Enhancing Job-Seekers Work-Readiness in Lebanon Using the Language of Skills

Caritas Lebanon is one of the implementing partners of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Lebanon’s project PROSPECTS, which aims to establish smooth pathways to employment and income-generating opportunities for Lebanese and Syrian refugees. Through the provision of skills training, on-the-job training (OJT), career guidance, counseling, and effective job placement, Caritas Lebanon supported 500 people in three centers in Akkar and North Lebanon to prepare for work. As a partner of the ILO, SkillLab joined the collaboration by providing skills-based solutions to support Caritas’ career counselors in delivering their support to their target groups.

Five hundred Lebanese and Syrian individuals took part in a series of trainings aimed to help them find suitable careers based on their potential. The SkillLab’s tool was used to prepare them for interviews, create CVs, and highlight their strengths. Once their profiles were completed, Caritas assessed them by looking at their skills and career matches using SkillLab tools. Based on these assessments, beneficiaries were divided into groups to take part in a Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET), an apprenticeship, or referred to jobs in micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in North Lebanon. Those who completed TVET or on-the-job training are expected to receive certificates from the Ministry of Education, in addition to a certificate from Savotec/Safadi, which is also accredited by the Ministry.

The use of skills as a common language that links people’s profile and background to their education and training has also proved helpful for the counsellors involved in the project. SkillLab Project Manager for this collaboration, Vanessa Aswad, had talks with Caritas Project Officer Pierretta Sfeir, who shared her positive experience with our skills-based tool.

Implementing skills-based tool and perspective in an existing process

Pierretta coordinated everything related to project management and supervised the team in the field. She also occasionally conducted training sessions on communication and created training content. Being in the field allowed her to directly observe the needs of the participants and ensure that they were benefiting in a practical way while also helping them to develop professionally.

Program participants were divided into small groups of 25 and participated in five sessions on topics ranging from onboarding to SkillLab and the importance of skills in employability, career counseling, interview preparation, personal development, and their rights at work. While introducing the skills-based tool, the Caritas career counselors also introduce the idea of "skills" to the participants. The session also demonstrates how awareness of one’s skills can help them understand themselves, reflect on their potential, and ultimately improve their prospects in the labor market. The SkillLab tool was also employed to demonstrate how skills can be a bridge to multiple career opportunities. Training participants learned about different career fields, the skills needed for each career, and the skill gaps they need to fill to pursue their career interests.

Throughout the sessions, field staff were available to support participants, ensuring that everyone could navigate the platform and identify their skills. They also conducted an interactive exercise where several participants saw each other’s profiles, which motivated and inspired others to continue updating their profiles throughout the program.

Efficient and impactful skills-based work-readiness support

As a project officer and counselor in the program, Pierretta observed the dual impact of the competency-based tool in her project. 

Program participants, especially those who were already motivated, felt that they were receiving more personalized recommendations and guidance. As a result, they became even more engaged in using the tool for their professional development.  While the CV became their most favored feature, many participants also appreciated the flexibility the SkillLab tool offered them regarding their career options. “One beneficiary had a lot of experience in a beauty salon but now preferred to pursue a role related to computers. After entering details about her salon experience, she was able to modify the CV to emphasize her relevant skills for a computer-related role. This flexibility had a very positive impact on beneficiaries,” said Pierretta. 

Many participants also began to rethink their initial career choices because they had a deeper understanding of career opportunities and the program opened the door for them to try a different field.  

For the counselors and field staff, the transition to skills-based perspective in delivering work-readiness training with SkillLab has been life-changing. “I felt that SkillLab had a really high impact. In other projects where we didn’t have SkillLab, we struggled,” said Pierretta. “ The team felt that the work was really well-organized. SkillLab helped us move from one-on-one sessions to group sessions. For example, instead of working separately with 500 beneficiaries, we were able to support groups of 25 people in a classroom setting.”

Having skills as a common language to connect people and potential careers as reflected in the Career Match feature was also advantageous and essential to the counselor’s work. “Without SkillLab, evaluating beneficiaries accurately and referring them to the correct groups used to be way harder in the past,” said Pierretta. 

The advantage of skills as a common language in job-readiness program

With extensive experience in organizing career development and job readiness programs, Pierretta felt the difference between the traditional and skills-based approaches. With the skills-based approach, she said, “SkillLab offers a tangible advantage: it presents clear, actionable insights directly to the beneficiaries, which reduces the workload for trainers.” She mentioned that in the traditional approach, counselors need to explain to program participants that they have time management skills and how they can benefit from them. They had to present it all in theory. In contrast, SkillLab's tool organizes everything in a way that makes career counseling more practical and straightforward. It allows career counselors to deliver effective and practical guidance without having to spend excessive time and effort providing examples to convince beneficiaries.

SkillLab offers a tangible advantage: it presents clear, actionable insights directly to the beneficiaries, which reduces the workload for trainers. I highly recommend SkillLab, and I honestly can’t imagine how we would have managed this project without it.
Pierretta Sfeir, Caritas Project Officer in Lebanon

The impact on participants extends beyond the program. “I have even received feedback from beneficiaries who, after using the application at home, told me it helped them better understand job-related terms and improve their searches on platforms like LinkedIn, Google, or any job site,” Pierretta said.

“I highly recommend SkillLab, and I honestly can’t imagine how we would have managed this project without it,” she said, closing our exciting conversation.

Are you actively supporting people in job-readiness programs and curious about transitioning to a skills-based approach? Contact us to learn more about how you can start!