The KYEP program was designed to incorporate the factors that have been identified in the international evidence as leading to success of similar programs and to adapt them to the local context in Kenya. These factors include the combination of classroom‐based and on‐the‐job training, the demand‐driven design of skills training curricula, the key role of the private sector in the implementation of the program, and the need to take account of the increasing importance of life skills in modern job markets. Overall, the KYEP program was designed to foster wage employment – rather than self‐employment – by encouraging employers to retain the interns at the end of the six months and/or to help them to find another permanent job. However, some elements of entrepreneurship support were introduced in the design of the program for those youths interested in starting up a new business. This consisted of three weeks of entrepreneurship training as an alternative to the sector‐specific training and an internship in a small or micro enterprise in the _Jua Kali_ sector.

This impact evaluation finds that the full program has had significant positive results, specifically an increase of 15 percent in current employment among both male and female participants. While the results for males are robust to the difference in the attrition rate of males and females by the time of the endline survey, the results for females need to be interpreted with caution given the high number of female participants who did not continue in the endline survey sample. These positive current employment outcomes also translated into a significant increase in the number of hours worked per week and, for males, in the probability of having a written contract compared to the control group. The highest employment rates were associated with those who had been interns in firms operating in the finance, ICT, and tourism sectors. While the program’s impact on labor earnings was not positive, heterogeneity analysis suggests that its impact was higher for more educated and older males.

The outcomes in terms of both employment and earnings for females were positive and significant, but because of the high attrition rate for female participants in the endline survey, they need to be interpreted with caution. A Lee bounding approach was used to test the robustness of the results for females. While the program contributed to a 6.1 percent increase in paid employment, mostly in the tourism sector, and an increase in earnings of KES 7,500 for participating females compared to the control group females, it has to be noted that those estimates may be biased, and the possibility cannot be excluded that the program had zero impact on participating females.

By subsidizing training and first time work experience, the program also proved successful in easing access to job relevant skills training. High training costs in Kenya are a barrier that prevents many young people from accessing skills development programs. While youths assigned to the program had a higher probability of having completed a skills training course and/or an internship than youths in the control group, no differences were observed in the endline survey between the treatment and control groups in the probability of holding a tertiary college diploma or university degree. No significant effects were found on the possession of behavioral skills such as contact with clients, problem solving, and learning at work or of personality traits such as self‐esteem, extraversion, and openness. Consistent with KEPSA’s efforts to get youths to open bank accounts in order to access their stipends, the evaluation found positive and significant results among program participants in the probability of having a bank account and of being less risk‐averse.

Qualitative evidence collected through focus groups and individual interviews with both program beneficiaries and employers yielded enthusiastic positive feedback on the usefulness and relevance 5