Mapping Vocational and Educational Training (VET) Providers to Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and Training their Graudtaes

Mapping Vocational and Educational Training (VET) Providers to Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and Training their Graudtaes

OutlineOutlineObjectivesThe dataProfile of the unreachableData CleaningGrouping of the coursesCharacteristic of the ProvidersRespondents’ ProfileImpact AssessmentConclusion and Recommendations

2Consultation and Research Institute - 2010

ObjectivesObjectivesThe report was part of the first phase of a project funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs implemented by the NPA in close cooperation with UNRWA and under the supervision of the Committee for Employment of Palestinian Refugees (CEP).

The objectives of the project are: Generate a reliable database of available Palestinian refugee

employment with VET training in each of the available disciplines.

Serve as the basis for providing the labor market with qualified Palestinian refugees with the vocational skills demanded by the market place.

The database will pave the way for Phase II of the project entitled “Matching and Adapting Vocational Education and Training to Market Needs”, which will research the changes and adjustments to be implemented in the vocational training curricula to meet the market requirements to match supply with demand.


NPA: Norwegian People’s Aid NAV: National Association for Vocational Training and

Social Services JCC: Joint Christian CommitteeNAM: National Association of Medical Social Care and

Vocational Training NIS: National Institute for Social Care and Vocational

TrainingANJ: Association Najdeh SAL: the Joint Christian Committee, and the Culture and

Science Foundation: Assalam Social and Charity School UNR: UNRWA

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The DataThe Data The initial database comprised of 10553 students who

graduated from 8 different Providers offering VET programs between 1999 and 2009.

2736 of the students were unreachable 152 students from the year 2009 were discounted since

only one VET provider provided data for that year which was not meant to be part of the study.


Profile of the unreachable vs. reachableProfile of the unreachable vs. reachable

Reachable Unreachable

Female 52.33% 49.38%

Male 47.67% 50.62%

Grand Total 100.00% 100.00%

The distribution of the unreachable graduates across the various variables is similar to that of the reachable sample whereby excluding them will have no major effect on the representativeness of the sample.

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Reachable Unreachable

ANJ 25.48% 22.26%

JCC 3.63% 7.16%

NAM 2.17% 0.29%

NAV 14.57% 27.78%

NIS 11.21% 7.27%

NPA 10.68% 17.87%

SAL 9.20% 12.90%

UNR 23.05% 4.46%

Total 100% 100%

Consultation and Research Institute - 2010

Data CleaningData Cleaning The initial data consisted of 62 variables which were

assessed for accuracy and completeness of the information. After a process of verification and cleaning of the data, 29 variables were retained only for the purpose of this report.

The reasons are: Some of the variables had a very low response rate, and

so no meaningful analysis could be made using them. Some variable were overlapping such as that concerning

the duration of the courses. Since we were given the start date and the duration of each course, there was no need to keep the end date variable.

Some variables such as that of the date of birth were discounted due to serious doubts concerning their validity.

Some variables had no added value for the purpose of the analysis such as the work address of the companies the respondents are employed at.


New Modalities were also created by grouping certain data: Some of the modalities were grouped due to the low

number of respondents. For example the Nationality variable was re-coded into: Palestinians, Lebanese and Other Arabs. The Other Arab modality is constituted of several Arab nationalities such as Syrians and Jordanians since they only make up 1% of the whole database.

The modality ‘Mount Lebanon’ was eliminated and the 62 respondents who constituted it were re-distributed according to the city in which they studied. Their number was so small that no meaningful analysis could have come of it.

The education variable was re-coded into educational levels rather than have several grades.

The variable of duration of the courses which initially had 7 modalities was regrouped into 3 for analytical purposes: ‘Less than six months’, ‘between six months to 11 months’, ‘a year and above’.

