软技能与青年就业：来自孟加拉国的实验证据

CSAEWorkingPaperWPS/2026-05

SoftskillsandYouthEmployment:ExperimentalEvidencefrom

Bangladesh

Softskillsarewidelybelievedtomatterforlabormarketsuccess,buttwoquestionsremaincentraltotheiruseinactivelabor-marketpolicy:aretheymalleablebeyondchildhood,andcantrainingintheseskillsimproveemploymentoutcomes?Toaddressthese,weevaluateCareerX,aone-monthsoft-skillsandcareer-readinessprogramforuniversitystudentsinBangladesh.Across15cohorts,1,794applicantswererandomlyassignedtoanofferoftrainingoracontrolgroup.Onetotwomonthsafter,trainingimprovesemploymentandpaidemploymentby7.3%and6.7%inthetreatmentgroup.Oneyearlater,theestimatedeffectissimilarinmagnitudebutlesspreciselyestimated.Anindexofself-reportedsoftskillsis0.10SDhighershortlyaftertheprogramandremainshigher,by0.13SD,oneyearlaterwithlargergainsinintrapersonalthaninterpersonalskills.OthermeasuressuchasCVquality,professionalreferencesandjob-searchplanningandeffortdonotchangedetectably,apatternconsistentwithimprovementsinsoftskillscontributingtotheobservedemploymenteffects.TheprogramisdeliveredatlowmarginalcostthroughgroupsessionsandhybridinstructionatapproximatelyUSD117peradditionalattendeeemployed.Ourresultsindicatethatsoftskillsremainmalleableatthepointoflabormarketentryandthatshortprogramscanshiftearlyemploymentoutcomesatacostwellbelowcomparableinterventions.

Keywords:youthemployment,labormarketentry,softskills,RCT

JELcodes:J24,M53,O15,I26,J08,C93

Acknowledgments:WearegratefultotheIKEAFoundationforfinancialsupport.WethankBangladeshYouthLeadershipCenterforaccommodatingtheresearchdesign.WethankInnovationsforPovertyAction(IPA)andHDRCfordatacollection.WethankDilaraIslam,DalyoOurba,ZaimaPromy,AnudhiiSundaram,TanzilaTabassum,andNeetiZamanforexcellentresearchassistance.WethankEllenBates-Jefferies,ClaudiaCasaratto,SohiniChaparala,LauraCostico,AshrafulHaq,TaiebaIshrat,AftabOpel,AshleyPople,andMichelleRaofordesigninput,projectcoordinationandmanagementassistance.WethankSmitaDasfordiscussionsonthesoftskillsmeasures.WethankseminarparticipantsattheUniversityofChicago,OxfordUniversityandtheUniversityofMarylandforfeedback.ThisstudywasapprovedbyIPAIRB-USA,theInstitutionalReviewBoardofInnovationsforPovertyAction(IRBProtocol#15475,approved25August2021).AEARegistryID:0008249.Allerrorsandomissionsareourown.

tUniversityofOxford,mahreen.khan@sbs.ox.ac.uk;CorrespondingAuthor‡UniversityofMaryland,CollegePark,isen1@

1

CentrefortheStudyofAfricanEconomies

DepartmentofEconomics.UniversityofOxford.ManorRoadBuilding.OxfordOX13UQ

T:+44(0)1865271084.F:+44(0)1865281447.E:csae.enquiries@economics.ox.ac.uk.W:www.csae.ox.ac.uk

2

1Introduction

Softskillsacquiredinyoutharepredictiveoflabormarketsuccess,bothinhighandlowincomecountries(Ajayietal.,

2022

;Heckmanetal.,

2006

).Softskills,oftencalledsocio-emotionalandnon-cognitiveskills,canbebroadlydefinedtoincludebothintrapersonaltraits(e.g.,self-regulation,perseverance)andinterpersonalskills(e.g.,teamwork,communication).Softskillsarerecognizedasusefulforfindingsuitableemployment,determininghowwellindividualscanworkwithothers,andthereforeinfluencingearlycareeroutcomes(Heckmanetal.,

