A lot of my friends left school and encouraged me to do the same
I got to a point where I almost quit school
I met Mr Tanios and he encouraged me to pursue my studies in maintenance in a technical institute
I enrolled and started growing step by step
I started getting high grades and I received many job offers
I first started when my doll broke down
It had many screws and such,
I disassembled all of it,
it took me approximately a week and a half to be able to fix it
I moved to fixing a table, then a closet, until I reached studying Maintenance
Our students have been graduating with a technical degree in Industrial Mechanics since,
I, personally, have been doing this for 16 or 17 years
All our students reach the job market and mainly work in maintenance
The companies requested that we graduate students specialized in maintenance
The IECD started this initiative
They suggested we do this,
and there was definitely a need and thirst for it, in the Lebanese Industrial Sector
We were a group of Lebanese industrialists from different fields
We prepared this technical career path from the start in a way for it to have
all the courses and skills required in the Lebanese Industry,
and in the International Industry
With the help of the Lebanese Government, who approved the amendments on this curriculum
We were able to include all the courses we think are necessary
I chose the BT- Maintenance because it combines many other fields
It’s a large field.
I wouldn’t have chosen this career
If it didn’t have these all these horizons and opportunities,
Companies usually request people with these skills,
because they don’t want to hire an electrician and a mechanic
They want one person who can cover it all
Three years ago, we had a qualitative shift in the way of teaching
The students don’t get bored at all
Honestly, it was difficult at the beginning
It was difficult for us and not for the students
Because the method changed,
We started with the competencies based approach
We worked backwards,
We started in the workshop and then went to the classroom,
We felt that the student is benefiting more, giving more and is not getting bored in class
The method of the institute is different,
and that’s the good thing about it
You do more technical and practical stuff
and you don't just read and write
We went through many trainings, as teachers, with the IECD
Theses trainings were very beneficial for us, especially that we visited factories in France
And we discovered there the importance of always having someone by your side
And the importance of coordination among all teachers of this career all over Lebanon
The way the teachers treated us had an integral part in us enrolling in this career with excitement and motivation
We train interns every year in the company
from different fields
But I can say that
after comparing between the competencies of the Maintenance students,
according to the new curriculum
And between the previous technicians,
we saw that there is a faster integration in the system
I immediately had a handle on everything in my internship
By day three, I had knowledge of everything in the factory
There is generally a complete disconnection
between the academia, technical and vocational education and the job market
This is why I see that there's a need for someone to act as instigator, like the IECD,
To come and say: “I want to create this link, this bridge,
between the private sector and its needs, and between technical and vocational education
to match the needs of the private sector
with the competencies of the graduates from technical institutes
I want to let the society benefit from my work,
There is a high demand on maintenance career in Lebanon
You don’t have to be manly,
you can be a female and take this career path
It’s your passion, if you don’t do what you love, you won’t succeed
