Lebanon Article

Ensuring a brighter future for Lebanese youth through web development

While a visitor to the Lebanese capital may be stunned at the number of construction cranes towering over the Beirut skyline, leading to an unshakeable sense that the economy remains tenacious and resilient despite all the news articles saying otherwise, all is not how it seems.

Big construction projects serve as a camouflage for a crisis-ridden and debt-plagued economy, where the youth bear the brunt of the economic woes and suffer from a 37% unemployment rate.

To confront the economic situation, ACTED is working to harness some of the perseverance and resourcefulness for which the Lebanese are known throughout the world, through supporting digital training opportunities which can help young people to bypass the employment impasse.

An estimated 23,000 job seekers enter the labour market annually, with only 3,400 vacancies available
Around 1 in 3 Lebanese are unemployed
Recent job growth is concentrated in low productivity sectors, employing mainly low skilled workers in construction and agriculture

A shocking economic reality with limited opportunities

Huda, a young woman living in Beirut, is passionate, excited and determined to find opportunities for growth and to create a better life for herself and her family. After completing her first year at a private university in computer science, she faced many financial hardships that prevented her from completing her degree. With the digital world being her passion, Huda went against all odds and worked day and night at a local pharmacy to be able to pay for her education.

After successfully graduating with a degree in computer science from the technical school, Huda faced the harsh reality of the Lebanese economy and difficult living conditions. Aiming to build her skills to cope with growing challenges, Huda was on the hunt for trainings and certificates that could provide her with additional competences. With limited financial resources, she was unable to access any training seeing the extremely high costs, inconvenient locations and inflexible schedules.

Huda was the first to register for ACTED’s Web Development training at the Ghobeiry Social Development Center. The location was very convenient and the schedule of the sessions, during afternoons and evenings, was suitable for those with a full-time job.

A class underway at the Ghobeiry Social Development Center

In addition to my full-time job, I had a part time job at a pharmacy to be able to provide financial support to my family, which I quit the moment I saw the huge value added of the trainings. This was a huge opportunity for me that I had to take on

Huda

Feeding ambition through skills development

Huda highlighted the favorable conditions of the trainings, with the teacher being pleasant, helpful, and supportive, answering all questions, and allowing participants to gain countless benefits at the professional level. Huda’s aim was to become a freelancer in order to achieve financial independence; an ambition which she later realised through the ACTED trainings. Once the trainings ended, Huda successfully created two professional websites, one of which was for a professional law firm.

Opening doors to the digital world

In the future, Huda wishes to establish a web development company that also works in digital marketing. She strongly encourages anyone who is interested in web development to participate in such trainings and pursue their dream, because it undoubtedly changed her life for the better.

My entire life, I felt that I was controlled by external factors and individuals. After learning web development, not only has the quality of my services improved, but I now feel I do not need to rely on anybody to pursue my endeavors and grow

Huda

This capacity building programme is implemented by ACTED as part of the Alliance2015 Lebanon Consortium with funding from the Addressing Root Causes Fund of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands over a period of three years from 2017 to 2019. This nationwide project titled “Building resilient communities in Lebanon: An integrated approach to livelihoods and income generation for vulnerable populations” aims to address root causes of conflict and instability in Lebanon, through the creation of sustainable income-generating and livelihood opportunities for vulnerable populations.