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Vocational education in Lebanon is offered at several levels and falls under the auspices of the Directorate General of Vocational and Technical Education (DGTVE). Since Lebanon follows the French educational pattern, many of the qualifications are known by their French name, even when taught in Arabic.
Vocational training focuses on vocational lower and upper secondary education. After completing 6 years of primary education and 1 year of lower secondary education, students are able to complete a 2-year program leading to the الكفاءة المهنية / Certificat d'Aptitude Professionnelle/CAP (Certificate of Professional Aptitude). Students may enroll in a 3-year version directly after primary school. The CAP is offered in half a dozen specializations and leads to employment for adult students or further vocational training. These programs are typically offered in training centres.
The التكميلية المهنية / Brevet Profesionnel/BP (Professional Certificate) lasts for another two years. It is typically available to those who have completed the CAP or two years of intermediate/lower secondary education. The BP is available in more than a dozen specializations and is also usually taught in a training centre.
Technical education is even more extensive in Lebanon. Technical upper secondary education also lasts for 3 years and is offered at both public and private institutions. Upper technical studies include both academic and vocational studies in fields such as agriculture, electronics, nursing, secretarial studies, electronics, and other vocational or technical programs.
Students who have completed either the vocational lower secondary curriculum and earned the BP or the general academic lower secondary cycle can enroll in a 3-year technical upper secondary program.
Completion of the 3-year technical upper secondary education and passing the national leaving examination leads to the award of the البكالوريا الفنية / Baccalureat Technique/BT (Technical Baccalaureate) after completing 12-13 years of primary and secondary education. Students usually complete their program at a technical school.
The Technical Baccalaureate represents graduation from high school in a technical or vocational field. It leads to further education at colleges and universities or technical institutes in related fields or employment in Lebanon as an entry-level technician. Those TVET students interested in enrolling in university programs must have a BT.
Technical education in Lebanon is offered at secondary and higher education levels. Technical education is administered by the Directorate General of Vocational and Technical Education (DGTVE), under the Ministry of Education and Higher Education. Even though Arabic is the language of instruction at most Lebanese educational institutions, Lebanon follows the French educational pattern. As a result, it is common for qualifications to be known by their French name, too. In fact, some government and higher education websites are available bilingually in Arabic and French.
In Lebanon, post-secondary technical education qualifications are examined and awarded by the DGTVE, though individual training schools may also issue their own transcripts and graduation documents. There are almost 200 private training providers and more than 150 public training institution, and they all teach to the curriculum examined by the DGTVE.
It is difficult to determine the recognition of technical institutions in Lebanon due to the large number, name changes, and lack of centralized information. Many private providers may offer only one or two areas of specialization to fewer than 30 students per year. Since the DGTVE offers national examinations at the end of the program and issues the official qualifications, it is not necessary to determine the recognition of the institution itself. Furthermore, the DGTVE offers online verification for post-secondary technical qualifications awarded since 2020.
As a method of ensuring consistency among the programs, the DGVTE holds a national end-of-program diploma examination. Successful completion of this exam leads to the award of the appropriate qualification. Generally, post-secondary technical qualifications are examined out of a maximum of 2000 marks. Students usually will not provide transcripts for each year of study, just the examination results from approximately 7-10 subjects in the field. Only the examination results/marks sheet awarded by the by the Directorate General of Vocational and Technical Education is considered an official post-secondary technical education record.
Upon completion of a post-secondary technical program, students sit for a national examination administered by the Directorate General of Vocational and Technical Education (DGVTE). Successfully passing the exam confirms award of the qualification. As a result, students often do not provide the separate diploma since passing the Directorate examination and providing the official, Directorate-issued results certificate confers graduation from the program. In addition, when students have documents reissued, the examination results sheet/transcript is reissued in the current standardized format, usually without the separate graduation diploma.
Post-secondary students have two primary options for technical education and may be taught at public or private technical colleges or even universities.
Graduates of upper secondary education, in either the academic or technical streams, may pursue a 2- or 3-year short-cycle higher education program. The higher technician, also known as superior technician, program incorporates both general education and technical studies in nearly 30 different specializations. Graduates are considered senior technicians and may pursue employment as middle managers.
Students who successfully pass the DGTVE examinations are awarded the بشهادة الامتيازالفني / Diplome de Technicien Superieur/DTS or TS (Higher Technician Diploma). The TS may also be known as the امتياز فني (Certificate of Technical Excellence).
Graduates of the TS level can continue for a further year of technical higher education in one of a dozen specializations. Completion of the program and passing the national DGTVE examinations leads to the award of the إجازة فنية / Licence Technique/LT (Technical Licentiate). Only a quarter of TS graduates earn the LT.
Resources:
Directorate General of Vocational and Technical Education: https://web.vte.gov.lb/
Directorate General of Vocational and Technical Education Results: http://results.vte.gov.lb/
The Higher Education System in Lebanon: National Report. Mediterranean Network of National Information Centres on the Recognition of Qualifications, 2019. https://www.meric-net.eu/files/fileusers/3760_Lebanon_National%20Report_MERIC-Net.pdf
International Standard Classification of Eduation (ISCED) Mapping of Lebanon. UNESCO, 2011. https://uis.unesco.org/sites/default/files/documents/isced_2011_mapping_fr_lebanon_0.xlsx and https://isced.uis.unesco.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/15/uis_isced_uploads/0daba9bd4abc24f29af8a5861f203585.jpg
National Strategic Framework for Technical Vocational Education and Training in Lebanon, 2018-2022. Ministry of Education and Higher Education, 2018. https://www.ilo.org/sites/default/files/wcmsp5/groups/public/@arabstates/@ro-beirut/documents/publication/wcms_633487.pdf
Overview of Vocational Training and Education in Lebanon. European Training Foundation, 1999. https://www.etf.europa.eu/sites/default/files/m/C12578310056925BC125700D004005FA_MED_VET_Lebanon_00_EN.pdf
TVET Country Profiles: Lebanon. UNESCO. https://unevoc.unesco.org/home/Dynamic+TVET+Country+Profiles/country=LBN
Vocational and Technical Education in Lebanon: Strategic Issues and Challenges. International Education Journal, 2006. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ847310.pdf
World TVET Database: TVET Country Profile: Lebanon. UNESCO, 2019. https://unevoc.unesco.org/wtdb/worldtvetdatabase_lbn_en.pdf