Employment and Employability Skills Program

An advanced contract award notice (ACAN) is a public notice indicating to the supplier community that a department or agency intends to award a contract for goods, services or construction to a pre-identified supplier, thereby allowing other suppliers to signal their interest in bidding, by submitting a statement of capabilities. If no supplier submits a statement of capabilities that meets the requirements set out in the ACAN, on or before the closing date and time stated in the ACAN, the contracting officer may then proceed with the award to the pre-identified supplier.

1. Definition of the requirement:

The Correctional Service of Canada (CSC) CORCAN has a requirement to provide an employment and employability skills program to offenders with special needs. The work will involve the following:

1.1 Objectives:

To provide employment and employability skills and on-the-job training for offenders with special needs under supervision in the Halifax and surrounding area.

1.2 Tasks:

The Contractor must provide employability skills training to offenders with special needs and an environment to practice these skills through on-the-job training. CSC/CORCAN will refer offenders to the Contractor. The tasks the Contractor must perform include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. Provide employability skills training and on-the-job training;
2. Teach employability skills, “soft skills”, to offenders (including, but not limited to, communication, time management);
3. Teach job search skills (including, but not limited to, resume writing, interview preparation);
4. Provide on-the-job training (employment);
5. Provide training including duties and hours of work;
6. Teach proper work ethic (including, but not limited to, attendance, punctuality, attitude);
7. Provide worksite orientation;
8. Provide worksite rules and regulations;
9. Provide worksite supervision; and
10. Provide personal protective equipment (if applicable).

1.3 Expected results:

To provide employability skills training and on-the-job training to offenders with special needs and assist these offenders in developing transferrable skills to find and maintain employment upon their release in the community.

1.4 Deliverables:

1.4.1 The Contractor must provide a Final Report containing the following:
• Name of offender;
• Description of employability skills program;
• Description of on-the-job training including tasks and hours of work
• Performance evaluation including, but not limited to: attendance, attitude, ability to follow direction and perform the work; and
• Outcome and recommendations for future employment

1.4.2 Paper consumption:

a. Should printed material be required, double sided printing in black and white format is the default unless otherwise specified by the Project Authority.

b. The Contractor must ensure printed material is on paper with a minimum recycled content of 30% and/or certified as originating from a sustainably managed forest.

c. The Contractor must recycle unneeded printed documents (in accordance with Security Requirements).

1.5 Constraints:

1.5.1 Location of work:

a. The Contractor must perform the work in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

b. Travel

i. No travel is anticipated for performance of the work under this contract.

1.5.2 Language of Work:

The Contractor must perform all work in English.

1.5.3 Security Requirements:

There are no security requirements associated to this contract.

2. Criteria for assessment of the statement of capabilities (minimum essential requirements):

Any interested supplier must demonstrate by way of a statement of capabilities that it meets the following requirements:

Experience:

1. The Supplier must have a minimum of three (3) years experience providing training and work experience to a marginalized population*. The experience must have been acquired within the last five (5) years preceding the closing date of this ACAN.

2. The Supplier must have a minimum of three (3) years experience, within the last five (5) years preceding the closing date of this ACAN, in providing an employability skills training program for marginalized populations* that is based on a continuous intake model which allows for continuous admission of offenders.

*Marginalized populations are defined as populations excluded from any given society’s mainstream social, economic and cultural life.

3. Applicability of the trade agreement(s) to the procurement

This procurement is not subject to any trade agreement.

4. Set-aside under the Procurement Strategy for Indigenous Business

This procurement is not subject to any set-asides for Indigenous Suppliers.

5. Comprehensive Land Claims Agreement(s)

This procurement is not subject to a Comprehensive Land Claims Agreement.

6. Justification for the Pre-Identified Supplier

There is a limited number of suppliers available to provide an employment and employability skills program to meet the reintegration needs of CSC offenders with special needs. The work on the contract includes providing services to offenders with mental health or substance abuse issues, or both on conditional release or statutory release and those subject to Long-Term Supervision Orders. The pre-identified supplier has developed an employability skills training program that is based on a continuous intake model and allows continuous admission of offenders, and that provides services specific to offenders that have barriers to employment.

The pre-identified supplier meets all of the minimum essential requirements described in this ACAN.

7. Government Contracts Regulations Exception(s)

The following exception to the Government Contracts Regulations is invoked for this procurement under subsection:

(d) only one person is capable of performing the contract.

8. Exclusions and/or Limited Tendering Reasons

This procurement is not subject to any trade agreement.

9. Ownership of Intellectual Property

There are no intellectual property terms in the contract.

10. Period of the proposed contract or delivery date

The proposed contract is for a period of one (1) year, from February 1, 2024 to January 31, 2025 with an option to extend the contract for three (3) additional one (1) year periods.

11.Cost estimate of the proposed contract

The estimated value of the contract, including option(s), is $ 240,900.00 (GST/HST extra).

12. Name and address of the pre-identified supplier

Name: HRDA Enterprise Ltd, operating as MetroWorks
Address: 7071 Bayers Road, LL05
Halifax, NS
B3L 2C2

13. Suppliers' right to submit a statement of capabilities

Suppliers who consider themselves fully qualified and available to provide the goods, services or construction services described in the ACAN, may submit a statement of capabilities in writing to the contact person identified in this notice on or before the closing date and time of this notice. The statement of capabilities must clearly demonstrate how the supplier meets the advertised requirements.

14. Closing date and time for a submission of a statement of capabilities

The closing date and time for accepting statements of capabilities is December 28, 2023, at 2:00 PM (AST).

15. Inquiries and submission of statements of capabilities

Inquiries and statement of capabilities are to be directed to:

Linda Mandeville
Senior Procurement Officer
340 Laurier Ave. W.
Ottawa, ON, K1A 0P9
Telephone:438-357-6503
E-mail:linda.mandeville@csc-scc.gc.ca