Project

Skills training programs are a key component of development cooperation worldwide, yet their effectiveness remains uncertain, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. This project evaluates the Professionalization of Artisans (ProfArts) program, a vocational training initiative in four major cities in Ghana. The program, implemented by the German development agency GIZ in partnership with vocational training institutes and private sector actors, provided several months of technical training and supplementary non-technical courses to skilled tradespersons. Using a randomized controlled trial (RCT), we assess the program’s impact on a broad set of employment outcomes, and investigate the role of local labor market conditions in shaping outcomes. We also examine how program implementers form expectations about training effectiveness and how these expectations evolve after exposure to empirical findings.

Project start:
01. June 2020

Project end:
31. December 2025

Project staff:
Bernd Beber PhD, Sarah Frohnweiler, Tabea Lakemann, Peter Partey-Anti, Regina Schnars, Jann Lay

Project partners:
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (Ghana), German Institute of Global and Area Studies

Funding:
Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung