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Program take-up was exceptionally high (86% completed training), yielding statistically significant enhancements in acquired professional competencies, participant self-efficacy, job search proactivity, motivation, and overall job search strategies compared to standard public employment services.
Empirical results are forthcoming as the evaluation is ongoing, while baseline survey data highlights that 56% of Indian employers face hiring difficulties and 2.3% of the workforce holds formal skilling [7, 8].
Vocational trainees received significantly more job offers and maintained higher long-run employment rates compared to firm-provided apprentices because trainees could better certify their skills to new employers.
Public industrial schools funneled students into state job training agencies (SENA), whereas private commercial schools placed 85.3% of enrolled vocational students in commercial tracks with private sector office apprenticeships, contributing to an 11th-grade dropout rate of only 2.2% compared to 9.0% in public vocational schools.
Women aged 18–24 in treatment villages were 2.8 percentage points more likely to enroll in vocational training (p < 0.01) relative to a control mean of 0.5%, whereas men showed no significant change (0.3 percentage points, p > 0.10).
In treatment villages, 3.3 percent of women aged 18 to 24 were enrolled in private, fee-charging vocational institutes teaching computers and English, compared to 0.5 percent in comparison villages.
The program significantly enhanced personal autonomy, reduced participants' risk of experiencing mental health problems, increased frustration tolerance and problem identification skills, and expanded job search strategies and perceived employment probability, despite showing low completion rates (25%) and no immediate short-term employment gains.
Vocational training improved participant resilience, job search proactivity, organization, and overall job search behaviors, while empowerment workshops boosted job search motivation and proactivity; however, neither intervention increased short-term employment probability.
Four years after baseline, assigned youth experienced a 15% increase in total earnings (p = 0.0169), spent 10.83 additional months in training (p < 0.0001), and achieved a 15.1 percentage point higher rate of skill certification compared to the control group mean of 9.5%.