2006

).Employersoftenreportthattheyvaluetheseskillsasmuchas,ormorethan,technicalskills,andcitetheirshortageasaconstrainttohiring(Bassi&Nansamba,

2022

;Cunningham&Villase~nor,

2016

).Inaddition,theinitialtransitionintothelabormarketcanbecriticaltoanindividual’sprofessionaltrajectory,aslongertransitionsmayerodehumancapital,produceworsematches,anddepressfutureearnings(Kahn,

2010

;Oreopoulosetal.,

2012

).Asroutinecognitivetasksareincreasinglyautomated,therelativereturnstonon-routinesocialandself-regulatoryskillsarerising(Acemoglu&Restrepo,

2018

;Deming,

2017

),raisingthestakesforwhethersuchskillscanbescaledupamongworkers.

Despitetheeconomicrelevance,themarketforsoftskillsexhibitsseveralfailures.Theunder-provisionofsoftskillspriortolabormarketentryreflectsafailurearisingfromlimitationsinbothproductionandsignaling.Unliketechnicalskills,thetechnologyforproducingsocio-emotionalskillsispoorlyunderstoodanddifficulttostandardize,makingitcostlyforcollegestodelivereffectivetrainingatscale(Deming,

2022

).Atthesametime,conventionalachievementtestsfailtoreliablymeasuretheseskills,limitinginstitutions’abilitytocertifyorsignalskillacquisitiontoemployers(Heckman&Kautz,

2012

).Asaresult,studentsfacemaynothavetheoptionorfaceweakincentivestoinvestinsoftskillsduringcollege.Althoughpriorinterventionshavestudiedsoft-skillstrainingforrecentgraduates(Brudevold-Newman&Ubfal,

2024

;Grohetal.,

2016

;Osman&Speer,

2025

),itremainsunclearwhethersoftskillscanbeimprovedforthisdemographicandwhethersuchgainsmighttranslateintoemployment.

Inthispaper,westudytheeffectsofaone-monthlongtrainingprogramonsoftskillsandlabormarketoutcomesinBangladesh.Bangladeshprovidesarelevantsetting:youthunemploymentremainshigh,andnearlyone-thirdofrecentcollegegraduatesareunemployedonetotwoyearsaftergraduation(WorldBank,

2019

).TheprogramcalledCareerXwasdesignedbyBangladeshYouthLeadershipCenter(BYLC)tohelpimprovesoftskillspertinenttothelabormarketandtargetedatstudentswhowereonetotwoyearsfromcompletinguniversity.Across15cohortsimplementedbetweenSeptember2021andOctober2022,1,794acceptedapplicantswereinterviewedatbaseline.Withineachcohort,applicantswererandomlyassignedeithertothetreatmentgroupandreceivedanoffertoparticipateinthetraining,ortothecontrolgroup,whoweretoldtheyhadnotbeenselected.Intotal,998applicantswereassignedtotreatmentand796tocontrol.Compliancewashigh:81%ofthoseassignedtotreatmentattendedatleastoneclass,andtheaverageshareofclassesattendedwas65%.Only1%ofthecontrolgroupattendedaclass.Participantsweresurveyedonetotwomonthsaftertrainingforthefirstfollow-up,andagainapproximatelyoneyearlaterforthesecondfollowup.Surveyattritionwas17%inthefirstfollow-upand21%atthesecondfollow-up.

Weorganizetheanalysisaroundasimplemodelofskillformationwithsignalingfrictions

3

(Becker,

1964

;Cunha&Heckman,

2007

;Spence,

1973

).Inthemodel,studentsunder-investinsoftskillsbeforeenteringthelabormarket:effectivetrainingisscarce,andemployersobservetheseskillsonlyimperfectly,whichweakenstheincentivetoacquirethem.Therefore,aprogramthatcanbuildsoftskillsandmakethemeasiertodemonstrateshouldthereforeraiseemploymentquickly,whileearningsrespondmoregraduallyasemployerslearnaboutworkerqualityonthejob.

