Effectiveness evaluation of training programmes for disadvantaged targets

When evaluating vocational training programmes, increasing restrictions in funding opportunities and growing difficulties for young people and other disadvantaged groups to enter the labour market are arousing the evaluators' attention from human capital accumulation to effectiveness in terms of employability. Notwithstanding the growing interest, net impact evaluation is not very diffused in placement analysis for the difficulty to produce reliable estimations within a quasi-experimental evaluation design. In fact, it is generally very hard to identify a proper comparison group, for the decision to participate to a VT course is influenced by unobservables affecting employability as well. This task is particularly difficult in the case of disadvantaged people, as shown in many evaluation exercises affected by negative selection bias and resultant negative net impact estimates. This paper presents an evaluation experience of VT policies in Piedmont (North-West Italy), discussing the identification of a proper counterfactual group. Gross and net impact evaluation strategies are examined, drawing out a collection of practical suggestions for VT evaluators and also for training policy design.