2 new indicators were created that reflect varying degrees of success and on which most of our analysis will be based were developed; namely soft and hard success rate. The soft success rate takes into account all those who are working but not necessarily within the field of their vocational training; whereas the hard success rate only refers to those who are employed within the field of their VET. 8


Grouping the coursesGrouping the coursesCourses were regrouped into 5 main

categories:

Office WorkConstructionMaintenanceHealth and EducationPersonal Care

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Characteristics of the ProvidersCharacteristics of the Providers

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VET Provider Female Male Grand TotalANJ 88.26% 11.74% 100.00%JCC 73.94% 26.06% 100.00%NAM 54.71% 45.29% 100.00%NAV 37.14% 62.86% 100.00%NIS 34.70% 65.30% 100.00%NPA 63.23% 36.77% 100.00%SAL 39.36% 60.64% 100.00%UNR 27.14% 72.86% 100.00%Grand Total 51.59% 48.41% 100.00%


VET Providers

Number of students

%

ANJ 1840 24.01%

UNR 1802 23.51%

NAV 1139 14.86%

NIS 876 11.43%

SAL 719 9.38%

NPA 835 10.89%

JCC 284 3.71%

NAM 170 2.2%

Total 7665 100%

47.52% of the respondents attend mainly 2 of the VET providers

Respondent’s ProfileRespondent’s Profile

Socio-demographic profileGender Female: 51.59% Male: 48.41%

Nationality Palestinians: 84.41% Lebanese: 10.58% Other Arabs: 1%


Socio-demographic profile

Marital Status Single: 75.19% Married: 22.32% Divorced/Widowed: 2%

35% of the women are married, whereas only 8.81% of the men are.


Socio-demographic profileEducation Brevet: 41.85% Bac II: 26.84% Intermediate: 22.66%

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Though the difference is minimal, 28.20% of the women have obtained their Bac II degree, which is a rate slightly higher than that of the whole sample whereas the men fall slightly under this rate (23.47%).


Socio-demographic profileResidence Camps: 58.21% Gathering: 12.64% Other: 29.15%

Furthermore the respondents reside mostly in the south of Lebanon between Tyre 19% and Sidon 39%


Residence Lebanese

Other Arabs Palestinians Total

Camps 14.92% 36.36% 63.64% 58.21% Gatherings 23.18% 18.18% 11.32% 12.64% Other 61.90% 45.45% 25.04% 29.15% Total 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00%

Course ChoicesCourse Choices

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The category with the most graduates over the last ten years is that of “office work” with 40.48% of students.


Courses Number of Students %

Office Work 3103 40.48%

Personal Care 1716 22.39%

Maintenance 1159 15.12%

Construction 1122 14.64%

Health and Education 565 7.37%

Impact AssessmentImpact Assessment The success rate of the VET providers is reflected in

two variables: hard and soft success rates.

For the purpose of this study which aims to assess the success of the various training programs, the analysis was focused on the hard success rate.

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Hard Success rate: All those who have obtained a job within the field of their VET.Soft Success rate: All those who have obtained a job whether in the field of their training or not.


On the whole, 30.74% of the respondents are employed within the field of their VET, while the soft success rate is 43.39%. The unemployment rate is 33.89%.


SalarySalary

Of the 3022 graduates who are currently employed and were willing to report their salary, 83.03% earn less than 600USD per month.

A significant 38.82% earn 320USD per month or less which is less than the minimum wage.

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Salary Range Number Total 01-320 USD 1173 38.82%

0321-600 USD 1336 44.21% 0601-1000 USD 373 12.34% 1001-1500 USD 69 2.28% 1501-2000 USD 30 0.99%

S>2000 USD 27 0.89% Free/Volunteer 14 0.46%

Total 3022 100.00%

83.03%


SalarySalary 45.98% of the employed women earn between 321 USD

and 600 USD and 43.21% of the employed men earn within that same salary bracket.

A slightly higher percentage of working men (5.62%) than women (2.49%) earn more than 1000USD per month

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Salary Range Female Male Grand Total

1-320 USD 41.27% 37.44% 38.82%

321-600 USD 45.98% 43.22% 44.21%

601-1000 USD 9.88% 13.72% 12.34%

1001-1500 USD 1.20% 2.89% 2.28%

1501-2000 USD 0.55% 1.24% 0.99%

S>2000 USD 0.74% 0.98% 0.89%

Free/Volunteer 0.37% 0.52% 0.46%

Total 100.00% 100.00% 100.00%


SalarySalary There are two distinct trends: one for the salary

bracket under 320USD and one for the salary bracket between 601USD and 1000USD.

