Improving Perceptions of Local Opportunities Among Senegalese Youth in Ziguinchor and Kolda

The intervention consists of a one-day workshop on local economic opportunities for young people living in Ziguinchor and Kolda, Senegal.

The workshop aims to improve participants' awareness of existing local training, employment, entrepreneurship, and support services, and to strengthen their confidence and ability to take initial steps toward engaging with these opportunities.

The workshop is structured around three main components.

Local pathways and experiences - Participants are exposed to short testimonies, delivered either in person or via video, from young people who have pursued local livelihood pathways through training programs, apprenticeships, wage employment, or small business support. These testimonies emphasize realistic trajectories, including challenges encountered and the concrete steps taken to access opportunities.

Overview of local opportunities - Facilitators provide a structured and accessible overview of local institutions and programs that support youth economic participation, such as employment services, training funds, entrepreneurship support organizations, and financial assistance schemes. For each option, the session clarifies the type of support offered, eligibility criteria, and practical application or contact procedures. Participants are encouraged to ask questions to clarify information and address uncertainties.

Practical guidance for first steps - Participants receive basic, practical guidance on initiating engagement with local opportunities, including examples such as preparing a simple curriculum vitae, contacting relevant institutions, or outlining an initial project idea. During this session, each participant develops a brief personal action plan identifying at least one concrete step they intend to take following the workshop.

Participants receive printed or electronic materials summarizing the opportunities discussed, including relevant contact information, to facilitate follow-up after the workshop. The workshop is delivered in accessible language and, when necessary, in local languages.

The intervention is offered in addition to participants' usual activities and does not substitute for any existing programs or services.

2026-01-14

2026-01-15

The primary outcome of interest is participants’ perception of local opportunities in their city of residence. This outcome is measured by participants’ response to the question: “Are there good opportunities in Ziguinchor/Kolda?”
Responses are recorded as yes or no.

This question is measured at baseline using existing the first wave PATHWAYS survey data, immediately before and after the workshop among participants in the treatment group, during follow-up surveys conducted one month after the intervention, and in the second wave of the PATHWAYS survey.

The primary outcome captures whether the intervention is associated with changes in participants' perceptions of the availability of meaningful local opportunities for work, training, or economic activity in their city.

- Use of local employment, training, entrepreneurship, or support services
- Actions taken related to employment, training, or business projects
- Job search behaviors and intensity of search effort
- Goal setting and self-confidence related to employment or training
- Perceived barriers to taking action
- Perceived usefulness of services accessed
- Aspirations to remain in the current location
- Aspirations to move to another location, either within Senegal or abroad

Secondary outcomes assess whether the workshop is associated with changes in behaviors and intermediate steps related to employment or training. These outcomes include engagement with local services, actions taken in relation to work or training, job search behaviors and effort, goal setting, and perceived self-confidence. The study also captures perceived barriers to taking action and examines whether participants' aspirations to remain in their current location or to move elsewhere change over time.

This study uses a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effects of a one-day information and guidance workshop for young people in Senegal.

Participants are drawn from young people aged 18 to 39 residing in the cities of Ziguinchor and Kolda who participated in the first wave of the PATHWAYS data collection conducted in 2023-2024. After providing informed consent, eligible respondents are randomly assigned to one of two groups. The treatment group is invited to attend the local opportunities workshop, while the control group continues with their usual activities and does not receive the workshop during the study period.

Randomization is conducted separately within each city to ensure balanced representation of participants from Ziguinchor and Kolda across treatment and control groups. Participants are followed over several months using short surveys and phone interviews to collect information on perceptions of local opportunities, actions related to employment or training, and related outcomes.

The analysis compares outcomes between treatment and control groups to assess whether participation in the workshop is associated with changes in perceptions and behaviors.

Not available

Randomization is conducted in office using a computer-generated random assignment procedure.

Randomization is conducted at the individual participant level.

No

0 clusters (randomization at the individual level).

The planned number of observations is 800 individual participants.

400 individuals in the control group, 400 individuals in the intervention group (of which 200 in Kolda and 200 in Ziguinchor)