Programmes de stage et accès à l’emploi : une application à la Convention nationale État-employeurs du secteur privé au Sénégal

We examine the impact of internship programs on access to employment in Senegal. We use primary data collected in 2018 on 1,838 applicants (beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries) to the National State-Private Sector Employer Agreement (?Convention nationale État-employeurs?), which is an agreement signed between the government and employers to share the costs of hiring young people for internships. The impact evaluation is carried out using the marginal treatment effect approach to correct selection bias induced by observable and unobservable characteristics. The results show that the internship programs increase the chances of accessing regular and stable employment, regardless of gender. The impact is much more favorable for women, as the proportion of female program beneficiaries who moved into regular employment is 41.1 percentage points higher than for female non-beneficiaries. This figure is 19.2 percentage points higher when comparing male beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries. The results also reveal that in the male and female control groups, there are still suitable profiles that need to be supported for better professional integration.