in line with the phased approach and public health directions, building on the existing guidance and providing intelligence and sector-specific expert input
• agree and ensure alignment of all relevant sectoral guidance
• provide key sector stakeholders direct access to Ministers to shape the guidance.