Tafawoq (ingl.)

The project enables 500 young Lebanese, Syrian, and Palestinian women, and men to take part in a coaching cycle that teaches them basic skills to integrate into the labour market in the project areas of Tripoli, Beddawi, Mount Lebanon, and Beirut. Simultaneously, the project works on materializing these youth participants’ employment prospects by offering them employment support services and facilitating youth networking with local businesses.
 Micro and small enterprises (MSEs) constitute 80% of the labour market in Lebanon and have suffered tremendous losses due to the ongoing economic crisis and their inability to develop with changing market trends and dynamics. As such, the project enables MSEs to access new markets that are sources of income generation, tailor made trainings, and business solutions.
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Mount Lebanon Governorate, Lebanon
33.8100858
35.5973139
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North Governorate, Lebanon
34.4380625
35.8308233
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Beirut Governorate, Lebanon
33.8886106
35.4954772
Duración del proyecto
2019 - 2024

El proyecto

The project works with the "Coaching Cycle" methodology developed by the Swisscontact C4EE project team in Albania in collaboration with the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, which is already being successfully implemented in Eastern Europe in its tenth year. To promote the development of young women and men, the project is aimed at solving important obstacles such as the lack of life and professional competence of young people, a lack of information and orientation on labour market opportunities, a lack of access and appropriate services for these categories at various levels. This will be achieved by training coaches who accompany groups of 10 - 15 participants over the course of six months. The coaches meet with them several times a week and guide them through the different stages of the Coaching Cycle. The cycle is based on the concept of core competencies, which can be divided into the four dimensions of personal, social, methodological, and professional competencies. Participants develop these skills through theoretical and practical courses, internships, individual career counselling, psychological support, and activities in small groups.  

The weak cooperation between state and private actors in the field of employment is also reinforced. This alone, however, is not enough to facilitate the insertion of these youth in the labour market. Therefore, youth are given the opportunity to connect and network with micro and small businesses, which represent 80% of the labour market, that can potentially employ them based on their competencies rather than on nepotismm. Also, to further increase the youths’ chances of labour market insertion, the youth have access to:

  • Legal assistance so they can overcome legal obstacles to their employment
  • Employment office services such as connecting youth to micro and small business, job opportunities available in the market, and job search/application services for participants on an ad hoc basis when they request it.

Because of this improved access to employment support services, the youth are able to improve their employability, and thus are enabled to obtain jobs and earn an income.

The project also works with Micro and small enterprises (MSEs), which represent 80% of the labour market and are highly dependent on larger well-connected companies for contracts, lack access to markets or the necessary skill sets to access new markets, all of which hinder sustainable income generation. Through the business services provided in the project, MSEs can become part of a network of other MSEs that are constrained by the same factors. Through trainings they can develop their competences in areas such as digitalisation, accounting and logistics and access joint business solutions such as call centres and logistic centres. Through an online “Naam"-platform they can access new markets where they can promote new digital services and the “Hub” enables them to access contracts that were previously out of reach due to limited resources and networks. MSEs can also access a skills-matching service provided by the ‘hub’. This will enable MSEs to operate more efficiently and potentially find the labour they need among the pool of coaching cycle graduates.

As a result, these businesses will have the ability to generate sustainable income and they will be able to preserve or even create jobs in the long run.

Project goals

The project sustainably improves the labour market integration of marginalised young Syrian, Palestinian, and Lebanese women and men through a six-month guided Coaching Cycle. The project likewise introduces the Opportunity Hub, which connects graduates of the Coaching Cycle with micro and small enterprises (MSEs). 

Expected results

  • 138 disadvantaged youths completed the coaching cycle during the 2019-2020 pilot phase. 52% of these graduates found an employment.
  • By the end of 2024 we expect that 500 disadvantaged youths (50% women) complete the 6-month guided Coaching Cycle with improved networking, social, professional and personal skills.
  • Out of them, 280 Coaching Cycle graduates (50% women) find wage employment, half of them through the job placement platform of the Opportunity Hub
  • 1 400 MSEs register in the Opportunity Hub
  • Out of them 800 will access business upgrading trainings, 800 will make use of the employment platform and 560 will increase their revenue
  • 200 jobs are maintained or created (full-time equivalent)

Project partner

  • DROPS Community Progress
  • The Nawaya Network
  • Arcenciel

Financing partners

This project is financed by the Leopold Bachmann Foundation, among other donors. This project is part of the Swisscontact Development Programme, which is co-financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Federal Department of Foreign Affairs FDFA.