1. About the Canadian Agricultural HR Council
The Canadian Agricultural HR Council is a national, non-profit organization focused on addressing human resource issues facing agricultural businesses across Canada. The Council works to fully understand and meet the unique needs of those within the various commodity areas that define the national agricultural industry. We are recognized as the centre for reliable labour market information, and the access point for customizable solutions related to LMI, HR management and training. For more information about the Canadian Agricultural HR Council, visit https://cahrc-ccrha.ca/.
2. Project Description
Through CAHRC’s research, agriculture businesses have clarified that their top risk to business success, sustainability and growth is human resources and workforce development, specifically having reliable access to workers with the latest knowledge and skills required to meet existing and evolving demands (CAHRC, 2009, 2011, 2016). CAHRC has developed several tools and resources to support industry in HR best practices and workforce development. This includes working with subject matter experts across industry to develop and update more than fifty National Occupational Standards (NOS) that are part of the National Agricultural Occupational Framework (NAOF). It also includes the development of a recommendations report as a foundation for the development of a full skills framework.
The overall project will assist the agriculture industry to secure a highly skilled workforce to grow the industry in future years by expanding our labour market information research, building a full skills framework, updating HR tools and resources and continuing to move forward on the National Workforce Strategic Plan for Agriculture and Food and Beverage Manufacturing. The objectives are to:
• Increase employer capacity by expanding and streamlining labour market intelligence (LMIg) and skills data resources based on workforce supply and demand;
• Expand the skills framework and best practices throughout the agricultural and food value chain to ensure a strong understanding of skills needs;
• Develop comprehensive strategies to address the priorities outlined in the industry-led National Workforce Strategic Plan (NWSP) for Agriculture, Food and Beverage Manufacturing; and
• Reduce barriers to employment for equity-deserving groups in the agri-food industry by embedding diversity and inclusion principles throughout the project design and delivery.
The Council has previously developed National Occupational Standards (NOS), occupational profiles, competency resources, and labour market tools that provide foundational information for workforce planning across Canada’s agriculture sector. These products will be reviewed and updated on an annual basis to ensure they continue to reflect the most current requirements in a rapidly changing environment.
2.1 Objectives
The Council now seeks a framework architecture that supports interoperability between National Occupational Standards, labour market intelligence systems, education and training pathways, credentialing systems, and real-time workforce analytics platforms to enable a modern, responsive, and future-ready agriculture workforce ecosystem. The result will be to modernize and expand these resources into a dynamic National Agriculture Skills Framework that leverages and maps the NOS content into a contemporary, interoperable skills architecture. A report was produced in 2024 that provides a preliminary outline of this framework and recommendations to be considered in the development and implementation of the full skills framework.
The framework will support alignment between occupations, competencies, tasks, credentials, and emerging skills requirements while enabling compatibility with related sector frameworks, including food processing and broader agri-food workforce systems. Once developed the framework will be updated annually.
2.2 Scope of Work
Phase 1 – Project Initiation and Discovery
Activities
• Review the preliminary report that includes recommendations for consideration in the full development of the skills framework.
• Conduct a comprehensive review of existing National Occupational Standards and related occupational competency resources;
• Assess the structure, terminology, competency language, and occupational taxonomy currently used within NOS documentation;
• Identify opportunities to modernize NOS content for interoperability with digital skills intelligence systems.
Deliverables
• NOS inventory and assessment report;
• Gap analysis identifying alignment opportunities between NOS resources and the proposed skills framework architecture.
Phase 2 – Framework Design and Skills Architecture
Activities
• Develop a detailed mapping methodology between existing NOS content and the proposed skills framework;
• Translate NOS occupational tasks, competencies, and performance indicators into standardized skills taxonomy components;
• Identify relationships between occupations, tasks, competencies, credentials, and transferable skills;
• Ensure the framework structure supports future updates and version control as NOS resources evolve.
Deliverables
• NOS-to-Skills Framework mapping methodology;
• Crosswalk documentation linking NOS occupations, tasks, competencies, and skills categories;
• Skills ontology and tagging structure informed by NOS data;
• Draft modernization recommendations for future NOS development standards.
