Vocational Education at the times of crisis.

It shook the world more it did to just that Mediterranean city,

On a peaceful afternoon when the clock hit six, the entire world stood still to watch rubbles and debris collapse over the bodies of hundreds of civilians who faced death helplessly.

A bit strong and violent introduction for an essay that targets vocational education, well I intended to take your attention to the gravity of an event that led people to think that the story is over, that this small country who just lost half of its capital is now on its knees. That the party lights and the busy streets will soon be grey, and the oriental music rising up between the colorful dishes of the Lebanese cuisine will no longer be heard.

Along this scene, a more severe and chaotic one was exploding as well between the ghost of COVID-19 pandemic; an economic collapse, only to be hasted by the aftermath of the blast, by the protestors taking to the streets, by an inflation that rose up to 80% at its first year.

YET; resilience took over, and the Phoenicians descendants shook off the dust and started cleaning up the chaos, and the reform and the rise is on the move.

Vocational Education and Training took the scene, where a once underdog of education, is now on the mouth of every politician, economist, journalist, and policy maker. People started remembering Europe and the industrial up rise, Germany and its renowned vocational education, Austria, Italy… and the list goes on. It was only a matter of sheer will and a decision that led the directorate of vocational education and training, to gather up its forces, led by a vision of a director who held education closer to her heart and acts, and the workshop began.

gathering up all forces with the international community, local and international NGO’s. policy makers and influencers were all gathered up to the table, to expedite what had begun three years ago, a revolution under process. We began sensing that something is different, we started seeing a backbone or maybe a shoulder to rely on. With her lobbying mentality, the director and her team managed to put the first building blocks of crisis management, all courses were continued even though no infrastructure was available, Web Base learning and digital transformation was one of the tricks of the trade. Fundraising and special projects to install alternative power sources to the schools whilst simultaneously building capacities for students and teachers alike. Moreover; a new strategy was needed to cope with the new status quo, a strategy that can challenge and alter the current facts and tackle every opportunity for growth.

All these efforts led to what we now can sense in Lebanon, that is just starting to switch towards a more productive and more technically centered economy, we started seeing more food industries, more industrial workshops, more agricultural projects and so on.

Evidently, it all took a decision, all it needed was the bravery of a single woman who refused to let go, a leader who gathered a team of believers that were motivated by her strength and resilience.

The path is still long, we could probably be at the first miles, but at least we took our first steps, accompanied by the generosity of the international community and the care it showed that was genuine and transparent. Hoping that our efforts will show that education has no boundaries, the right for education should be for everyone, proving along the way that the vocational education is an economical pillar that needs to be treated with more seriousness and should be given more attention and support.

Houssam W. Hajj

03/07/2022