Despite several potential economic and social advantages especially during this Covid-19 pandemic time, virtual job fairs are rarely conducted in Bangladesh and other developing countries, and their effectiveness is unknown. Hence, by conducting a Randomized Control Trial (RCT) under the joint initiative between the Asian Development Bank (ADB), a Bangladesh online job platform, Bdjobs.com, and a research team of Florida International University (FIU), this study aims to rigorously evaluate the effectiveness of virtual job fairs in Bangladesh. Additionally, this study aims to evaluate the impacts of a job preference signalling mechanism that allows job applicants to credibly express their true interests to employers.
The ADB has
chosen MOMODa FOUNDATION, which is a research-oriented development organization
in Bangladesh, as the survey firm for its rich experience in project
implementation in collaboration with international academic and research
institutions. As the survey firm, the MOMODa FOUNDATION will conduct two
end-line surveys of employers and job seekers.
In the first phase
of the project, an experienced survey team from the MOMODa is ready for pilot
testing for this study. Based on the pilot testing, the MOMODa Team will assess
the procedure used for testing, check product readiness for full-scale
implementation, better decisions on time and resources allocation, target
population’s reaction to the study, and measure the success of the study. It will
also give the team a chance to practice activities they will use for the usability
tests. The total of 2560 employer surveys completed is 94.18% of
the total sample.
The ADB has
extended this project's second phase by 2000 employers who took part in the ICT
virtual job fair organized jointly by Bdjobs.com, FIU and ADB. In this phase, the 1st end-line survey has been conducted from July 2022 to August 2022 and
2nd end-line survey will be conducted from January 2023 to February 2023.
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