and control groups. In this section, we present the experimental protocol and discuss how it addresses potential interference.

The program was implemented in 7 urban areas in the interior of the country.<sup>10</sup> In each locality, AGEFOP worked with private sector organizations (such as chambers of commerce or trade associations) to identify firms interested in hosting formal apprentices. For each firm, the number of available apprenticeship positions was collected. AGEFOP staff then systematically visited all firms to explain the program, to check each firm’s ability to train apprentices and confirm the number of apprenticeship positions they could offer. A baseline firm survey was implemented right after the collection of apprenticeship positions. Once all positions were identified in a given locality, they were grouped and advertised by trade.<sup>11</sup> Youths between 18 and 24 years old were then invited to visit a central location in each locality to apply for apprenticeship positions in available trades.<sup>12</sup> They filled an application form and indicated the trade they were interested in. The program targeted low-skilled youths, but did require an ability to read and write to ensure youths could participate in the theoretical training, de facto implying that youths had at least a few years of schooling. Youths who met basic eligibility criteria were invited to an interview with AGEFOP apprenticeship counselors. The interview sought to confirm youth motivation for doing an apprenticeship as well as their choice of trade. A baseline survey was implemented among all youth who successfully passed the interview.<sup>13</sup> This registration process led to the same number of youths eligible and motivated than open positions, in each locality and in each

> 10These included Man (35% of youth in the sample), Daoukro (15%), Gagnoa (14%), Divo (12%), Bouaké (12%), Adzopé (7%) and Mankono (5%). It was planned that Abidjan would also participate in the experiment, but demand for apprenticeship positions among youth was limited and there was not enough oversubscription, so that Abidjan had to be dropped from the sample. The program was launched between July 2014 (Adzopé), August 2014 (Daoukro, Gagnoa, Man and Mankono), September 2014 (Divo) and October 2014 (Bouaké). A target number of youth to include in the program was set for each of these localities based on the estimated number of available apprenticeship positions and other considerations.

> 11Throughout the paper, we make a distinction between "sectors" and "trades". Sectors refer to the activity of the firm and "trades" refer to jobs taught to youth. The two concepts are often the same, but in some cases firms in a given sector are active in several trades. A good example is the garage sector, which includes apprenticeship positions in several trades: coach builder, car mechanic, car electrician, and car painter.

> 12The most popular trades included car or motor mechanic (21% of positions), metalworker, boilermaker, welder (14%), bricklayer, painter, plumber (11%), carpenter (9%), car electrician (9%), electrician (8%), coach-builder (8%), repairman for fridges and freezers (7%).

13Despite the efforts made to advertise the program, it was not possible to find enough youths interested in some trades in some localities. In such cases, a rationing occurred at the firm level: the number of positions to be filled was reduced proportionally, while ensuring as much as possible that firms would keep at least one open position. In a few cases, this was not possible and some firms had to be randomly excluded, even though they had been initially registered and surveyed.

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