75561 Policy Brief Issue 3 | September 2011 Breaking Gender Barriers: Vocational Training Vouchers and Kenyan Youth Joan Hamory Hicks, Michael Kremer, Isaac Mbiti, and Edward Miguel Summary Youth account for approximately 60 percent of substantial implications related to the potential of the unemployed population in Sub-Saharan increasing women’s productive power. Africa. Seventy two percent of adolescents in the region live below the $2/day poverty line. These early results also demonstrate that: iii) Vocational education has been identified as a take-up for programs like TVVP is relatively promising avenue for young adults to acquire high, especially for those with unrestricted and develop marketable skills for employment. vouchers; iv) shorter distance to institutions The Technical and Vocational Vouchers leads to greater participation; v) urban and rural Program (TVVP) was launched in an attempt to residence affects program preference, with fill key knowledge gaps in Kenya. urban residents preferring private institutions; and vi) retention rates are higher amongst This program began in 2008 and randomly students with less prior schooling and those with allotted vouchers to more than 1,000 students in unrestricted vouchers. Kenya. The goal was to assess the varying impacts of restricted vouchers that limit vocational education options to public institutions and unrestricted vouchers that allow students to attend either public or private institutions. The introduction of an information intervention was used to understand the impact of knowledge on real returns to vocational training; it also presented persuasive messaging to encourage female participation in traditionally male-dominated and increasingly profitable fields. Attendance began in early 2009. Approximately 78 percent of participants chose two-year courses and close to 20 percent decided on one-year courses. This analysis, based on data from mid-2010, presents suggestive evidence on TVVP’s effects on students in two-year courses and the program’s impact on students in one-year courses who had graduated. The evidence suggests that i) by nudging women to acquire training in lucrative male dominated trades, the information intervention may boost the earnings potential for women in vocational training. Additionally, ii) among those employed at the time of survey, students with vocational training were more generously compensated, with females enjoying the greatest financial returns amongst voucher © Earlham College/Flickr recipients. These preliminary results have The World Bank Group | Africa Region Gender Practice Policy Brief: Issue 3 1 Methodology Implementation of the TVVP program began 2010 analysis does not allow for the evaluation with the recruitment of approximately 2,160 out- of program impacts on the full sample. This is of-school youths between the ages 18 and 30. A especially relevant for the impact of TVVP on random half of these youth who applied to the labor market outcomes. Suggestive evidence of TVVP were awarded a $460 voucher for the program’s short-run impacts is indicative of vocational training while the other half served as larger returns to training for females who the control group. Of those who were awarded completed training compared to males. Males vouchers, half received unrestricted vouchers who completed short courses (one-year that could be used in either public or private programs) generated higher profits from self- institutions and the other half were given employment than females. Voucher winners restricted vouchers that could only be used in were slightly less likely to expect to be self- public institutions. employed in the future; this effect was driven by female voucher winners. Voucher winners were Additionally, a randomly selected half of all significantly less likely to be employed (seven treatment and control individuals were exposed percentage points), and they spent less time on to information about the actual returns to the job search (30 hours with a pronounced vocational education. The information difference for men), worked fewer hours (10 component of the intervention was designed in hours) and worked fewer hours in self- response to pre-program survey evidence, employment than those who did not receive which indicated that program participants were vouchers. Because most voucher recipients frequently mistaken about the returns to were in school at the time of this analysis, these vocational education. Only a small fraction of patterns mostly reflect the significant opportunity respondents knew which trades had the highest costs of schooling investments. Even with the average earnings in the region. Data from lower labor supply and lower intensity of job baseline individual course preferences search, the reported remuneration of voucher demonstrated that males overwhelmingly winners was slightly higher than those without preferred traditionally “male-dominated� courses vouchers – with the greatest differences for like motor-vehicle mechanics and women almost women. The 20 percent of participants who exclusively chose traditionally “female- chose short courses demonstrated results dominated� courses such as hairdressing. The similar to those aforementioned. However, early intervention also highlighted increased economic completers showed even larger financial returns returns in male-dominated trades and used “soft and profits as a result of training for women. persuasive� methods, such as a video of female auto-mechanics, in an attempt to encourage Program Take-Up females to pursue more traditionally male- Voucher take-up was high with 74 percent of dominated trades. winners enrolling in a vocational course for at least one term. There were no significant Results differences in take-up across gender, age group, The Information Intervention and the years since last in school or previous vocational Demand for Vocational Training training. Voucher winners who reported being While the provision of better information did not employed at the time of TVVP informational have a significant impact on enrollment meetings were less likely to use their voucher; decisions, the intervention did encourage this was driven by those who received restricted women to take up male-dominated trades. It vouchers. Take-up and retention rates were also increased the likelihood of both male and significantly higher among students with female unrestricted voucher recipients enrolling unrestricted vouchers compared to those with in public institutions. These trends could be restricted ones. This could be due to the greater related to the greater availability of traditionally density of private institutions in the study area, male-dominated and more profitable courses in these institutions’ varying approaches to training industrial