Leveraging Soft Skills and Job Placement to Unravel the Myth of Youth Unemployment: A Field Experiment from Benin

The project aims to evaluate the effectiveness of integrating soft skills training into existing job placement programs. It seeks to determine whether combining soft skills training with job placement assistance produces greater impacts on youth labor market outcomes than either program alone. To address this research question, the experimental sample is assigned to three treatment arms and one comparison group using stratified randomization. The first treatment arm receives job placement assistance. The second arm is exposed to soft skills training, while the third arm receives both soft skills training and job placement assistance. The National Agency for Employment (ANPE), the operational arm of Benin’s Ministry in charge of employment, will oversee job placement assistance, while the NGO Monde Action Durable (MAD) will implement the soft skills training program. Conceptually, the job market placement program is expected to reduce job search frictions, strengthen social networks and encourage labor market participation, leading to better employability outcomes. In addition to improving the same intermediary outcomes as job placement assistance, soft skills training is expected to enhance trainees’ interpersonal and intrapersonal skills, job readiness, job satisfaction, and retention. Females, individuals from low-income backgrounds, and those with a strong internal locus of control are expected to draw substantial benefits. If the proposed approach is effective, soft skills training must be integrated into existing job assistance programs for youth. The findings may also highlight the need to incorporate soft skills training into tertiary education curricula, ensuring a smoother transition from university to the workforce.