Theresultsshowthatthetrainingprogramfacilitatedparticipants’entryintothelabormar-ket.Atfirstfollow-up,participantsassignedtotreatmentwere4.5percentagepointsmorelikelytobeengagedinanyemploymentand4percentagepointsmorelikelytobeinpaidemploymentcomparedtocontrolmeansof62%and60%,respectively.Instrumentingattendancewithtreat-mentassignmentyieldscorrespondingestimatesof5.5and4.9percentagepoints.Atthesecondfollow-up,employmentestimatesremainedpositivebutwereimpreciselyestimated,asemploy-mentalsoincreasedamongcontrol-groupparticipantsacrossthetwofollow-ups.Inaddition,sinceattritionwashigheratthesecondfollow-up,wehadlesspowertodetectdifferences.Wedonotdetectsignificanteffectsonearningsorhoursworked,thoughpointestimatesarepositiveinbothrounds.Heterogeneityestimatessuggestlargershort-runemploymenteffectsforfemaleparticipants,althoughthispatterndoesnotpersist.Employmentestimateswerealsolargeramongthepost-COVID-19hybridcohortsthanamongtheearlierfullyonlinecohorts.Themedium-runestimatesshouldbeinterpretedinlightofthepandemic-eralabormarketandthefactthatnearly70%ofrespondentshadnotcompletedtheirdegreesbythesecondfollow-up.

AdistinctivefeatureofthestudyisthemeasurementofsoftskillsusingabatteryofscalesadaptedfromtheESTEEMframework,whichwasdevelopedforlow-andmiddle-incomeset-tings(Marshetal.,

2025

).Wemeasureeightskills—fourintrapersonalskills(self-awareness,self-control,perseverance,anddecision-making)andfourinterpersonalskills(listening,expres-siveness,negotiation,andinfluence)—eachscoredonafive-pointLikertscale.Mostofthelocallyadaptedscalesmeetorapproachconventionalthresholdsforinternalconsistency,andsixoftheeightskills,togetherwiththeoverallindex,arepositivelyassociatedwithpaidemploymentatbaseline.ThefinalbatteryrepresentstheintersectionoftheskillstargetedbyCareerX,thoseexpectedtomatterforearlylabor-marketoutcomes,andthosethatcouldbevalidatedintheBangladeshicontext.Thisaddressesarecurringmeasurementconcernintheliterature,wheresoft-skillsinstrumentsareoftentransferredfromhigh-incomesettingswithoutlocalvalidation(Ajayietal.,

2022

;Lippmanetal.,

2015

).Wealsomeasurejob-searchpreparedness,planning,andeffort,allowingustoexamineseveralalternativechannelsthroughwhichtheprogrammayaffectemployment.

Thepaper’scentralmechanismresultisthatCareerXraisestheskillsitwasdesignedtodevelop.Theoverallstandardizedsoft-skillsindexis0.10SDhigheratthefirstfollow-upand0.13SDhigheroneyearaftertraining.Effectsarelargerforintrapersonalthaninterpersonalskillsinbothrounds:0.10versus0.07SDintheshortrunand0.12versus0.10SDinthemediumrun.Attheindividual-skilllevel,theshort-rungainsareconcentratedindecision-making,self-awarenessandlistening,whileself-controlandnegotiationimproveatoneyear.Bycontrast,wedetectnoeffectsonanumberofotherconventionalchannelstofindingwork-forinstance,preparedness(e.g.,CVquality,professionalreferences)oranindexofjob-searcheffortcapturing

4

timespentsearching,outreachthroughpersonalandformalchannels,CVssubmitted,andinterviewsattended.Theonlyotherintermediateoutcomesthatisdifferentbetweentreatmentandcontrolgroupsatfirstfollow-upisaplanningindexdrivenbyupdatingCVs,whichwasarequiredactivityintraining.Inordertoruleoutthischannel,wemeasureandconfirmthatCVqualityisnodifferent.Thispatternsupportstheinterpretationthatimprovementsinsoftskillscontributedtotheemploymenteffects,ratherthantheeffectsoperatingthroughincreasesinotherjob-searchprocesses.

