Not Informed, Not Allowed, or Not Wanted? Understanding Supply and Demand-side Constraints to Vocational Training and Post-Placement Tenure for India's Young Rural Females

Together with India's Aajeevika Skills program, which will provide vocational training for 5 million unemployed rural youth between 2012 and 2017, we propose a pilot study on how to more effectively integrate rural young women into the labor force. We will identify supply and demand-side constraints and incentives driving behavior of young female trainees and private-partner training organizations and use these to design a RCT that tests how altering one or more key identified constraints can increase young women's recruitment and retention. On the supply side, we will collect data on information and incentives available to trainees, with a focus on the accuracy of perceived returns and influence of trainees’ families on their take-up and course selection. On the demand side, we will conduct interviews and surveys to examine trainer-specific incentives for training and placing women, focusing on financing and life-cycle considerations that may improve female recruitment and retention.