Applied Vocational Entrepreneurship and Career Guidance Model
RCTReview
Students in vocational education tracks within economically disadvantaged regions experience high dropout rates and limited transition success into formal employment.
Picture this
Teaching students abstract business theory without real-world application is like giving someone a blueprint of an engine without letting them turn a wrench. Allowing students to build hands-on business ideas and interact with actual market players gives practical meaning to their education, encouraging them to remain in school and complete their degrees.
What the evidence says
The intervention generated a statistically significant reduction in vocational education dropout rates and boosted job search skills and self-perceived job search capacity, though it did not increase participants' intentions to launch a business or short-term employment rates.
- Who was studied
- 5,727 students aged 16–25 enrolled in vocational education across 51 schools in Extremadura, Andalusia, and Galicia, Spain (3,032 treatment, 2,695 comparison).
- How
- Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) across one academic year implemented by Fundación Ayuda en Acción ("eMprende") involving career guidance, transition competencies, hands-on entrepreneurship projects, and employer connections.
What to do
Embed structured hands-on business creation modules and industry networking events directly into vocational high school curricula to reduce student dropout rates.
From the source
"The program did not impact students' intention to start a business, but produced modest increases in participants' entrepreneurial attitudes and business behaviour. ... The intervention also led to a significant reduction in the dropout rate in further vocational education."
promoting-labor-market-inclusion-policy-publication.pdf