U -- DEVELOPING EMPLOYMENT SPECIALISTS TRAINING

Notice Date

August 30, 2001

Contracting Office

Department of Veterans Affairs, Denver Distribution Center, P.O. Box 25166, Denver, CO 80225-0166

ZIP Code

80225-0166

Solicitation Number

RFQ 791-13-01

Response Due

September 20, 2001

Point of Contact

Gail A Hixon, Contracting Officer 303 914-5182

Description

The VA Denver Distribution Center intends to negotiate with the University of Colorado at Denver to develop a training program for Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment, Denver Regional Office. This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; a quote is being requested and A WRITTEN SOLICITATION WILL NOT BE ISSUED. This combined synopsis/solicitation is issued as a Request for Quotation (RFP) 791-13-01. This solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular FAC 97-27. This solicitation is not a small business set-aside. Sole source Acquisition for contractor to provide all resources necessary to accomplish the deliverables described in the statement of work (SOW), except as may otherwise be specified. The contractor shall support the Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E) Service initiative to aggressively develop community/employer partnerships; develop an ongoing system that shall identify new, 'real' employment opportunities for veterans; and direct the veterans in competitive job search skills in order to win these jobs. The contractor shall develop an effective approach that shall enable the VR&E to reach its' goals by: Designing a curriculum and delivering an academic certificate program in Community Employment Services; Training the Employment Specialists in effective job development activities that shall result in employer understanding, interest and participation; Developing training materials and resources to support the training program; Training Employment Specialists to effectively train others; and Training the Employment Specialists in effective mentoring techniques. The VR&E Service initiated the Employment Specialists Program to better serve veterans, meet employers' staffing challenges, and demonstrate that the VR&E program participants are on track to employment. The VR&E Service will forego using the traditional sell strategy of training veterans to push particular skills thought to be desirable by employers, only to find out the skills often were misidentified or actually not in demand. With the pull strategy, the VR&E Employment Specialists contact potential employers to identify required skills. Employment Specialists then establish a workforce network whereby the employers are able to hire veterans who successfully complete the program with the desired skills. After identifying available positions, Employment Specialists work with the VR&E Counselors, case managers, and veterans to see that program participants receive appropriate training to fill employer specific needs. The methodology being used by the Employment Specialist is designed to: a) Create significant market awareness related to the value of employing disabled veterans; b) Stimulate employer demand for trained, disabled veteran employees to satisfy recruitment, retention, and succession strategies; c) Communicate these career opportunities back to veterans; and d) Target veteran educational and training efforts specifically to meet employers' demands. The contractor shall complete the work required under this SOW no later than September 30, 2002. If the contractor proposes an earlier completion date, and the Government accepts the contractor's proposal, the contractor's proposed completion date shall prevail. The work shall begin within 10 workdays of award, unless otherwise specified. Work at the government site shall not take place on Federal holidays or weekends unless directed by the Contracting Officer (CO). The contractor shall not commence performance on the tasks in this SOW until the CO has conducted a kick off meeting or has advised the contractor that a kick off meeting is waived. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS. 1. For every task, the contractor shall identify in writing all necessary subtasks (if any), associated costs by task, together with associated submilestone dates. The contractor's subtask structure shall be reflected in the technical proposal and detailed project management plan (PMP). 2. All written deliverables shall be phrased in layperson language. Statistical and other technical terminology shall not be used without providing a glossary of terms. 3. Where a written milestone deliverable is required in draft form, the VA shall complete their review of the draft deliverable within five workdays from date of receipt. The contractor shall have five workdays to deliver the final deliverable from date of receipt of the Government's comments. SPECIFIC MANDATORY TASKS AND ASSOCIATED DELIVERABLES. Description of Tasks and Associated Deliverables: The contractor shall provide the specific deliverables described below within the performance period stated in Section AA of this SOW. Task One: The contractor shall provide a detailed PMP and briefing for the VA project team, which presents the contractor's plan for completing the task order. The contractor's plan shall be responsive with this SOW and describe, in further detail, the approach to be used for each aspect of the task order as defined in the technical proposal. Deliverable One: A detailed PMP and briefing. Task Two: The contractor shall design and deliver an Academic Certificate Program in Community Employment Services. This certificate program will consist of three-three semester credit hour courses requiring a minimum of 30 class hours on campus, hour field project, and completion of various other assignments via distance education. Deliverable Two: An Academic Certificate Program in Community Employment Services. Task Three: The contractor shall meet with the VR&E management and Employment Specialists to assess the commonalties and differences in how the Employment Specialist perform the duties of this position. Deliverable Three: Report discussing how the Employment Specialists work is accomplished nationwide. Task Four: The contractor shall develop an Employment Specialists Training Program not to exceed five days and train no more than 60 Employment Specialists and 60 VR&E field managers. The training program, at a minimum, shall include: a) Current job search methods for veterans, sales and marketing communications, and