Wemakethreecontributionstotheliteratureonskillformation,school-to-worktransitions,andactivelabor-marketpolicyindevelopingcountries.First,weprovidenovelexperimentalevidencethatself-reportedsoftskillsremainmalleableamonguniversitystudentsapproachinglabor-marketentry.Althoughskillformationisgenerallythoughttobeeasierearlierinlife(Cunha&Heckman,

2007

;Heckman&Mosso,

2014

),evidenceontheeffectsofshort-durationtrainingatthislaterstageislimited.Evaluationsamongcollege-educatedyouthinJordanandEgyptdidnotdirectlymeasurechangesintheskillstargetedbytheprograms(Grohetal.,

2016

;Osman&Speer,

2025

),whiletheclosestcomparison,alongerprogramforrecentgraduatesinRwanda,detectednosignificantchangesinitsmeasuredsoft-skillsindices(Brudevold-Newman&Ubfal,

2024

).Ourfindingscomplementevidenceofskillimprovementsamongotheradultpopulations,includingfemalegarmentworkersinIndia(Adhvaryuetal.,

2023

),entrepreneursinLatinAmerica(Pradaetal.,

2019

),andruralmarriedwomeninIndia(Kala&McKelway,

2025

;McKelway,

2021

).Weshowthatashortprogramcanimproveanoverallindexoflocallyadaptedsoft-skillmeasuresamongstudentsapproachinggraduation,witheffectsremainingpositiveapproximatelyoneyearlater.

Second,weprovidedirectevidenceonaplausiblepathwaylinkingatrainingprogramtoemploymentbymeasuringboththeskillstargetedbytheinterventionandseveralalternativejob-searchchannels.Priorworkdocumentsassociationsbetweensoftskillsandlabormarketoutcomes(Ajayietal.,

2022

;Bassi&Nansamba,

2022

;Danonetal.,

2024

),butexperimentalevaluationsrarelymeasurechangesintheskillsthemselvesalongsideemploymentoutcomes.Wefindthattheprogramincreasestheoverallsoftskillsindex,whileproducingnodetectableeffectsonCVquality,professionalreferences,orbroaderjob-searcheffort.Whiletheprogramalsoaffectsshort-runjob-searchplanning-theonlyvariablethatischangedinthisindexisupdatingCVs-whichwasnecessaryinthetraining.AndsinceweconfirmthatCVqualityisnotdifferent,weruleoutthischannel.Theoverallpatternisconsistentwithimprovementsinsoftskillscontributingtotheemploymenteffects,ratherthantheeffectsoperatingthroughincreasedsearcheffortandintensity.

Third,weprovidedetailedevidenceontheimplementationcost,cost-effectiveness,andpoten-tialscalabilityofashort-durationtrainingprogram.Wedistinguishbetweenaveragetrainingcosts,whichseveralcomparablestudiesreport,andcost-effectiveness(i.e.,thecostperaddi-tionalpersonemployed),whichwecanbenchmarkagainstonlyonestudy.WeestimateacostofapproximatelyUSD3perparticipant,basedontheincrementaldeliverycostsincurredbyanorganizationwithanexistingcurriculumandimplementationinfrastructure.ThisplacesCareerXatafractionofotherprogramsincomparablesettings,whichrangefromUSD340inBangladesh(Das,2021)toUSD835inRwanda(Brudevold-Newman&Ubfal,

2024

),though

5

costsincludedandtrainingdosevaryacrossthesestudies.Intermsofcost-effectiveness,weestimateashort-runcostofapproximatelyUSD117peradditionalattendeeemployed.OnlyBrudevold-NewmanandUbfal(