There is an upward trend when considering the latter bracket with 1.01% of those with an elementary education earning between 601USD and 1000USD rising up to 24.37% for those with a Bac II.

There is a downward trend with the 1USD to 320USD bracket. The more educated you are the less likely you are to earn in the lowest salary bracket.


SalarySalary Wages seem to be rather homogenous across the

various regions except for the Bekaa which reports significantly lower wages: only 35.05% of those from the Bekaa region earn between 320USD to 600USD compared to 44.21% of the overall sample earning within the same salary bracket.


Profile of the Respondents and Work Profile of the Respondents and Work StatusStatusGender and Marital Status


Women MenHard Success Rate 20.94% 41.17%

Soft Success Rate 31.23% 56.35%

Unemployed 31.99% 35.92%

Not Working, not seeking 30.55% 5.87%

16.78% of single women are not seeking employment versus 54.62% of the married women, i.e. women are three times as likely to stay home when they are married.

Education Previous education does not seem to be a significant factor

when it comes to hard success rate.


ResidenceCamps hard success rate: 28.51%

Gatherings hard success rate: 32.71%

Outside both hard success rate: 34.33%

The lowest hard and soft success rates are found among those residing in Beirut, and Tyre whereas the highest hard success rate can be found in Tripoli.


VET Providers and CoursesVET Providers and Courses

The providers with the highest hard success rate are NAM (60%) and UNRWA (55.77%) with more than half of their students employed within the field of their VET.


The courses The course category with the highest hard success rate is

that of construction with 53.21% of the graduates working in their field of training.

Following is the category of health and education with a 48.50% hard success rate


SalarySalary Though construction has the highest hard success rate, it

seems to lead to low-paying jobs: 55.08% of those working in this field earn at or under 320USD per month which puts them at a worse off level than the general average of the database of 38.82% for that same salary bracket.

Those in Health and Education category generally earn better wages than the students in the other categories. 56.57% of them earn between 321USD and 600USD and 20.80% earning between 601USD and 1000USD probably due to the fact that they obtain official BT and TS degrees.

The wages earned by the graduates in the office work category are also higher than the average. 48.59% of those who obtained jobs in office work earn between 321USD and 600USD and 30.28% earn between 601USD to 1000USD.


ConstructionConstruction Factors which may account for high success rate of this

category: It probably answers the demands of the labor market It is dominated by men, who are more likely than women to seek and find jobs It is not restricted by all the legal obstacles other professions encounter

• The VET provider with the highest hard success rate in this category is UNRWA (74.21%), distantly followed by SAL with a 35.44% hard success rate.

• According to the data, course duration seems to partially explain discrepancies in success rate: the most successful program in this category, is the only provider that offers construction courses lasting for a year or more (54.71%).

• Course Pre-requisites: UNRWA seems to be more stringent in the prerequisites required than some of the less successful providers. 39.50% of UNRWA’s students in construction attended courses which required at least a brevet qualification, and another 15.21% attended courses which required them to have obtained a Bac II degree

• Within the Construction category, building courses are not only the most popular (44.56% of students in Construction go into building courses) but the most successful also, with a hard success rate of 68.80%


Health and EducationHealth and Education

The hard success rate of the Health and Education category is 48.50%.

Factors which may account for the hard success rate are: Many NGOs working with Palestinian refugees hire Palestinians in the

social work sector. Responds to market demands in terms of need for nurses and

teachers. NAM offers official courses (BT and TS) recognized and approved by

the Lebanese ministry.

• NAM and UNRWA have the highest hard success rate, with 66.42% and 67.91% respectively.

• Course Duration: Since the durations of the courses generally do not vary across the 3 Providers, it is unlikely for duration to be one of the reasons that determine the success rate

• Pre requisite: the majority of students at NAM and UNRWA are required to hold at least a brevet or Bac II degrees respectively.