Phase 3 – Labour Market Intelligence and Real-Time Data Integration Model
Activities
• Develop methodologies for connecting NOS-derived skills data with real-time labour market intelligence sources;
• Identify approaches for comparing NOS-defined competencies against emerging labour market demand signals from job postings and workforce analytics platforms;
• Recommend processes for identifying skills gaps, emerging competencies, and obsolete skills over time.
Deliverables
• NOS-enabled skills intelligence integration model;
• Emerging skills monitoring methodology using NOS-aligned taxonomy structures;
• Recommendations for future AI-enabled or automated skills mapping capabilities.
Phase 4 – Review and Update
Activities
• Work with CAHRC staff to review and update the framework on an annual basis.
2.3 Key Requirements
The successful proponent must demonstrate:
• Experience working with occupational standards, competency frameworks, or skills taxonomies;
• Experience translating occupational standards into structured skills architectures or digital taxonomies;
• Knowledge of competency mapping methodologies and interoperability standards;
• Experience aligning legacy workforce frameworks with modern labour market intelligence systems is considered an asset.
• Understanding of project objectives, alignment requirements (NOS and sectoral) and sector context.
• Experience developing methodology for framework design, NOS mapping and interoperability.
• Experience with stakeholder engagement to validate the framework.
• A team that clearly demonstrates the qualifications and experience to conduct this work.
3. Project Management and Oversight
3.1 Project Authority
The Consultant will report to Phyllis MacCallum, Director, Research and Knowledge Mobilization. The Consultant shall appoint a corresponding lead contact from its team with whom the Director, Research and Knowledge Mobilization and CAHRC staff shall communicate.
3.2 Oversight and Guidance
The Director, Research and Knowledge shall liaise between the Consultant and CAHRC staff, naming additional contacts as appropriate.
3.2 Oversight and Guidance
The Director, Research and Knowledge shall liaise between the Consultant and the Advisory Committee. The Committee will ensure that all project activities remain on track and that all research and data requirements are vetted by industry.
4. Budget
The budget for this project is $165,000 exclusive of applicable taxes.
5. Timeline
It is anticipated that the project will start June 22, 2026 and will end August 30, 2030.
6. Submission Process
6.1 Enquiries
All enquiries for clarification of information must be forwarded to pmaccallum@cahrc-ccrha.ca in English by June 5, 2026 at 12:00pm Eastern Standard Time. Response to questions will be provided by June 9, 2026 8:00am Eastern Standard Time.
6.2 Submission
Proposals shall be submitted by email to pmaccallum@cahrc-ccrha.ca and have RFP Response: Skills Framework Development in the email subject line.
6.3 Closing
Consideration will be given to all proposals received via e-mail by 3:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, June 12, 2026. It shall be the sole responsibility of the proponent to ensure that the proposal is received at the email address prior to the specified time. The Council shall reply to all proponents with an email confirming receipt of their proposal. Only complete proposals received before closing time will be considered.
7. Evaluation
7.1 Criteria
Upon receipt of proposals, the Council will examine each submission for compliance with bidding requirements, prior to carrying out the primary evaluation.
Mandatory Criteria
• The proposal must be received by the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council before the specified closing time.
• The proposal must be in English and must be submitted by email in PDF format.
• Submissions must not exceed 8 pages, excluding consultant CV’s. Proposals exceeding this limit shall be disqualified.
• All proposals must include bidder’s name and quote the title of the project.
The proposed team must have experience in the following areas:
• CV’s that outline each team member’s relevant knowledge, skills and experience as it pertains to their project roles;
o The team must include member at least one member with:
Knowledge of the agricultural sector in Canada;
In-depth knowledge of learning and qualification frameworks;
In-depth knowledge of certification and accreditation;
o The team must include at least one member with at least five years of experience in:
Job analysis, including the development of national occupational standards and competency profiles;
Competency-based human resource (HR) management, including large-scale industry-wide applications;
Designing and developing HR support tools, including competency dictionaries, HR reference materials, self-assessments, online resources, and return on investment communications;
Training and development, including training needs assessments, curriculum design, content development for various learning modalities (webinar, course, workshop, e-learning), training delivery and evaluation;
Skill framework design, development and implementation
Stakeholder engagement, including working with project advisory oversight bodies;
Project management;
Facilitation;
Stakeholder presentations;
Delivering large-scale research projects; and
• Outline information regarding intended use of AI, as per the Use of AI Terms outlined in Appendix A of this document.
