Improving Community Skills Development Centers in Namibia (Issue Brief)

Between 2009 and 2014, the Millennium Challenge Corporation funded several improvements to Namibia’s network of Community Skills and Development Centers (COSDECs), community-based institutions that provide basic levels of vocational training to clients from disadvantaged backgrounds. The COSDEC interventions included improving physical infrastructure, providing new tools and equipment, and delivering technical assistance. Mathematica Policy Research recently completed an evaluation that examined the implementation of these interventions and their sustainability, as well as the training and labor market outcomes of COSDEC trainees. This issue brief summarizes the key findings from this evaluation.