Youth Unemployment on the Rise
Since 2019, the economy in Lebanon has collapsed, throwing millions into poverty.
Lebanon has long had the highest rate of Palestinian refugees living in extreme poverty, even before the Syrian refugee crisis and the financial crisis. Many live on less than $2 a day. Now, many more people have fallen into hardship as many formerly middle class Lebanese are forced to compete with the Palestinian and more recently arrived Syrian refugees for the same low-paying jobs.
Meanwhile, vocational training in Lebanon is too often overlooked. UNRWA, which is mandated with providing educational services for Palestinians, only has one technical training center in Lebanon. This facility cannot come close to meeting the needs of the long list of students hoping to get into a vocational program. And many Syrian refugees and Lebanese citizens need quality vocational training programs as well.
Useful Job Training in Lebanon
Anera helps young people gain the skills they need to secure good-paying jobs in desirable fields. Through partnerships with local organizations and international funding, Anera offers a wide range of courses informed by current market needs.
Anera provides youth in Lebanon with hands-on, market-driven job training that empowers them to build sustainable livelihoods. By collaborating with local institutions and private sector actors, Anera designs and delivers vocational and technical courses tailored to real labor market demands. These programs equip young people with in-demand skills—ranging from construction and ICT to healthcare and entrepreneurship—helping them access meaningful employment and contribute to their communities' resilience and economic growth.
How It Works
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Formal Vocational Training in Lebanon
Across Lebanon, we work with local implementing partners to offer a wide range of vocational courses in fields with strong employer demand, helping to ensure that students learn the skills that will position them to get hired into good paying jobs. Each year, cohorts of students learn to become electricians, mechanics, nurses, solar installation technicians, farmers and more. Anera partners with local employers to provide paid internships following the coursework, providing practical hands-on experience that makes students attractive to future employers and positions them to succeed in the workplace. Often, these internships lead directly to full time jobs.
Anera conducts comprehensive labor market analyses to identify priority sectors with significant employment opportunities. Collaborating closely with local partners and private sector stakeholders, Anera develops and implements competency-based training programs aligned with current market demands.
These programs combine theoretical instruction with practical, hands-on experience, delivered by qualified trainers to ensure participants acquire relevant, job-ready skills. Throughout the training cycle, participants receive life skills training to enhance their employability.
Upon program completion, Anera facilitates linkages between graduates and employers, promotes internship placements, and supports entrepreneurial initiatives to maximize sustainable employment outcomes. Rigorous monitoring and evaluation processes are embedded to continuously refine program effectiveness and responsiveness to evolving labor market trends.
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Non-Formal Skills Courses
Anera also provides non-formal vocational and job skills courses in Lebanon that are shorter and more flexible in nature. These courses are designed to help youth adapt to the rapidly changing labor market and improve their access to further education and livelihoods. The curriculum focuses on improving English, financial and computer skills. These classes reach thousands of students – many of whom dropped out of school many years ago. These students include refugees from Syria and Palestine, as well as marginalized Lebanese teens.
Private Sector Partnerships
Anera works with private sector businesses that provide job placements at their premises or offer rigorous referral plans for course graduates to obtain employment at other organizations in the industry. Anera has established a strong network of respected private sector organizations to provide market-based, up-to-date, competency-based training skills based on existing market needs and employment gaps. These private sector partners include:
Hospitals & Medical Centers
Hôpital Français du Levant
Geitaoui Hospital
Labib Hospital
Hayek Hospital
Ain w Zein Hospital
Hospitality & Hotels
Phoenicia Hotel Movenpick Hotel
Lancaster Hotel 4 Points by Sheraton Hotel
Retail & Food Chains
Roadster / Deek Duke / Bartartine
Linas/Obi
Kababji
Paul
Second Cup
Bobo Fu Bistro
Crepaway
Education & Universities
American Universities of Beirut
USJ (Université Saint-Joseph)
AUST (American University of Science and Technology)
USEK (Holy Spirit University of Kaslik)
About Anera's competency-based training courses
Anera’s Competency-Based Training (CBT) courses focus on equipping youth with practical, job-ready skills aligned with Lebanon’s labor market needs. Developed in collaboration with local employers and sector experts, these courses emphasize hands-on learning and skill mastery through real-life tasks and assessments.
Covering sectors such as construction, IT, healthcare, education, Sewing and agrofood/agriculture, the training combines technical instruction with practical experience, including internships where possible. Soft skills like communication and teamwork are also integrated to enhance employability.
Graduates receive recognized certifications that facilitate their entry into the workforce or entrepreneurship. Continuous monitoring ensures programs remain relevant and impactful, supporting sustainable youth employment.
In 2025, Anera will provide vocational training to at least 6,000 youth, with 4,500 of them connected to employment opportunities through our extensive network of partner employers.
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Agriculture and agrifood courses develop skills in preparing food, such as meat, dairy and poultry, in addition to planting, harvesting and classifying different types of vegetables.
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Healthcare courses prepare students for professions such as practical nurse, registered nurse, homecare, radiology technicians, biomedical engineers, lab technicians, dental assistant and pharmacist assistant, with a focus on upgrading youth practical skill-sets to prepare them to enter the healthcare job market.
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Construction courses convey the skills needed for work in professions like electricians, solar panel installers, electro-mechanical technologists, carpentry, machine operators, and more.
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Education courses convey teaching skills to support teachers at schools, including as shadow teachers.
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IT and digital skills courses on subjects such as IT and programming, mobile phone repair, graphic design, online revenue channels, web design, digital marketing, networking, and more.
In 2021 - 2025
14,280
youth in Lebanon…
provided with vocational training in employable skills.
9,996
youth graduates...
connected to employment within our network of employers. Under different occupations (healthcare, construction, sewing, agriculture, agrofood, IT, etc…)
JOB SKILLS IN PALESTINE
THE REALITY
In Gaza, where the Palestinian economy is devastated by the blockade, unemployment is among the highest in the world. Even with university degrees, youths are unable to find a job in their field. Similarly, in the West Bank, restrictions on movement and the burden of occupation prohibit the economy from thriving, leaving many young people without hope for the future.
ANERA’S RESPONSE
In Palestine, Anera's People Leveling Up Skills (PLUS) program is a career accelerator giving young people the technical skills they need to begin successful careers. The program is creating opportunities for young Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank to become software engineers on the global market.
HOW IT WORKS
Anera PLUS helps to close the gap between out-of-work youth and unfilled tech jobs in the region and beyond. With over one million unemployed youth in Palestine, Lebanon and Jordan, and an estimated one million IT jobs expected in the region over the next few years, PLUS+Code is the right program at the right time. The pilot program has given 90 Palestinians in three cohorts the necessary skills to secure well-paid jobs as software developers in the global IT industry. To scale the program, Anera is pursuing a financing model that will ensure sustainability by funding student tuition scholarships through a mix of donations and tuition payments from the learners and employers.