2024

)allowsacomparison:theirintention-to-treateffectonthelikelihoodofearninganyincome(9%)isofasimilarordertothe6.7%increaseinpaidemploymentweestimateatfirstfollow-up,implyingthatCareerXachievesemploymenteffectsofcomparablerelativemagnitudeatasmallfractionoftheper-participantcost.Inaddition,theBYLCprogramdeliveryformatalsospeakstoscalability.TheearliestcohortshadtobetrainedfullyonlinebecauseofCOVID-19restrictions,andtheprogramshiftedtoahybridformatcombiningin-personandonlineinstructiononcerestrictionseased.Positiveeffectsonsoftskillsaredetectableevenamongthefullyonlinecohorts.Deliverymodewasnotrandomlyassigned,soweinterpretthiscomparisoncautiously,butitsuggeststhatatleastpartofthecurriculumcanbedeliveredremotelyatevenlowercost.Thecombinationoftheshortcurricu-lum,lowmarginaldeliverycosts,andaworkablehybridformatindicatesstrongpotentialforexpansionthroughnationalskillsprograms.

Theremainderofthepaperproceedsasfollows.Section

2

describestheBangladeshyouthlabormarketandtheCareerXtrainingprogram.Section

3

developstheconceptualframeworkthatpredictstheempiricaloutcomes.Section

4

describesthedata,balance,complianceandattrition.Section

5

presenttheresearchdesignandSecion

6

presentstheestimationstrategy.Section

7

reportstheresults,whileSection

8

discussesimplications,limitationsandconcludes.

2Context

2.1TheBangladeshLaborMarketforYouth

Bangladeshischaracterizedbyalargeandgrowingpopulationofyoungjobseekers.Thecoun-tryboastsasizableyouthdemographic.However,thelabormarketfaceschallengesinprovidingadequateemploymentopportunitiesforthisburgeoningyouthpopulation.Highcompetitionforjobs,limitedformalsectoremployment,andaprevalenceoflow-skilled,low-payingposi-tionsarecommonissues.ManyyoungBangladeshisendupininformalandvulnerableworkarrangements.Thelackofessentialskillsandrelevantjobtrainingoftenhinderstheirabilitytosecurestableandwell-payingjobs.

InBangladesh,variousaspectsofskillsdevelopmentareheavilyprioritizedinthepolicyagendaasunemploymentandunder-employmentremainmoderatetohigh(MinistryofYouthandSports,

2017

,GeneralEconomicsDivision,

2020

).InBangladesh’stertiaryeducationsector,nearlyathirdofgraduatesremainunemployedoneortwoyearsaftergraduation,withuniversitygraduatesdoingworsethantechnicaleducationgraduates(WorldBank,

2019

).Thesamereportalsofindsthatemployersidentifiedthelackofsoftskills(e.g.,workplacecommunications)tobeamajordeficiencyamongstthesegraduates.

2.2TheBYLCIntervention

ThepaperevaluatesBYLC’sProfessionalCareerDevelopmentProgram,CareerX.CareerXwasprimarilyasoft-skillsinterventionwithcomplementarycareer-readinesscontent.The6-8week

6

curriculumwasdeliveredinablendedformatcombininglive,instructor-ledsessionswithself-pacedonlinemodulesandsmall-groupfacilitation,buildingtowardacapstoneproject.Themajorityoftheself-pacedcontentofroughly6.2hours,weretargetedtoteachingcommuni-cation,self-presentation,careerplanning,andleadership,withcommunicationandbusinesswritingformingthesinglelargestblock.Thelivesessions,ofanadditional6-8hours,reinforcedthiscontentthroughdiscussion,structuredexercises,andpracticewithfeedback.

Intrapersonalskills—self-awareness,self-control,perseverance,anddecision-making—werebuiltthroughstructuredself-assessmentandguidedpractice.Inarepresentativesession,stu-dentsworkedthroughasystematicappraisaloftheirownstrengths,weaknesses,interests,andvalues,appliedittoconcretecareeroptionsthroughaworkedexample,andthenrepeatedtheanalysisonthemselvesinsmallgroups;throughout,theinstructordevelopedreflective,growth-orienteddecision-makingbypressingstudentstojustifyandbuildononeanother’sanswers.

