We show that helping young job-seekers to signal their skills to employers can generate large and persistent improvements in labour market outcomes. We do this by comparing an intervention that improves the ability to signal skills (the 'job application workshop') to a transport subsidy treatment designed to reduce the cost of job search. We find that in the short-run both interventions have large positive effects on the probability of finding formal jobs. The workshop also increases the probability of having a stable job with an open-ended contract. Four years later, the workshop significantly increases earnings, job satisfaction and employment duration, while the effects of the transport subsidy have dissipated. These gains are concentrated among groups who generally have worse labour market outcomes. Overall, our findings highlight that young people possess valuable skills that are unobservable to employers. Making these skills observable generates earning gains that are far greater than the cost of the intervention.

中文翻译：

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匿名还是距离？不断发展的非洲城市的求职和劳动力市场排斥

我们表明，帮助年轻求职者向雇主展示他们的技能可以在劳动力市场结果方面产生巨大而持久的改善。我们通过将提高信号技能能力的干预（“求职研讨会”）与旨在降低求职成本的交通补贴待遇进行比较来做到这一点。我们发现，在短期内，这两种干预措施对找到正式工作的可能性都有很大的积极影响。研讨会还增加了拥有无固定期限合同的稳定工作的可能性。四年后，车间显着增加了收入、工作满意度和就业时间，而交通补贴的影响已经消散。这些收益集中在劳动力市场结果通常较差的群体中。全面的，我们的调查结果强调，年轻人拥有雇主无法观察到的宝贵技能。使这些技能可观察产生的收益远远大于干预的成本。