NORC carried out the baseline survey for an impact evaluation of the Mi Primer Empleo (""My First Job"") Program in Honduras under the sponsorship of the World Bank. The program targets vulnerable youth in urban centers of Honduras to provide training and internships as a means to alleviate unemployment among this population. NORC worked with project stakeholders to adapt the draft questionnaire to the specific program and circumstances of the sample population and conducted interviews with youth in seven cities throughout Honduras.
Mi Primer Empleo is a job-training program that targets urban youth ages 15-19 who live in conditions of poverty and are currently unemployed. The program is managed by the Secretaría de Trabajo y de Seguridad Social (STSS, Ministry of Labor and Social Security) of the Government of Honduras with funding by the World Bank. With its Honduran subcontractor, NORC designed and conducted an in-person paper-and-pencil (PAPI) survey of program applicants in Tegucigalpa, Villanueva, and other cities to support an impact evaluation being carried out by the World Bank. The baseline survey gathered data on economic, educational, and behavioral items from applicants after the registration process. Interviewers were trained to ensure confidentiality and security of data that included sensitive topics such as sexual behavior and substance use. As with many of NORC’s international projects, the questionnaire was designed and interviews were carried out in the local language after pretesting and piloting permitted refinements to specific questionnaire items.