Industry and services play an important role in the Lebanese economy. These two sectors are based on the massive use of equipment that requires continuous maintenance in order to ensure the effective functioning of structures. Paradoxically, the country suffers from a lack of technicians and a real mismatch between the skills required by the labor market and the technical education delivered.

The IECD has been active in Lebanon for nearly 30 years. Thanks to its experience in technical and vocational training and in order to meet these needs, in 2017, the IECD developed a branch to train young Lebanese in Maintenance trades so as to help them to work in various sectors: production lines, specialist maintenance (lifts, etc.), management and maintenance of facilities and buildings, hospitals, hotels, and more.

The IECD and partner schools and companies have worked jointly with the support of the Academy of Paris and the Directorate General of Technical and Vocational Education (DGTVE) in order to approve this promising new training course. This was confirmed on August 17, 2017 with the publication of the accreditation in the Official Journal!

At the start of 2017, 60 young people will begin this training course in five partner schools, hoping to obtain their technical baccalaureate in 2020.

This initiative is part of the Maharat Li Lubnan (M2L) program, funded by the French Development Agency (AFD), aimed at developing the skills of young people in the country and improving their professional integration through long and short training courses. Long training courses are designed for young Lebanese but short courses target a wider audience and integrate refugees.

September 2017