On November 10th 2014, MED-DESIRE project participated in the Job and Orientation Fair 2014 at the Chamber of Commerce (Saida – South Lebanon). A yearly event organized by the Institut Européen de Coopération et de Développement (IECD) and The Foyer de la Providence, in the framework of Afkar III Program funded by the European Union and managed by the Office of the Minister of State for Administrative Reform, and under the patronage of Their Excellencies the Minister of State for Administrative Reform Mr. Nabil de Freige and the Minister of Industry Dr. Hussein Hajj Hassan.
The event was divided into three main parts.
Press Conference: in the presence of the Ministers, students, graduates, employers and other participants, the press conference tackled how crucial it is to map and adapt the academic programs at schools, institutes and universities to the job market. Many solutions were proposed in this frame such as updating the curricula, engaging students in workshops, site visits for industries and companies, scholarships, activation of the Supreme Council for Vocational and Technical Education and others.
Round Table Discussion: the participants were from LCEC/MED-DESIRE project; Mitsulift, a company "specialized in selling, installing and maintaining building moving solutions"; and Jubaili Bros, which is an "electric diesel generator suppliers for the Middle East & Africa". The discussion was mainly about enumerating different soft and hard skills that are required or provided within each field of the three tackled fileds: renewable energies and energy efficiency, lift and escalator systems and conventional and backup power generation. In order to enhance both technical and communication skills, which seems to be the most essential, students, employees and employers must be engaged in different informative activities. Therefore, exposing students at early stages to workshops, conferences, trainings and other kind of informative activities, would help orienting their choices of majors and careers.
Job Fair: a job exposition was held offering for students, graduates and recruiters an opportunity to get an overview of what it is like to work for a company or a sector that interests them.