Amir Fakih, a newly grad from NDU, decided to raise awareness on youth unemployment in Lebanon by wearing his university gown and roaming the street begging for money, working as an Arguile guy and selling flowers. The idea was to portray the possible future careers of a Lebanese graduate given the lack of jobs and that the Lebanese economy is in very bad state.
Needless to say, there’s nothing wrong with any job out there but you’d expect to land a better job when you spend years and thousands of dollars to earn a decent university degree. I don’t know much about the unemployment rates in Lebanon as there are no clear studies but the real problem lies in the guidance being offered by the government (if any) and the different educational institutions. Ideally, the Lebanese Ministry of Labor should provide studies on career opening by industry to help students choose majors that could help them secure a job once they graduate.
In all cases, I don’t know what Amir majored in but he seems to be good in marketing himself and I hope he gets the job he wants sometime soon.
vi LBCI
BLOM shabeb is a CSR initiative by BLOM BANK. They have guidance programs for school students to help them choose their majors and connect with professionals from the various fields out there.
I’ve been to one of their career fairs it’s really very informative.
I don’t know if the government sponsors such events since this one is sponsored by the bank. But I’m sure there are some links since some of their events are held at the UNESCO palace.
The role today falls on the schools and universities I suppose. There’s only so much that the government can do in this regard.