employment development strategies with which to approach potential employers. b) Creative strategies and "thinking out of the box" to enable the Employment Specialists to use "substantial ingenuity" for persuading employers to participate in Chapter 31 hiring initiatives. c) Advanced Communication Strategies with handson exercises/feedback to enhance the Employment Specialists' communication style when meeting with employers. d) Career Skills Training which includes all facets of a typical job search (skills assessments, defining career objectives, development of search materials, job sourcing, Internet job searches, networking, interviewing, and salary and benefits negotiations, a review of important computer skills.) e) Job Development training, which includes networking, relationship building, and TraintheTrainer components (with supporting materials). The training shall provide the necessary information and skills that shall result in the ability to continually and effectively source the 'hidden job market', plus document, track, and identify these new and unlimited opportunities for their specific populations in different organizations. Deliverable Four: Lesson plan, course outline and syllabus for each training module in draft and final. Deliverable Five: Train 60 Employment Specialists and 60 field managers. Task Six: The contractor shall develop and print participant manuals with reference guides and handouts for the Employment Specialists to use following the initial training. These training manuals will be provided in draft and in final. Deliverable Six: Manuals with reference guides and handouts in draft. E. SCHEDULE FOR DELIVERABLES. 1) The contractor shall complete the Delivery Date column in Attachment A for each deliverable specified. 2) Unless otherwise specified, the number of draft copies and the number of final copies shall be the same. 3) If for any reason any deliverable cannot be delivered within the scheduled time frame, the contractor is required to explain why in writing to the CO, including a firm commitment of when the work shall be completed. This notice to the CO shall cite the reasons for the delay, and the impact on the overall project. The CO shall then review the facts and issue a response in accordance with applicable regulations. 4) The contractor shall furnish all documents in hard copy and on diskette in Microsoft Office 95 version. F. CHANGES TO STATEMENT OF WORK. Any changes to this SOW shall be CO Officer. A copy of each change shall be kept in a project folder along with all other products of the project. Costs incurred by the contractor through the actions of parties other than the CO shall be borne by the contractor. G. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 1) The contractor shall provide the Task Order Project Manager (TOPM) with monthly written progress reports (original plus five copies). These are due to the TOPM by the second workday following the end of each calendar month throughout the project's duration. The TOPM is required to provide monthly progress reports to the Contracting Officer's Technical Representative by the fifth workday of the new calendar month. 2) The progress report shall cover all work completed during the preceding month and shall present the work to be accomplished during the subsequent month. This report shall also identify any problems that arose and a statement explaining how the problem was resolved. This report shall also identify any problems that have arisen but have not been completely resolved with an explanation. H. TRAVEL. The contractor shall travel to the training site. Travel and per diem shall be reimbursed in accordance with VA/Federal Travel Regulations. GOVERNMENT RESPONSIBILITIES. The Government will provide the contractor the most recent version of the following documents: Employment Services Pilot Final Report; Employment Specialist Qualification Standards. J. CONTRACTOR EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS. The technical proposal shall include resumes of all proposed contractor resources to be assigned the project. K. MILLENNIUM WARRANTY. Not Applicable. L. CAPABILITY MATURITY MODEL FOR SOFTWARE. Not Applicable. M. ARCHITECTURAL GUIDELINES. Not Applicable. N. SECTION 508  ELECTRONIC AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY STANDARDS. The Section 508 standards established by the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (Access Board) are incorporated into, and made part of all VA contracts, solicitations and purchase orders developed to procure Electronic and Information Technology. These standards are found in their entirety at: http//www.section508.gov. A printed copy of the standards will be supplied upon request. The contractor must comply with the above referenced standards in performing this contract. O. CONFIDENTIALITY AND NONDISCLOSURE. It is agreed that: 1) The preliminary and final deliverables and all associated working papers, application source code, and other material deemed relevant by VA which have been generated by the contractor in the performance of this task order are the exclusive property of the U.S. Government and shall be submitted to the CO at the conclusion of the task order. 2) The CO will be the sole authorized official to release verbally or in writing, any data, the draft deliverables, the final deliverables, or any other written or printed materials pertaining to this task order. No information shall be released by the contractor. Any request for information relating to this task order presented to the contractor shall be submitted to the CO for response. 3) Press releases, marketing material or any other printed or electronic documentation related to, this project, shall not be publicized without the written approval of the CO. The following Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) provision is incorporated by reference and applies to this acquisition FAR provision 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors-Commercial Items (OCT 2000). Offerors must include with their proposal a complete copy of FAR 52.212-3 Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items (MAY 2001). The following FAR clauses are incorporated by reference and apply to this acquisition: FAR clause 52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items (MAY 2001) and 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes of Executive Orders Commercial Items (MAY 2001).

Record

Loren Data Corp. 20010904/USOL001.HTM (W-242 SN50W530)