Labora celebrated the graduation of 60 participants from courses in tailoring, carpentry, make up as well as computer repair and maintenance. The trainings took place in the context of the SPERARE initiative, which provided on the job trainings as well as career guidance and job matching for youth. The trainings were designed by Labora in collaboration with employers.
SPERARE initiative is supported by a the Employment Promotion Lebanon project, which is implemented by GIZ on behalf of the German government supporting services that help individuals find jobs or maintain their jobs and supports companies to improve their competitiveness so they can keep or increase their staff. The project focuses on Lebanese youth, women, people with disabilities and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
The event took place on Monday, June 12th in the presence of Labora’s director, Father Tony Khadra, GIZ Lebanon´s Head of Project, Mr. Carlos Mohr, officials from both organizations, trainers, graduates, representatives of companies that collaborated in the project, as well as interested parties. The celebration began with a speech by Labora’s Director of Public Relations and Finance, Katia Habchi, who welcomed the attendees and highlighted the challenges overcome by Labora to continue providing services to support employment despite the difficult economic conditions.
Father Tony Khadra pinpointed the achievements of SPERARE so far, which include placing 72 young men and women in jobs in 15 occupations and training 60 youth in 4 occupations. Carlos Mohr described the difficult situation in the Lebanese labour market, characterized by a large number of job seekers but also a large number of open vacancies. He observed that offers of education and training as well as career guidance and job placement are either not used or insufficient to adequately support the integration of the youth in the labour market, which is why the project supports local organisations that promote employment, like Labora.
The event also included a presentation by project manager Jawhar Jawhar, which included a summary of the work stages, implementation methods, targeted groups, as well as the goals and objectives that were achieved. A graduate also gave a testimony about her experience in participating in the training courses.