Interpersonalskills—listening,expressiveness,negotiation,andinfluence—weredevelopedlargelythroughcommunicationandself-presentationpractice.Asessionondeliveringpersuasivepresentations,forexample,taughtstudentstostructureamessagearoundcredibility,emotion,andlogic,toreadandadapttotheiraudience,andtoattendtodelivery—voice,tone,andbodylanguage—asmuchastocontent,withstrongandweakcommunicatorsanalyzedasmodelsandstudentsrehearsingandreceivingfeedback.Theprogram’sdiscussion-basedformat,inwhichstudentscontinuallyrespondedtoandbuiltononeanother’scontributions,gaverepeatedpracticeinlisteningandinexpressingideasclearly.MoredetailsonthecurriculumandthemestructureappearinAppendix

B

.

Deliverymodechangedoverthestudyperiod.TheearliestcohortsweretrainedfullyonlineunderCOVID-19restrictions;BYLCmovedtoahybridofin-personandonlineinstructioninearly2022asrestrictionseased.Deliverymodewasnotrandomlyassigned,sowereadcomparisonsacrossthetwoperiodscautiously,buttheyhelpillustratethetrade-offsbetweenonlineandin-persondeliveryforsoft-skillstraining,athemewereturntointheheterogeneityandcost-effectivenessanalyses.ThetimelineforeachCareerXsessionisshowninAppendix

A

Figure

6

.

3ConceptualFramework

Wedevelopasimpleframeworkthatmotivatestheinterventionandorganizesourempiricalpre-dictions.Theframeworkdrawsontwostrandsofthehumancapitalliterature:thetechnologyofskillformation(CunhaandHeckman,

2007

;Cunhaetal.,

2010

)andmodelsofunder-investmentarisingfromproductionandsignalingfailures(BassiandNansamba,

2022

;Becker,

1964

;Spence,

1973

).AfullderivationappearsinAppendix

D

.

3.1SoftSkillsFormation

DrawingonCunhaandHeckman,

2007

,wemodelanindividual’shumancapitalasavectorθ=(θC,θN),whereθCrepresentscognitiveskills(e.g.,academicknowledge,technicalability)andθNrepresentsnon-cognitiveorsoftskills.TheCareerXprogramtargetsθN;wethereforefocusthemodelontheformationandlabor-marketreturntosoftskills,treatingθCasfixedat

7

thepointoftraining.

Skillsevolvethroughaproductiontechnology.Considerastudentatthepointoflabormarketentrywithcurrentsoft-skillendowmentθN,0.IfthestudentreceivestrainingofintensityI,post-trainingsoftskillsare:

θN,1=f(θN,0,I)(1)

wherefisincreasinginbotharguments.WediscussspecificpropertiesoffthatmotivateourheterogeneityanalysisintheAppendix.

3.2Under-InvestmentinSoftSkills

Whymightstudentsarriveatthepointoflabormarketentrywithsub-optimalsoftskills?Weidentifytworeinforcingfailuresthatdepresstheprivateincentivetoinvest.

Productionfailure.Unliketechnicalknowledge,thetechnologyforproducingsoftskillsispoorlyunderstoodanddifficulttostandardizewithinformaleducationsystems(Deming,

2022

).Collegesthereforetypicallyprovidelimitedorineffectivesoftskillsinstruction,makingtheeffectivecostofself-investmentc(I)highforstudents.

Signalingfailure.Evenwhenstudentsdopossesssoftskills,conventionalcredentials(de-grees,transcripts,testscores)provideanoisysignalofsoftskills(HeckmanandKautz,

2012

).Ifemployersobserveasignals=θN+εwithsubstantialnoiseε,theexpectedreturntosoftskillsinvestmentisattenuated.Intheextreme,ifemployerscannotdistinguishhigh-fromlow-θNworkerspriortohiring,thewageofferispooledandtheincentivetoinvestcollapses.

