October 2015 - Lebanon
The influx of an estimated 1.2 million Syrian refugees over the last three years is intensifying Lebanon’s already strained social, economic, and political fabric. There is a need to support the resilience of refugees and their host communities through improving access to income-generating opportunities, as well as providing support at the institution/market level by addressing broader business constraints.
As part of its response to support economically vulnerable Lebanese and refugees, the IRC operates Livelihoods Center in Akkar and Mount Lebanon where jobseekers receive intensive counseling services and employers are given more accurate labor market information, while others are provided marketable skills and opportunities for on the job learning and short-term income. In 2015, the IRC sought to update its market information / assessment data in Akkar to ensure services such as skills training, job referrals, and internships match current market demand and are responding to skills gaps identified by private sector.
The specific objectives of this assessment included understanding the key constraints and attitudes, needs, and objectives of MSMEs and entrepreneurs in the formal and informal Akkar economy; identifying current skills gaps and market information gaps within Akkar labor market; as well as identifying market opportunities through products and services in high demand.
