On June 29, 2022, USAID’s Community Support Program (CSP), held a closing ceremony for its three-month media campaign focusing on public perceptions of the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sector in Lebanon. The ceremony was held at Padova Hotel in the presence of USAID Supervisory Program Officer Nicholas Vivio and representatives from 13 private TVET partner institutions and 48 partner businesses. The campaign aimed to address the lack of public awareness on the sector’s beneficial contributions to employability of graduates through a series of televised interviews, radio shows, and social media messaging reaching more than 1.5 million viewers. The event was followed by a roundtable discussion on lessons learned and best practices for adapting implementation of TVET projects in Lebanon.

Since 2019, the workforce development component of USAID’s CSP has improved six curricula at private TVET institutions, provided scholarships to 741 individuals seeking technical and vocational education in sectors with growth potential, placed 345 of them in internships, and facilitated full-time employment of 45 graduates so far. The scholarship covers students’ tuition, medical insurance, and provides them with a monthly stipend for the duration of their course and internship, as well as a tablet/laptop to facilitate their learning. “Through this project, USAID contributed to preventing the migration of Lebanese youth by facilitating students’ abilities to succeed in their studies and creating all conditions to help them find employment”, said Father Hanna Kanaan, Director of Foyer de la Providence, one of CSP’s private TVET partners.