The right person for the right job: Can information about job prospects reduce dropout in a large Indian training programme?

Last registered on December 10, 2018

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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title

Improving skills in Bihar: how to improve training completion and placement into jobs?

RCT ID

AEARCTR-0003611

Initial registration date

December 10, 2018

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

December 10, 2018, 2:17 PM EST

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

Locations

Country

India

Region

Bihar

Primary Investigator

Name

wiji arulampalam

Affiliation

university of warwick

Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name

Roland Rathelot

PI Affiliation

University of Warwick

Contact Investigator

PI Name

Clement Imbert

PI Affiliation

University of Warwick

Contact Investigator

PI Name

Bhaskar Chakravorty

PI Affiliation

University of Warwick

Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status

In development

Start date

2018-12-13

End date

2021-02-28

Keywords

Education, Firms & Productivity, Labor

Additional Keywords

On-the-job-training, dropout, rural development

JEL code(s)

J2, J3, M5

Secondary IDs

J24, M51, M53

Abstract

In recognition of the importance of the youth employment challenge in India, the Government of India launched Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushal Yojana (DDU-GKY) in 2014 across India. This is one of India's most prominent skills and job creation schemes. The scheme follows a Public-Private Partnership mode (PPP model), where registered private sector project implementation partners (PIAs) bid for government funds, and plan and implement skills training and job placement programs, targeting rural youth from poor families. After completion of training programs, trained individuals are placed in jobs which offer regular monthly wages.
The objective of the project is to shed new light on the determinants of attrition and job uptake/retention under DDU-GKY, which is a major concern for the PIAs. This project will use a randomised controlled trial to measure the influence of two interventions on training completion, and retention in employment post-training. The first intervention, to be carried out at the start of the training, will provide information regarding job specifications and working conditions in the placement jobs the trainees will be offered at the completion of the training. The second intervention, to be carried out at the end of the class-based training, will provide information to alleviate candidates' fears and doubts about starting a job and migrating far from home.

External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation

arulampalam, wiji et al. 2018. "Improving skills in Bihar: how to improve training completion and placement into jobs? ." AEA RCT Registry. December 10. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.3611-1.0

Former Citation

arulampalam, wiji et al. 2018. "Improving skills in Bihar: how to improve training completion and placement into jobs? ." AEA RCT Registry. December 10. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/3611/history/38695

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)

Intervention (A)
Objective: Provide information that help candidates to be better informed about the characteristics of the available placement jobs in terms of the location, wages, etc.
Intervention: The intervention takes place at the very beginning of the training. We gather trainees in a presentation room and provide them with a list of detailed characteristics of potentially available placement jobs. The list would include job title, company name, location (city and state), and compensation package. Trainees would have the opportunity to ask questions about the contents of the list.

Intervention (B)
Objective: Prepare trainees to the transition between training and work.
Intervention: The intervention takes place a few days before the start of the on-the-job training (the first step out of the centre) phase. This consists of a short training session at the training centre. Unlike the traditional job readiness modules that revolve around the principle to improve candidates' employability for employers, this session would be focused on candidates' fears and doubts about starting a job and migrating far from home. Aspects related to work, relations with the boss, with colleagues would be covered as well as aspects related to life in another city/state (access to healthcare, accommodation, where to get help).

Intervention Start Date

2018-12-13

Intervention End Date

2020-10-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)

Training completion outcomes: Time spent in training, Entering the on-the-job training phase, Completing the on-the-job training,
Labour-market outcomes: Being placed into a job, Job retention (time spent on the job), Quality of the job, Satisfaction on the job.

Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Training completion outcomes: from the administrative data of the training provider.
Labour-market outcomes: from the endline survey and the administrative data of the training provider.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)

Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

The experiment will be conducted as a randomised controlled trial with two arms, consisting of: (i) intervention A & B together, and (b) a control group (no intervention). The randomisation units are batches and the randomisation is stratified at the district*sector level.

Experimental Design Details

Randomization Method

In the office by a computer.

Randomization Unit

Training batches.

Was the treatment clustered?

Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters

50 training batches.

Sample size: planned number of observations

2,000 trainees (about 40 trainees per batch).

Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms

25 training batches control, and 25 training batches as treatment.

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

We are considering a power of 80% and a significance level of 5%. For the main outcome (retention in employment 3 months after placement), we assume a base mean of 70% and intra-correlation cluster of 0.1. The minimum detectable effect is 0.127 with 25 clusters per group and 40 observations per cluster.

Supporting Documents and Materials

IRB