Working to Learn: An Evaluation of an Industry-led and Publicly-Supported On-the-Job Training Program

One explanation for high youth unemployment is that work-seekers lack the skills required by firms. Another is that firms are uncertain about entry-level jobseekers’ skills. Simply getting young people a foot in the door may alleviate both these constraints - through on-the-job vocational training and by providing positive employment-history signals. To investigate these explanations, we have partnered with a large-scale, public- private job creation partnership in South Africa - the Youth Employment Service (YES). YES facilitates entry into the labor market for first-time workers by providing them with 12-month internship-style opportunities in corporate firms, with layered training and mentorship. Internship quality – a responsibility of the placement firm - is partially enforced by the ability to qualify for government tax and affirmative action incentives. Through a randomized evaluation of YES’ program, we explore the impact on post- placement employment of this novel delivery model of a vocational training-based solution to youth unemployment.