USAID, through its Community Support Program (CSP), is providing technical and vocational education scholarship and internship opportunities to job seekers in the Beqaa, South Lebanon, and North Lebanon. Since 2019, CSP has been contributing to workforce development by facilitating quality access to vocational courses in three promising sectors for growth and employment: home-based health care, industrial repair and maintenance, and information & communication technology (ICT). Under the $7.3 million Workforce Development (WFD) program, USAID’s CSP has so far awarded 190 scholarships to students pursuing technical and vocational education training (TVET) education.

In partnership with private (TVET) institutes, WFD is designing and delivering new curricula relevant to these sectors. WFD works to enhance the associated learning equipment and job placement infrastructure and services of 10 private TVETs across Lebanon. The program also partners with small and medium enterprises with demonstrated growth potential who are interested in providing internship and job opportunities to scholarship recipients. In addition to full tuition coverage, students receive health insurance, a monthly stipend covering the transportation fees, and a computer or tablet for the facilitation of online learning. By 2022, USAID’s CSP aims to improve the employability skills of and career opportunities for at least 1,000 Lebanese residents from underserved communities.

Commenting on the importance of this program in supporting technical and vocational education in Lebanon, especially during the current economic crisis, Father Hanna Kanaan, Principle of the Foyer de la Providence Technical School in South Lebanon, commented: “It is vital to expand local production and maintenance industries in Lebanon to contribute to a better economy, as well as acknowledge that technical and vocational education is a necessary factor in rebuilding our country”.

Scholarship opportunities are currently available for the upcoming Industrial Repair and Maintenance course at the Tamkeen technical and vocational institute in Tripoli and the Cortbawi institute in Jounieh. This five-month course includes five modules: hydraulics, pneumatics, electro-pneumatics & electro-hydraulics, electricity, and mechanics.