• Three references from clients for which the bidder has completed similar work. References should include client name, contact person, phone number, e-mail address, project description, project duration, and team lists for each of the three projects.
7.2 Evaluation Criteria
Evaluation of proposals will be conducted by a committee formed by the Council and may include members of the Board of Directors, employees, and contractors of Council. All personnel will keep confidential all information in the proposals. The Council’s intent is to enter into a contract with the proponent achieving the highest overall ranking.
Proposals must meet all of the mandatory criteria to be considered, and will be further assessed against the following evaluation criteria:
A: Understanding the Requirements (10)
• An understanding of the project’s objectives, elements, and outcomes.
B: Work plan (30)
• A proposed work plan including a description of project activities and the work products for each activity.
• Proposed research methodologies to realize the project’s objectives.
• A schedule, including timelines and milestones, for undertaking the work on time and on budget.
• A matrix specifying how much time each member of the consulting team shall dedicate to each activity and their role(s) in undertaking that activity.
• A description of reporting methods on the progress of the project.
• A description of potential challenges or issues that might be encountered in undertaking the project, how the consultant would respond to ensure that project deliverables and deadlines are respected, and what implications these responses might have for the Council in undertaking the project.
C. Deliverables (15)
• A detailed description of all project deliverables and how they align to the project objectives.
• How implementing the work plan will result in the full realization of the project’s deliverables and objectives.
• Special features or services the proponent can provide to enhance the project objectives.
D: Experience (25)
• Includes history, mission, area(s) of consulting focus of the proponent, identification of a project lead and contact information.
• A description of the team’s relevant knowledge, skills and technical experience, including competencies in project management, web development, client and stakeholder relations, writing, quantitative and qualitative research and analysis.
• CV’s that outline each team member’s relevant knowledge, skills and experience as it pertains to their project roles. The CV’s may be appended to the proposal.
• Three references from clients for which the bidder has completed similar work. References should include client name, contact person, phone number, e-mail address, project description, project duration, and team lists for each of the three projects.
E. Overall Impression (10)
• Completeness and quality of the proposal.
F: Financial Proposal (10)
• The anticipated material, supply, incidental, travel, human resource (external to the consulting team) and other expenses.
• The cost for each activity. Include consultant travel and any material costs, but exclude the cost of translation.
8. Terms
8.1 Development Principles
The consultant will:
• Ensure that all materials drafted are appropriate for both English and French audiences. The Council will translate project documentation.
• Ensure that equity principles are reflected in any language used and in the design of the consultations and research.
• Declare to the Council any interests in or agreements with any supplier of services or materials.
8.2 Sub-Contracting
Using a sub-contractor (who should be clearly identified in the proposal) is acceptable. However, one of these proponents must be prepared to take overall responsibility for successful undertaking and completion of the contract, and this should also be clearly defined in the proposal.
Where applicable, the names of approved sub-contractors listed in the proposal will be included in the contract. No additional subcontractors will be added or other changes made, without the written consent of the Council.
8.3 Acceptance of Proposals
This RFP should not be construed as an agreement to purchase goods or services. The Council is not bound to enter into a contract with the proponent who submits the lowest priced proposal or with any proponent. Proposals will be assessed in light of the evaluation criteria. The Council will be under no obligation to receive further information, whether written or oral, from any proponent.
8.4 Modification of Terms
The Council reserves the right to modify the terms of this RFP at any time at its sole discretion. This includes the right to cancel this RFP at any time prior to entering into a contract with the successful proponent.
8.5 Use of Request for Proposals
Any portion of this document, or any information supplied by the Council in relation to this RFP, may not be used or disclosed for any purpose other than for the submission of proposals. By submitting a proposal, the proponent agrees to hold in confidence all information supplied by Council in relation to this RFP.