IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/dls/wpaper/0375.html

Soft-skills Training, Locus of Control, and Labor Market Outcomes of Youth: Evidence from Kenya

Author

Listed:
  • Kibrom A. Abay

    (IFPRI)

  • Maria Laura Alzua

    (CEDLAS-IIE-FCE-UNLP & CONICET & Partnership for Economic Policy)

  • Laura Nelima Barasa

    (University of Nairobi)

  • Phyllis Mumia Machio

    (University of Nairobi)

  • Martin Paul Jr. Tabe-Ojong

    (World Bank)

Abstract

We evaluate the impact of a gender-sensitive soft-skills training that aimed to address youths’ labor market constraints in technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions in Kenya using a clustered randomized controlled trial. We also explore whether the presence (or absence) of complementary noncognitive skills, such as locus-of-control, moderates the impact of soft-skills training. Our evaluation combines baseline, midline, and endline data to understand the dynamics of labor market transitions for the youth. Although we find suggestive evidence that the soft-skills training marginally contributed to preparing the youth for the labor market by improving their willingness, expectations, and preparedness for jobs, the impact of the soft-skills training on ultimate labor market outcomes appears negligible. However, the effect of soft-skills training varies across individuals with varying personality traits. Soft-skills training improved labor market outcomes for those with internal locus of control, implying important heterogeneity across individuals with varying non-cognitive skills.

Suggested Citation

  • Kibrom A. Abay & Maria Laura Alzua & Laura Nelima Barasa & Phyllis Mumia Machio & Martin Paul Jr. Tabe-Ojong, 2026. "Soft-skills Training, Locus of Control, and Labor Market Outcomes of Youth: Evidence from Kenya," CEDLAS, Working Papers 0375, CEDLAS, Universidad Nacional de La Plata.
    • Handle: RePEc:dls:wpaper:0375
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.cedlas.econo.unlp.edu.ar/wp/wp-content/uploads/doc_cedlas375.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments
    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • N37 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Africa; Oceania

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:dls:wpaper:0375. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Ana Pacheco (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/funlpar.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.