UNESCO Beirut releases Life and Work Skills Toolbox under the Youth Employment Mediterranean project

Admin (Lebanon)

2021-10-13 Link

Within the framework of the Youth Employment in the Mediterranean (YEM) project implemented by UNESCO and funded by the European Union, a set of teacher’s guides and student manuals on the topic “Life and Work Skills” was developed and released. They are intended to match the accelerated vocational training on one regard, and the formal vocational and technical education on the other.

The  Toolbox is drafted in alignment with the UNESCO strategy for TVET (2016-2021), and within the framework of the https://sdg4education2030.org/the-goal and the Education 2030 Framework for Action to improve skills anticipation systems, promote TVET, strengthen youth employment, and encourage entrepreneurship in eight countries covered by YEM project.

The UNESCO Beirut Office held an online meeting on June 17, 2021, to release and present the Life and Work Skills Toolbox designed for the TVET sectors in eight countries covered by the YEM Project. After an address by Salim Shehadeh, TVET Program Specialist at UNESCO, and a brief introduction from YEM Project Team Leader at UNESCO, Oussama Ghneim, the Education Expert Lara Alameddine presented the content of the Toolbox to the participants.  

Ms. Alameddine explained the content of the Life and Work Skills Toolbox, drafted for Lebanon, which was based on the UNESCO curriculum outline and the UNESCO study on TVET status in Lebanon, with a particular focus on four major topics, namely Entrepreneurial Skills, Life Skills, Work Laws & Regulations Skills and Digital Skills.

The Toolbox consists of twenty-four (24) manuals, among which, twelve (12) manuals are designed for teachers, and the other twelve (12) are for students. For teachers, these manuals cover a wide range of content, including an introduction and factsheet of specific topics, and guidelines on how to develop activities based on them. As for students, the factsheets and activities are detailed in the manuals.

The layout of the Toolbox is built for the on-hand teaching and learning in the classes. It is composed of a total of ninety (90) modules or one hundred and eighty (180) hours of courses that can be used independently by teachers. Being user-friendly, the tool contains all the needed information required for teaching the lessons. Teachers can choose to follow the instructions step by step to design the activity or reformulate the steps based on their needs and the time availability.

The online meeting welcomed more than twenty-five (25) relevant TVET stakeholders, from Lebanon, including the General Directorate for Vocational and Technical Education (DGVTE), the Ministry of Agriculture, TVET private schools and relevant NGOs

After the meeting, a three-day training took place on June 21, 22, and 23 for 24 teachers and VET centres supervisors.