Meet Your Future: Job Search Effort and Aspirations of Young Jobseekers

Study Context

Youth unemployment is an urgent global issue, particularly in Africa, where one out of every five first-time job seekers live. Investing in upskilling young people has been one of the main policy responses (McKenzie 2017); however, these programs frequently exhibit low job-placement rates, thereby failing to tap the vast pool of untapped talent (Alfonsi et al. 2020, Maitra and Mani 2017, Bandiera et al. 2022).

One explanation for low placement rates is that supply-side information frictions, such as young jobseekers may lack knowledge on how to identify job openings, how to apply for jobs, and how to prepare for interviews. This limited information is commonly accompanied by unduly optimistic expectations of their work prospects, which subsequently lead them to reject low-paying jobs in favor of greater opportunities that often do not materialize.

This study seeks to evaluate the efficacy of “Meet Your Future,” a mentoring program that pairs upcoming graduates of vocational training institutes (VTIs) with successful young workers for individualized mentoring sessions.

Study Design

Through a three-year randomized control trial with 1,112 vocational students in urban Uganda, the study sought to assist young jobseekers in forming realistic expectations of jobs available in the labor market, enhance their grasp of the search process, and eventually improve their career trajectories. Students were equipped with two years of training in one of thirteen specialized fields, such as catering, plumbing, and tailoring.

Researchers built a three-year panel of students consisting of six rounds of data collection beginning two years prior and following one year after the students’ graduation. Researchers also built a two-year panel of mentors consisting of four rounds of data collection, three prior to the program roll-out and one after. In a novel dimensional measurement, researchers captured voice recordings of the first interaction between students and mentors, enabling detailed assessments of these engagements.

Results and Policy Lessons

Data showed that young jobseekers were unaware of labor market entry conditions and dynamics, evidenced by 94% of students overestimating their anticipated earnings from their first job whilst in reality, first-job earnings averaged only 14% of their initial expectations.

Nevertheless, access to mentors boosted employment outcomes and accelerated professional advancement. Students obtained their first jobs more quickly which allowed students to ascend the career ladder more rapidly. One year later, unconditional monthly earnings of treated students were 18% higher than those of control students, which correspond to an additional 6.15 USD per month.

While four plausible mechanisms are plausible in driving the effects of the mentorship program on labor market outcomes, it is information about entry level conditions and encouragement that seem to be playing more of a role than job referrals and search tips.