Enabling Job Resilience and Protecting Decent Work Conditions in Rural Communities Affected by the Syrian Refugee Crisis in Northern Lebanon

The ILO aims to work in Rural North Lebanon to alleviate the negative impact of the Syrian refugee crisis in the North Governorate that has the highest incidence of poor (52.5 per cent) and where agriculture employs about 70 per cent of the local working population. The project will facilitate the development of models of intervention that could also be adapted and replicated in rural contexts in other areas of the country or in other states experiencing similar situations.

Objectives

The project aims to create productive employment through local economic development and sustainable enterprises in northern Lebanese communities affected by the Syrian refugee crisis, so as to:

• Improve labour market intermediation and employability of vulnerable job seekers;
• increase the income generation and employment creation potential of agriculture value chains through local economic development; and
• enhance the capacity of service providers to produce local economic development opportunities.

Main Activities

Access to employment opportunities and livelihoods

• Improve existing employment service mechanisms for Lebanese residents and Syrian refugees in North Lebanon through capacity building of Employment Service Centre (ESC) staff;
• interlink and institutionalize a cooperation mechanism among ESCs in North Lebanon;
• provide career counselling services built upon existing research of labour market opportunities;
• support local vocational training providers in rural areas to provide adapted skills development programmes required in the selected agricultural value chains; and
• provide specialised training on public employment programmes to implementers of rapid employment schemes and link them to the employment service providers.

Sustainable Local Economic Development

• Contribute to building the resilience of rural host communities by enhancing access to employment opportunities and livelihoods;
• promote sustainable LED in at least one rural area in the North Lebanon targeting specific productive sectors; and
• develop capacity building and business expansion strategies for entrepreneurs.

Capacity Building and Business expansion strategies for entrepreneurs

• Map of the capacity of potential LED stakeholders and local organisations within selected value chains and target area and identify capacity development needs;
• implement value chain analysis in the selected agricultural sector in targeted sub-districts, with a specific focus on host communities; and
• design local economic development interventions in host communities along with implementing a limited number of demonstrative interventions based on the Making Markets Work for the Poor (M4P) approach.

Outcomes

• Enhanced access to employment opportunities and livelihoods that contribute to building the resilience of rural host communities;
• Sustainable Local Economic Development (LED) in Akkar-North Lebanon which targets a productive agricultural sector promoted; and
• Capacity building and business expansion strategies for entrepreneurs in northern Lebanese host communities affected by the Syrian refugee crisis developed.