Skip to content

Project

Can soft skills training improve enterprise and employment growth in Tanzania?

IGL Grant Funded Trials

Share this page

Improving youth labor market outcomes is a primary concern for countries around the world. We conduct a randomised controlled trial in Tanzania on an intense gender-sensitive skills training program that worked with over 53,000 young people. After two years, we find the program increased women’s economic outcomes, including income, savings, as well as engagement in the labor market, and quality of jobs for all participants. We find no significant effects on economic outcomes for male participants. We also find significant effects on hard skills for both women and men and soft skills for women in terms of self-awareness and confidence. In a cross experiment with micro-grants, we find smaller but economically significant effects on all outcomes for both genders. From a monetary perspective the training program is very cost-effective, paying for itself within 32 months when targeting both women and men.

Key facts

Stage: Working paper
Year: 2023
Location: Tanzania

Working paper

Project team

Team