Findings from a mixed methods evaluation of a results-based financing intervention for workforce development and job placement in Morocco

• In Event: Evaluating education outcomes in: school-based nutrition interventions, life satisfaction and workforce development

Proposal

The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) funded the Results-Based Financing (RBF) for Inclusive Employment sub-activity in Morocco between 2020 and 2022 as part of the Workforce Development Activity. The project worked with eight providers operating in seven regions across Morocco to provide integrated job placement services for unemployed youth between the ages of 18 and 35, with a focus on women and youth without a high school diploma. Providers received payments for three types of results: (1) training completion; (2) placement in formal employment; and (3) retention of formal employment for at least 6 consecutive months.
Under the RBF model, providers were free to choose the content and duration of the training and job placement services they offered, although almost all program participants received soft skills training and about 15 percent received technical training. Employment placement and retention results were independently verified based on Caisse Nationale de Sécurité Sociale (CNSS or social security) declarations in order for providers to receive payments. The program trained a total of 5,187 participants. 40 percent of trained participants obtained a verified job placement and 19 percent retained their employment for at least 6 consecutive months, although these results verified significantly by provider, participant gender, and participant level of education.
This paper presents findings from a mixed-methods performance evaluation of the Morocco RBF job placement program, including a quantitative descriptive outcomes study and a qualitative implementation study. We conducted a survey with a stratified random sample of 800 program participants (100 participants per program provider) approximately 24 months after they completed the program to measure their experiences with the services provided and their labor market outcomes since program completion. This survey data enables us to measure participants’ labor market outcomes over a longer post-program time period, supplementing the program data on employment results that triggered provider payments. We also report participants’ perceptions of the quality and utility of the training and services they received and their labor market outcomes (including formal, informal, or self-employment employment, wages, hours, and duration) and disaggregate results by gender and level of education (with or without a high school diploma). By comparing results across providers, we are also able to comment on possible correlations between the provider’s services offered and participants' outcomes.
To complement the quantitative descriptive outcomes study, we also conducted a qualitative study which draws on key informant interviews with funders, implementers, program providers, participants, and employers conducted approximately 6 months and 18 months after the end of the program. We use these interviews to describe challenges and successes in program implementation and results verification, perceptions of the program’s effectiveness, unintended effects of the RBF incentives, and potential for sustainability and scale-up of the RBF model. We use the evidence from the quantitative and qualitative studies together to discuss the extent to which the RBF program in Morocco has demonstrated an effective and sustainable model for job placement services, particularly for targeted populations (women and youth without high school diplomas).

Author

• Margo Berends, Mathematica