The school to work transition: providing the missing link of employability skills in northern India

Last registered on August 09, 2022

View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title

The school to work transition: providing the missing link of employability skills in northern India

RCT ID

AEARCTR-0003519

Initial registration date

August 05, 2022

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published

August 09, 2022, 4:41 PM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Country

India

Region

Uttar Pradesh and Haryana

Primary Investigator

Name

Lori Beaman

Affiliation

Northwestern University

Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status

On going

Start date

2019-08-05

End date

2023-09-01

Keywords

Education, Gender, Labor

Additional Keywords

employability, employment, job search

JEL code(s)

Secondary IDs

Prior work

This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to conduct a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of the effectiveness of Medha’s Career Advancement Bootcamp in increasing the employability of students in India, with a focus on college students. Medha’s goal is to provide critical additional training allowing underprivileged students – particularly women and students from marginalized groups (OBC/SC/ST) – to build on the skills they are learning in school to be able to launch careers in the private sector. Outcomes of interest include labor market outcomes such as employment status, salary, any promotions, and sector of employment; intermediate outcomes such as the job search process, confidence, and skills development will also be measured.

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation

Beaman, Lori. 2022. "The school to work transition: providing the missing link of employability skills in northern India." AEA RCT Registry. August 09. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.3519-1.0

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)

Career Advancement Bootcamp (CAB): A 30-hour experiential course administered by Medha where students work as a team to build their communication skills, investigate career opportunities, explore personal strengths, and create a plan to achieve their dream jobs. Professional communication skills, industry exposure (visiting local employers), and career preparation such as CV writing and interview skills are covered.
CAB + Internship: Students receive the CAB intervention, in addition to personalized assistance from Medha to match with an internship. Both the CAB and CAB+Internship treatment students also receive ongoing job search support from Medha after graduation.

Intervention Start Date

2019-09-01

Intervention End Date

2020-01-01

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)

At midline:
- Career planning index
- Career awareness index
- Job readiness index
- Personal development index

At endline: labor market outcomes, including employment status, salary, any promotions, and sector of employment.

Primary Outcomes (explanation)

At midline, we use the following z-score indices:
- Career Planning: scores from open-ended questions about career goals and alternative career goals
- Career Awareness: perception and knowledge of job sectors and job search resources
- Job Readiness: resume, performance on mock interview, new job experience
- Personal Development: questions on self-confidence and sense of control

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)

Opportunity costs of participating in the Medha program: foregone test prep classes (“coaching”).

Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Approximately 1,500 students are randomly assigned to treatment arms on an ongoing basis at Medha locations on 10-15 college campuses during the 2018-19 and 2019-20 academic years (i.e., rolling random assignment). Approximately 1,050 students receive the CAB program (treatments 1 and 2). Of those, approximately half receive personalized assistance to match with an internship (treatment 2 only); the remaining 450 are assigned to control.

Experimental Design Details

One year of piloting activities took place during the 2018-19 academic year (August 2018-April 2019).

A baseline survey is conducted on a rolling basis starting during the 2019-20 academic year (August 2019) for all students.

For participants who are 3rd year students at baseline, the midline survey is conducted on-campus in January 2020. Two endline surveys are conducted using a phone survey (with follow up in person as necessary) in August 2020 and August 2021.

For participants who are 2rd year students at baseline, the midline survey is conducted on-campus in January 2021, while students are on campus. Two endline surveys are conducted using a phone survey (with follow up in person as necessary) in August 2021 and August 2022.

Randomization Method

computer randomization; rolling random assignment.

Randomization Unit

Student

Was the treatment clustered?

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters

10-15 college level institutions

Sample size: planned number of observations

1,500 students

Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms

Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)

Power calculations using the below assumptions suggest that individual-level randomization will provide us with an approximate 90% probability of detecting a statistically significant difference at the 5% level between CAB and control, and between CAB and CAB+internship. Given there is a much larger difference in anticipated employment rates between CAB+internship and control (30% compared to 10%) we have power of over 98% for that test. Assumptions: An employment rate of 30% for students who get CAB+internship, 20% for students who only get CAB, and 10% for students in the control group. We also assume that there will be some non-compliance: 25% of students randomized into treatment (both arms) will not finish the training.

Supporting Documents and Materials

IRB