Together,highcostsandweaksignalinggenerateunder-investmentrelativetothesocialoptimum.Astudent’soptimalinvestmentI*solves:

wherep(·)istheprobabilityofemploymentandw(·)istheexpectedwage,bothincreasingintheskillvectorθ1,andc(I)isthecostofacquiringtrainingofintensityI.Whencishighand∂w/∂θNisattenuatedbysignalingnoise,I*isinefficientlylow.

3.3HowtheInterventionOperates

TheCareerXprogramaddressesbothfailuresinparallel.

First,ittacklestheproductiongap.Theprogramprovidesstructuredsoftskillsinstructionthatcollegestypicallydonotoffer,raisingθNatlowcost—thetrainingwasfree,thoughstudentsmayhavebornesmallcostssuchastransportationaswellasopportunitycostsfortimespentinthetraining.Theinterventionisthereforebestunderstoodasareductioninc(I).

Second,itreducessignalingnoise.Treatedstudentscansignaltheirimprovedsoftskillstoemployersthroughtwochannels.Directly,theycanlistcoursecompletionontheirCVormentiontheprogramincoverlettersandinterviews.Indirectly,thenewlyacquiredskills—clearerwriting,moreconfidentspeaking,moreeffectiveinterviewpresence—revealthemselves

8

toemployersthroughthejobsearchandinterviewprocess.Bothchannelsreduceσandraise

thewagereturntotruesoftskills.

Ourempiricalstrategyteststhetwolinksinthischain:

1.Doestrainingraisesoftskills?WeestimatetheeffectoftreatmentassignmentonthesoftskillsindexθN,1.

2.Dohighersoftskillsimprovelabormarketoutcomes?Weestimateeffectsonemploymentp(·)andearningsw(·),andinvestigatewhethersoftskillimprovements—ratherthanotherchannelssuchasjobsearcheffort—explaintheemploymentgains.

Theframeworkgeneratesthreetestablepredictions,formalizedinAppendix

D

:

P1.Employmentincreasesfortreatedstudents,consistentwithimprovementsinsoftskillsbeinganimportantmechanism.

P2.Earningseffectsmaybemutedintheshortrunifthesignalingfailureisonlypartially

resolved—employershavenotyetfullyobservedthehigherθNoftreatedworkers.

P3.TrainingraisesθN.

4DataCollectionandDescriptives

4.1DataCollection

Datawerecollectedinthreerounds.AllsurveyswereconductedonZoomorSkypeattheconvenienceoftherespondent.AcopyoftheinformedconsentisprovidedinAppendix

C

.Thefirstfollow-upsurveywasadministeredabout2monthsafterthescheduledCareerXtrainingsession,capturingimmediatepost-programoutcomesforthetreatmentgroup.Anendlinesurveywascompletedabout1yearafterthetrainingsessionforbothtreatmentandcontrolrespondents.Thereweremanystepsthathadtobetakeninordertoreduceattritionforurbanstudents.First,therewasanincentiveof500taka(USD4.2),whichcouldbereceivedinphonecreditorotherways,e.g.,vouchers.SincetheevaluationwasimplementedoverseveralBYLCcohorts,weattemptedtointerviewearliercohortswehadmissedduringlatercohortsurveys.Additionalflexibilitywascontinuouslyimplemented.Theinterviewwasscheduledattherespondent’sconvenience,ashortersurveycouldbecompleted,andthesoftskillscomponentcouldbecompletedonlineaftertherestoftheinterviewwascompleted.

Wecollecteddataonseveralcategoriesofoutcomes.Employmentoutcomesincludedwhetherfulltimeorparttime,industrycode,monthlyearnings,andweeklyhoursworked.Jobsearchpreparednesswasmeasuredthroughtheseindicators:CVquality(collectedseparatelyandscoredbyexternalevaluators),andnumberofprofessionalreferences.Weconstructedastan-dardizedplanningindexfromfourbinaryvariables:whethertherespondentexplorednewemploymentsectors,changedjobpreferences,developedajobsearchplan,orupdatedtheirresumeinthelastmonth.Wemeasuredjobsearcheffortasfollows:timespentsearchingforemployment,outreachtofriendsandrelativesforjobopp