EDUCATIONAL AND TRAINING SYSTEMS
The evaluations identified the following key success factors: (1) PPPs and training programs that offer practical experience linked directly to an internship with a private employer previously identified by the training institution; (2) training that provides youth not only with technical skills but also with soft and life skills; (3) a program that provides flexible schedule alternatives, such as evenings and weekends, to ensure that youths who work or care for children during regular business hours can attend; and (4) the regular monitoring of successful programs so that they can be improved continuously (Angel-Urdinola and Semlali 2010).
Invest in entrepreneurship training and coaching Many aspiring entrepreneurs in MENA have had little formal education or training when they enter the entrepreneurial labor force. The knowledge and skills that many currently use in their businesses have likely been acquired from prior experience or from relatives in family enterprises. Chapter 7 showed the importance of prior work experience to transition successfully into entrepreneurship; however, aspiring entrepreneurs still need to strengthen business know-how (such as numeracy and fi nancial management skills), as well as to facilitate access to credit and appropriate technology. Paying for training and other services, as well as fi nding and selecting quality training, can be problematic. Governments can bridge the gap through targeting prospective entrepreneurs early and linking them with relevant sources of knowledge and support (see box 7.12 in chapter 7 on Tunisia’s business plan competition).
Subsidize wages and social security contributions for women and young people Wage subsidies can be a means for improving opportunities and the employability of youth and women. Employers are reluctant
to hire young workers without experience, particularly females, because employers generally have even less experience working with women and might regard them as less committed to staying employed. Wage subsidies to private fi rms sometimes encourage employers to risk hiring new entrants, and several evaluations from Europe show a large beneficial impact on employment (OECD 2005). Evidence suggests that wage subsidies can work to the advantage of women and youth (Galasso, Ravallion, and Salvia 2002). Subsidies are particularly effective when combined with other programs, such as on-the-job training, counseling, and job search assistance (Kluve 2006). See examples from Jordan and Turkey in box 9.7. There are a few caveats. Although wage subsidies have seemed cost-effective in countries such as Argentina and Poland (Cunningham, Wuermli, and SanchezPuerta 2010), in other countries they have often shown a negative cost-benefit balance because of deadweight loss, substitution, and displacement effects (Calmfors 1994). To be effective, wage subsidies have to be targeted well and be limited in duration; employers’ obligations also have to be enforced. It is important to ensure that the subsidy goes to those employers who would not have hired young workers in the absence of the additional fi nancial incentive.
Provide labor-intensive public works and training in job-specific skills By providing market-relevant skills and generating local infrastructure, public works can relax some of the constraints to market access that rural workers face and generate effects that last beyond the program’s duration. Aside from temporarily employing unskilled and semiskilled workers at low wages on labor-intensive activities to create new community infrastructure, public works programs can also serve as a temporary safety net, ensuring income in times of shock (such as natural disasters or macroeconomic crises). For example, the Egypt
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