Evaluation of NPower Canada’s Youth Program Model

Unemployment rates worldwide have risen due to the COVID-19 pandemic, especially for at-risk populations in underserved communities. Additionally, the labor market is shifting with a larger emphasis placed on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, creating a demand for the transformation of skills needed from the workforce in different sectors. In response to the changing skills demanded and increased unemployment rates, many organizations offer skills training programs in order to reduce unemployment. NPower Canada is one of these institutions that provides training and workforce development to insert or reinsert at-risk individuals from low-income communities into the labor market with a specific emphasis on placing them in the information technology (IT) industry. Partnering with NPower, we plan to conduct a randomized control trial (RCT) looking at several outcomes, such as employment, continuing education, earnings, job quality, and others. We will combine participant surveys with government administrative data. Additionally, we intend to perform a cost-benefit analysis and develop a theoretical job search model. To evaluate the results of the RCT, we present a straightforward econometric framework that accounts for multiple hypothesis testing and allows for heterogeneity by participant characteristics or program stream.