trade, construction and motor vehicle – i.e. job search support – or students’ mechanics at public vocational institutions. perceptions of the labor market returns to private versus public training. Short-Run Labor Market Impacts Because 75 percent of the voucher winners were in school until December 2010, this mid- Policy Brief Issue 3 | September 2011 Distance and the Demand for Vocational likely to dropout and completed more Education coursework than more educated individuals. Distance to school is often cited as a major Presumably, individuals with less education barrier to educational enrollment and attainment. stand to gain more from vocational education Because individuals with unrestricted vouchers than those with more education. Individuals with had access to both public and private schools, restricted vouchers completed 12 percentage they were presented with options of schooling points less of their course than those with with shorter distances to travel. This could unrestricted vouchers. This is probably because partially explain the difference in take-up rates greater flexibility in institution and course choice between the two voucher types. Additionally, led to higher quality individual-institution vouchers winners closer to private schools were matches. more likely to take up training compared to those who were farther away. Policy Implications This evaluation presents noteworthy insight into Analysis of Institution and Core Courses positive social and labor market returns of the Consistent with the preference reported prior to TVVP. Specifically, this preliminary analysis the intervention, 75 percent of voucher winners demonstrates significant policy implications on across gender, age and education level groups both the supply and demand side of the chose to attend a public institution. This could be vocational training sector in Kenya: because the voucher randomization required half of the treatment group to attend a public 1. The provision of additional information and institution. For unrestricted voucher recipients, encouragement demonstrates the potential for men were more likely to enroll in public such schemes to reduce the level of institutions – this could be due to the institutions’ occupational segregation in the labor market by specialization in male-dominated courses. There promoting improved gender balance in training. is little difference in this regard amongst women in the unrestricted group. Those living in a city 2. While the TVVP concentrates on the demand with both restricted and unrestricted vouchers side of vocational training returns, the supply- were more likely to choose a private institution side impacts of the program demonstrate compared to those living in rural areas. significant positive reforms that can prove beneficial for scale-up of such programs in Course Retention similar contexts. The returns to training among Individuals with restricted vouchers were more the representative sample and the short course likely to drop out compared to those with students are suggestive of superior returns to unrestricted ones. This could be related to better vocational training in the labor market – “matches� between students and institutions in especially for women. Not only can programs the unrestricted cases. The provision of like TVVP alter the gaps in training and demand information had no impact on retention. Those for technical labor, they also have the potential with lower educational attainment were less to significantly change the social gender roles in and outside of households. 3. The TVVP exhibits the beneficial impacts of job placement services as well as distance and availability to program take-up. Vocational training can serve as an alternative path or a second chance program for promoting human capital formation. The distance and demand analysis results suggest that physical and financial access to private schools have strong and significant impacts on the enrollment © treesftf/Flickr decisions of individuals in the program. This could partly reflect increased course availability The World Bank Group | Africa Region Gender Practice Policy Brief: Issue 3 3 and flexibility available to those with unrestricted vouchers, or a reflection of a better idiosyncratic match between students and private schools. This brief features work supported by the 4. The analysis of institutions and core courses World Bank and carried out by the provides insight into improving the rural-urban University of California, Berkeley and the match between institutions and students. Because of the data on preferences it provides, Center of Evaluation for Global Action it makes available information to capitalize on in (CEGA), Harvard University, and Southern future information interventions. Indirectly Methodist University. incentivizing institutions to upgrade quality of education and improve matches can have For more information about the region’s limitless long-term benefits for youth in regions gender program, please contact like Western Kenya. Placement assistance could Sabrina Roshan at have significant implications for successful employment outcomes; however the efficacy of sroshan@worldbank.org such programs is currently unknown. In future The World Bank research, we plan to examine whether students 1818 H St. NW with access to these job placement programs Washington, DC 20433 USA have superior labor market outcomes. 5. The high value placed by lower educated participants demonstrates the power of the demand for such institutions and the dire need to remove capital and credit barriers. This evaluation exhibits the success of a voucher program in boosting the demand for vocational training, suggesting that current prices of vocational education are prohibitive, perhaps due to credit constraints. The evidence also points to the importance of engaging the private sector in policy formulation, as those students who had access to private institutions with unrestricted vouchers had both increased demand for vocational training and reduced drop-out rates. Private vocational institutions may be superior in quality, more able to meet students’ needs or may be closer and easier to reach. The data also suggests that information can change the education investment decisions of students, perhaps hinting that governments can employ national information campaigns to boost enrollment in vocational education. Further research will rigorously examine the medium to long-term labor market returns to vocational education. Ultimately, the combined evidence of the factors affecting the demand for education and the medium to long-term returns to education will provide a comprehensive assessment of the potential of a vocational education voucher scheme to improve the livelihoods of youth in a less developed country context.