Rana Comërtpay

(LISER)

will give a presentation on 

From Skills to Jobs: The Impact of Training on Informality and Employment in Senegal

Abstract

Informality and underemployment remain defining features of Senegal’s labor market, particularly for women. One of the main drivers of these patterns is arguably the lack of relevant skills. This study evaluates the impact of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) on employment outcomes using labor survey data from the Enquête nationale sur l’emploi au Sénégal (ENES), combined with a unique dataset mapping the full geography of all public and private TVET centers in the country. To address potential endogeneity in participation, we use the distance between a household’s community and the nearest center as an instrumental variable. Our results show that TVET participation reduces informal employment for both men and women, and increases overall employment for women. These effects are even stronger when the training leads to a diploma. The findings highlight the importance of spatial access and certification in improving labor market outcomes and suggest that well-targeted TVET programs can promote more inclusive and formal employment.