Green Jobs - Women's Bureau New York

Green Jobs STATEMENT OF WORK July 31, 2009 - I. INTRODUCTION The green jobs sector, as defined as "work in agriculture, industry, services and administration that contributes to preserving or restoring the quality of the environment"[1] is deemed an emerging and high growth area for the U.S. workforce. This request for proposals seeks to widen the pipeline to these jobs by increasing the proportion of women trained to participate in the green economy. Currently, women are underrepresented in the green economy's skilled labor training programs and employment opportunities. Green jobs exist across many industries; an area for potential growth for women is the green roofing and urban agriculture and horticulture industry. This project aims to develop women in their education, skills and experience related to these sectors. The purpose of this project is to 1) create a new green jobs training program to meet the specific needs of women in the green roofing and urban agriculture and horticulture workforce, and 2) successfully train at least 20 women to participate fully in the green roofing and urban agriculture and horticulture sector over the course of one year. - II. BACKGROUND The Women's Bureau (WB), one of the oldest agencies within the U.S. Department of Labor, was created by Congress on June 5, 1920. The WB's mission is to improve the status of wage-earning women, improve their working conditions, increase their efficiency, and advance their opportunities for profitable employment. The WB, through its Strengthening the Family Initiatives - Better Jobs, Better Earnings, Better Living, and value-added partners - prepares women for tomorrow's jobs and promotes an environment that is responsive to the demands and challenges of the 21st century workforce. Women in the labor force have grown from 8 million in 1920 to over 72 million in 2009. By the Year 2012, women are projected to comprise 47 percent of the U.S. labor force. With the predicted growth in environment-focused and sustainable jobs, additional efforts are needed to ensure that women are made aware of opportunities and find early success in this job sector. The Women's Bureau, Region II, is soliciting a contractor to work with the WB Region II office to develop a training program such that 20 women receive green job training. The targeted area for this project is: underserved urban areas of the five boroughs of New York City. - III. SCOPE OF WORK Contractor requirements: Must currently have successful, measurable experience in training people in green jobs (as defined above). Training program must be located within the five boroughs of New York City. Training program must be full-time, requiring participant participation throughout the business workday. Training program must include hands-on training in plant identification, green-roof design, installation and maintenance. Training program must include a minimum of 6 weeks of apprenticeship within the green roofing and/or urban agriculture/horticulture industry. Training program must include soft skill training for women on resume and interview preparation, financial education (such as the Wi$eUp Program), and include formal mentorship. Training program must include certifications in: Live Roof Installation, Tree Pruning, Pesticide/Herbicide, 10 Hour OSHA certification for General Industry, 40 Hour Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response Standard, First Aid and CPR. Must be registered in the Central Contractor Registration (www.ccr.gov) Under this project, Contractor will design an outreach and recruitment model that targets the participation of 20 women that receive green roofing and urban agriculture/horticulture training in a tailored environment. Tasks and Deliverables - 1. Schedule a meeting (telephone or face-to-face) with the COTR within two weeks of receiving the contract to discuss all details/questions regarding scheduling and the deliverables. - 2. Provide the fully developed outreach and recruitment plan in accordance with the Contractor's proposal to WB Region II within 2 months of contract start date. - 3. Identify the barriers to women participants enrolled in the contractor's previous training program(s) or other organizations' green jobs training programs prior to initiating the outreach program and tailored training. - 4. Achieve successful completion of green roofing/apprenticeship training program by 20 women. - 5. Achieve relevant job placement for 80% of female participants within 3 months of completing training. - 6. Track and report the results of the outreach and recruitment methods to the WB on a monthly basis. Reporting format will be provided by WB. - 7. Provide reports on a quarterly basis to the WB on the number of women enrolled in pertinent green jobs courses, course completions, job placements, best practices as identified and challenges encountered. Reporting format will be provided by WB. - 8. Provide a final report to the WB on the enrollment, completion status, job placement and other results of women in green jobs training by September 15, 2010. Reporting format will be provided by WB. - IV. CONTRACTING OFFICER'S TECHNICAL REPRESENTATIVE (COTR) The COTR shall be Grace Protos, Regional Administrator, Women's Bureau, U. S. Department of Labor, 201 Varick Street, Room 602, New York, NY 10014. She can be reached at (646) 264-3789, fax (646) 264-3794 or email protos.grace@dol.gov. - V. NOTICE TO THE GOVERNMENT OF DELAY Whenever the Contractor has knowledge that any actual or potential situation is delaying or threatens to delay the timely performance of this Agreement, the Contractor will notify the COTR within ten days. - VI. STANDARD OF WORK The contractor agrees that the performance of work pursuant to the requirements of this agreement shall conform to professional standards. - VII. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE The period of performance will extend 12 months from the date of the award. - VIII. CONFIDENTIALITY The Contractor cannot make use of any information obtained through this Agreement for any activity outside the scope of this project. - IX. RIGHTS IN DATA AND COPYRIGHT Throughout the period of this Agreement, the Government reserves exclusive and unlimited rights to the information provided to the Contractor, except for the information the Government makes available to the public. All data collected and produced for this project belongs to the Department of Labor. - X. OUT OF TOWN AND/OR OVERNIGHT TRAVEL Although, minimum travel is anticipated, any travel expenses incurred must be factored into the original budget for administrative overhead. There are no additional funds available for travel. XI. INVOICE PAYMENTS The contractor shall submit all invoices to the COTR at the above address. The invoices shall include a current date, the name and address of the contractor, the employer identification number, the purchase order number, an invoice number, and a description of the services rendered. The COTR shall approve the invoices for payment. Payments may be made upon completion of deliverables as negotiated. . XII. RECORDS AND ACCOUNTS Contractor shall maintain such records and accounts applicable to this Purchase Order to assure full and proper accounting for all Purchase Order funds. These records shall be retained for a period of three (3) years following submission of the final invoice under this Purchase Order. SUBMISSION OF QUOTATIONS Quotations must be received no later than 3pm Eastern Standard Time on Monday, July 24, 2009. Quotations can be submitted through FedBizOpps, or via fax or email to Debra Reynolds: email reynolds.debra@dol.gov, fax: 617-788-2833 [1] http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/---webdev/documents/publication/wcms_098487.pdf