Opportunity and Inclusion
Vocational and life skills acquisition
Definition
Acquisition of skills—including occupational (e.g., computer literacy, farming techniques), interpersonal (e.g., communication, teamwork), and life skills (e.g., reproductive health, resilience)—that advance economic opportunities
© Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation | Mansi Midha | Self-help group interactive session in Hutar, Jharkhand, India | 2018
How vocational and life skills acquisition supports women's economic empowerment
Access to income and assets
Well-designed vocational job training can increase women’s labor force participation and wages
Revisiting what works: Women, economic empowerment, and smart design
Targeted vocational training to develop in-demand skills and assist in job placement made young women more likely to be employed with increased work hours; a few programs have shown success in substantially increasing young women’s incomes.
Buvinic and O’Donnell | 2016
The role of training programs for youth employment in Nepal: Impact evaluation report on the Employment Fund
Vocational training and job placement services provided by the Adolescent Girls Employment Initiative (AGEI) in Nepal led to a 46 percent increase in non-farm employment and a 72 percent rise in incomes over a three-year period.
Chakravarty et al. | 2016
Can skills training increase employment for young women? The case of Liberia
In Liberia, the Empowerment of Adolescent Girls (EPAG) project provided six-month long skills trainings that increased teen girls’ employment 47 percent and increased incomes by 115 percent over a two-year period.
World Bank | 2015
The impact of private-sector internship and training on urban youth in Kenya
Vocational and life skills training for vulnerable youth in Kenya improved young women’s incomes by 132 percent.
Honorati | 2015
How vocational and life skills acquisition produces further benefit
Life skills
Training on life skills such as reproductive health and stress resilience can foster economic empowerment while improving health outcomes
Can skills training increase employment for young women? The case of Liberia
Liberia’s successful Empowerment of Adolescent Girls (EPAG) project combined vocational and life skills training.
World Bank | 2015
The role of training programs for youth employment in Nepal: Impact evaluation report on the Employment Fund
Study authors noted that life skills proved especially popular among young women in a Nepal vocational training program and posited that these skills had potentially contributed to the program’s positive effect on trainees’ employment outcomes.
Chakravarty et al. | 2016
The impact of private-sector internship and training on urban youth in Kenya
Program participants and employers alike described life skills training as particularly relevant to and beneficial for “building confidence and improving communication and behavior in the workplace.”
Honorati | 2015
Women’s empowerment in action: Evidence from a randomized control trial in Africa
In Uganda, successful vocational training programs that incorporated life skills training improved employment and raising incomes while reducing early childbearing rates, marriage rates, and reports of women having sex unwillingly.
Bandiera et al. | 2014
Interpersonal skills
Interpersonal skills (e.g., teamwork, communication skills) can be as important as vocational skills, especially when wage employment is limited and young women must work for themselves
How can job opportunities for young people in Latin America be improved
An analysis of classroom skills training in Latin America found that interpersonal skills training had a more significant effect on economic outcomes than vocational skills training; employers also valued interpersonal skills over vocational skills.
González-Velosa, Ripani, and Rosas-Shady | 2012
Soft skills or hard cash? What works for female employment in Jordan?
An interpersonal skills training program in Jordan did not affect employment but did improve participants’ mental well-being and confidence, suggesting that the efficacy of interpersonal skills may vary by context.
World Bank | 2012
Business management
Helping poor women entrepreneurs acquire basic business skills can lead to better business practices and increased profits
Business literacy and development: Evidence from a randomized controlled trial in rural Mexico
A six-week basic business course for women microentrepreneurs in rural Mexico increased participants’ profits by 23 percent over the following two and a half years.
Calderón, Cunha, and De Giorgi | 2013
Business training plus for female entrepreneurship? Short- and medium-term experimental evidence from Peru
A three-month business practices course for women microentrepreneurs in Peru led to a 15 percent increase in business sales in the following two years.
Valdivia | 2015