Skill Signaling via Dual Certification
RCTReview
Traditional informal apprenticeships lack standardized testing and external verification, making acquired skills firm-specific and non-transparent to external employers. Worker mobility and medium-term wage growth remain constrained without objective signaling mechanisms.
Picture this
Imagine learning to cook in a local diner where only the head chef knows how good you are. A dual certification is like receiving an official state culinary diploma—it proves to any restaurant in the country that you have mastered standard recipes, allowing you to get hired anywhere for higher pay.
What the evidence says
Subsidized dual apprentices achieved a 15.1 percentage point higher rate of formal skill certification (p < 0.0001) relative to a 9.5% control mean, contributing to a 15% increase in total earnings (9,394 FCFA/month, p = 0.0169) 2 years post-program completion.
- Who was studied
- N = 1,670 youth respondents tracked at endline (4 years post-baseline) across 7 urban localities in Côte d'Ivoire.
- How
- Longitudinal tracking evaluating formal skill certification rates and corresponding 4-year labor market earnings.
What to do
Combine external theoretical exams with standardized practical assessments to provide portable skill certification that overcomes labor market information asymmetries.
From the source
"Lastly, we also observe a substantial increase in the share of youths receiving training certification, which constitutes a mechanism to signal they have acquired general skills."
Direct_and_Indirect_Effects_of_Subsidized_Dual_Apprenticeships.pdf