Only 3400 out of 19000 yearly graduates find work in Lebanon

The current Minister of Labor, Sejaan Azzi, called on Lebanese employers not to recruit foreign workers.  Azzi also told the Lebanese that they should not consider manual work as too small for them.  The Minister expressed his regrets that the Lebanese market is only able to absorb 3400 out of the 19000 young women and men who graduate every year.  Azzi emphasized the importance of vocational training for which there is an increasing demand.  Azzi was speaking at the round table organized by the French Agency for Development (AFD), which was held yesterday at the premises of the Economic and Social Council.  The event was entitled “Youth employment in Lebanon: role of vocational education and entrepreneurship” and was organized in partnership with the European Training Foundation (ETF), Marseille Center for Mediterranean Integration (CMI) and the EU delegation.
The President of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Roger Nasnas, highlighted the importance of developing the capacities and responding to the ambitions of young people as well as providing them with the necessary orientation, creating more work opportunities for women, and finally focusing on family income rather than individual income. For his part, French Ambassador, Patrice Paoli, emphasized the importance of developing training programmes which create jobs with high potentials.  This, according to the French Ambassador, will require the development of specific training programmes that match market needs, enhancing private-public partnership, and further focusing on developing the informal sector.

Source: Al-Nahar, Al-Akhbar, Al-Diyar, Al-Safir 24 September 2014