On August 19, 2022, 25 JET scholarship recipients graduated from St. Elie Technical Institute in Tripoli, having completed their six-month Full Stack Web Development course as well as their one-month internship. During the graduation ceremony, all 25 students presented their final projects and received their certificates from CSP’s expert grantee, CODI, who oversaw the course’s design and implementation. Significantly, prior to their official graduation, eight of the 25 students had secured formal employment with competitive salaries within the IT sector.

The workforce development component of USAID’s CSP is designed to improve the employability skills and increase job opportunities for Lebanese students from underserved communities. To this end, it improves the curricula of technical and vocational institutions, and provides scholarships to individuals seeking an education in sectors with growth potential in Lebanon. The scholarship covers students’ tuition, medical insurance, and provides them with a monthly stipend covering their transportation fees for the duration of their course and internship, as well as a tablet or laptop to facilitate their learning.

“These seven months have certainly marked these students’ lives, who all had positive feedback during and at the end of the course,” said Ronalda Ibrahim, CODI Program Coordinator.