Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2024, published 113rd ILC session (2025)

Human Resources Development Convention, 1975 (No. 142) - Lebanon (Ratification: 2000)

The Committee notes the observations of the General Confederation of Lebanese Workers (CGTL), transmitted with the Government’s report. The Committee requests the Government to provide its comments in this regard.

Article 1 of the Convention. Formulation and implementation of education and training policies. The Government indicates that in 2022 the National Vocational Training Centre (NVTC) discontinued training in cosmetology and electronics due to financial difficulties. The NVTC currently offers training in only five specializations (electrical installations; installation and maintenance of refrigerators and air conditioners; plumbing; solar energy; and computers), in collaboration with the European Institution for Cooperation and Development (EICD). It extends training at its centres throughout the country and outside them in collaboration with various non-governmental organizations and institutions. The Committee notes the statistics provided by the Government indicating that a total of 922 people received vocational training through the NVTC from 2017 to 2023. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing updated and detailed information on the outcomes of the training and guidance programmes, with an indication of the skills and qualifications acquired by the beneficiaries, disaggregated by sex and age in the context of the activities of the National Vocational Training Centre.

National Plan of Education for All. The Government informs of the adoption of the following documents: (i) the National General Education Plan 2021–25, developed by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MEHE); (ii) the National Action Plan for Inclusive, Equitable and Quality Education in Lebanon (2020), developed by the Centre for Educational Research and Development (CERD); and (iii) the National Policy on Inclusive Education for Children with Special Needs in Lebanon (2023), developed by MEHE. It also indicates that the Policy for the Protection of Youth and Adolescents: Developing the System to Support and Develop Adolescents and Youth in the Technical Agricultural Education Environment was developed in 2021, in conformity with the 2021-2025 Strategy of the Ministry of Agriculture, to reduce early school leaving and encouraging the youth to enrol in the agricultural sector. Noting that the report does not provide information in response to its previous comments, the Committee once again requests the Government to provide detailed updated information on the results and the activities planned in relation to vocational education and training implemented under national policies, strategies and action plans, including with regard to those referred to above. It further requests the Government to provide detailed information on the steps taken to promote cooperation with the social partners in the formulation and implementation of vocational guidance and vocational training policies and programs.

Effective coordination. The Committee previously noted that a committee has been set up to ensure effective coordination between programmes established by the National Vocational Training Centre (NVTC) and the National Employment Agency, in particular, to develop a standardized curriculum that would correspond to the labour market needs. Thus, it requested the Government to provide information on consultations held within the committee and the content of the curriculum once it is available. The Government indicates that no new information is available in relation to the work of the committee on curriculum and training programmes, due to the insufficient funds during the reporting period. The Government however indicates that the National Framework for the Pre-University General Education Curriculum 2022 has been published, as part of a five-year reform plan (2021-2025) of the MEHE, to comprehensively reform the national education system. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed of any developments concerning the consultations held within the committee on the development of standardized curricula corresponding to labour market needs, and to provide information on the content of the curriculum once it is available. It further requests the Government to provide detailed information on the application in practice of the National Framework for the Pre-University General Education Curriculum 2022.

Article 3(1). Information for vocational guidance. The Government indicates that, in 2020, the Code of Conduct for employers engaged in workplace-based learning programmes was developed by the ILO and UNICEF, in collaboration with the Ministries of Labour and of Agriculture. The Code provides guidance in relation to all programmes that provide students in vocational education with on-the-job training. The Government also indicates that a memorandum of understanding was signed by MEHE, Minister of Industry, and the President of the Association of Industrialists, with the aim of advancing technical and vocational education and training (TVET), in particular, in the food industry. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the measures adopted or envisaged to ensure that comprehensive information and the broadest possible guidance are made available to all persons concerned.

Article 4. Lifelong learning. In response to the Committee’s previous request for information concerning the measures taken or contemplated to establish, maintain and improve a coordinated system of lifelong learning in the country, the Government makes a general reference to the National General Education Plan 2020–25, the National Strategic Framework for Technical and Vocational Education and Training and its 2018–22 road map, as well as to its 2022 responses concerning Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122). Noting that the Government has not provided the specific information requested, the Committee refers to its comments concerning the Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) and once again requests the Government communicate information on the measures taken or contemplated to establish, maintain and improve a coordinated system of lifelong education and training to meet the vocational training needs of both young persons and adults, in accordance with Article 4 of the Convention.