• The course category with the highest hard success rate is Education with 76.74% of its students securing employment in the field of their VET (91.14% for males vs. 64.52% for females)


Gender and Marital Status in Health and Gender and Marital Status in Health and EducationEducationSingle women:

Hard success rate: 49.77%

Not working, not seeking: 7.91%

Married women:Hard success rate: 9.09%

Not working, not seeking: 72.74%

This obviously reflects the fact that once married women tend to devote their time to their households.


Office WorkOffice Work The hard success rate of the office work category is

only 21.46% Factors which may affect the success rate:

It is dominated by women Does not respond to market demands According to NPA, many of those who graduate from this

category –specifically the secretary subcategory- are young (15-16 year olds)

Men hard success rate: 27.81% Women hard success rate: 18.77% NAM, UNRWA and NPA have the highest hard success rates in office

work with 36.11%, 37.06% and 34.13% respectively even though the former two have some of the lowest registration rates in this category.

providers offering courses of one year or more do better than those with courses lasting less than one year

prerequisite requirements tend to be higher for more successful providers like NPA, and UNRWA

The most successful course in this category is business administration with a hard success rate of 28.37%


MaintenanceMaintenance

The maintenance category has a hard success rate of 35.12%.

The provider with the highest hard success rate here is UNRWA (46.22%).

UNRWA offers more prolonged courses, a factor which may affect one’s likelihood of obtaining a job.

A factor which might affect the success rate of ANJ for example is the fact that 96.77% of those registered in Maintenance courses at ANJ are women, most of whom have not obtained jobs within the field of their VET.

The courses within the Maintenance category generally have a similar hard success rate: mechanics 36.92%, Computers 34.20% and Household and Business Appliances 32.99%.


Personal CarePersonal Care The hard success rate of the Personal Care category is

24.01%, which falls below the general average of 30.74%.

The VET provider with the highest hard success rate is SAL with 36.18% of its graduates in this category finding employment within the field of their VET.

Discrepancies in success rates do not seem to be related to course duration or prerequisites, leading us to believe that the differences are due to performance-related factors.


Conclusion/Conclusion/RecommendationsRecommendations Most of those who are not seeking any work or who used to be

employed but no longer are in this sample are married women. This could entail that women are more likely to stay at home to take care of the household than work, regardless of whether they have received training or not.

While the VET providers have slightly improved the situation of this refugee population, much still needs to be done. As previously noted, most Palestinian refugee men work in the field of construction anyway. Also, the training has not increased their likelihood of earning better wages, especially in construction work, whereby most of them still earn at or under the Lebanese minimum wage – very likely due to socio-legal circumstances in the country

It is a likely possibility also that UNRWA offers employment opportunities to those it trains, especially in the field of education. While nurses who graduate from UNRWA might be hired by the Palestinian Red Crescent Society. Furthermore, UNRWA has an employment office with many contacts, which facilitates the job hunt of the respondents

Other factors which could contribute to this success include the fact that UNRWA has more resources than the other providers; its courses are more prolonged; and they require higher levels education for admission. These may all affect the curriculum and hence the success in obtaining jobs. 34


Conclusion/RecommendationsConclusion/Recommendations While construction and health and education courses have a

high success rate, this does not mean that more courses in these domains should be added or developed. A reason for their success could be the small or medium sized graduation rate.

The lack of success in Office Work courses might entail the need to cut down the number of courses offered in that domain. Students might need to be guided to enroll in other courses.

Large discrepancies in the performance rates of the VET providers beyond what is due to low market demand, or respondents profiles, necessitate a review and restructuring of the courses offered. The reasons behind these discrepancies could be related to differing course curriculums, prerequisites and content, to human resources and quality of instruction.

A transfer of knowledge and skills should be undertaken in order to empower and improve the less successful providers, which may have the capacity to enroll many more students.

Courses offered should be dynamic in that they should be tailored to market demands. If for instance the market does not necessitate graduates in personal care, then these courses should be downsized.


Documents

Mapping Vocational and Educational Training (VET) Providers to Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and Training their Graudtaes