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During this series of roundtable discussions with students, they were asked to discuss 3 main topics: the first priority for Lebanon in order to stimulate economic growth, the lessons learned from the recent international crisis, and the role of the IMF in Lebanon.
The main concern among students was the growing risk of being unemployed after graduation.Students showed a very strong interest in the measures that could be taken to ensure economic growth and alleviate the problem. Another common concern among the students was the obvious mismatch between the number of graduates of certain fields versus the actual middle east job market. They point to this as one of the education systems biggest flaws.
They suggested that some method should be found to balance the supply of graduates and the demand on the market, added Mr. SaadeChami.
The main aim of this lecture at AUB was to engage students in the IMFs policy debate , as well as to somehow try and influence the policy debate.
Up until about a year or so ago, Dubai and the Gulf was the dream job destination for many fresh graduates searching for jobs in the middle east. Now it seems the situation has worsened in both Lebanon and the rest of the region, so the grads are not as hopeful about finding work right away, especially in their fields of study.
An Economics student in her senior year at AUB had the following to say when asked about her future in Lebanon: There are no more places for fresh graduates. We're turning and turning, and we don't know where to go". She expects to stay in Lebanon after completing her studies and has already started handing out her CV.
One of the main reasons behind such hardship it seems is that so many Lebanese are moving back to their home country, with tens of thousands of skilled workers having returned, and with possibly even more soon-to-be graduates planning on staying here, Lebanon is facing the unusual problem of a "reverse brain-drain". The exact number of people returning is not yet known, but real estate agents claim more homes are being sold than any time in the past, with banks showing record high deposits.
A managing partner at Ramco real estate company said : "I'm receiving a lot of CVs from Lebanese coming back from the Gulf, from people who have either been laid off or whose salaries have been reduced. Unfortunately, their salary expectations are too high." Before the crisis salaries for middle east jobs, particularly in the Gulf, were on average 5 times higher than salaries here in Lebanon.
"A lot of money is being diverted from the Gulf and Europe to Beirut, because the financial sectors there seemed risky, and the system here seemed safer. The market here is very segmented, and there are a lot of family-owned businesses. It's difficult to get work in higher managerial jobs if you're not well-connected," said Eric Mottu, an IMF representative in Lebanon. However, even with the record amount of capital flowing into the country, he believes job seekers here will have a difficult time finding work that matches their skills.
He went on to say: "The Gulf was attractive because there weren't barriers to do with religion or sect. That's one difficulty people are facing here."
The main concern among students was the growing risk of being unemployed after graduation.Students showed a very strong interest in the measures that could be taken to ensure economic growth and alleviate the problem. Another common concern among the students was the obvious mismatch between the number of graduates of certain fields versus the actual middle east job market. They point to this as one of the education systems biggest flaws.
They suggested that some method should be found to balance the supply of graduates and the demand on the market, added Mr. SaadeChami.
The main aim of this lecture at AUB was to engage students in the IMFs policy debate , as well as to somehow try and influence the policy debate.
Up until about a year or so ago, Dubai and the Gulf was the dream job destination for many fresh graduates searching for jobs in the middle east. Now it seems the situation has worsened in both Lebanon and the rest of the region, so the grads are not as hopeful about finding work right away, especially in their fields of study.
An Economics student in her senior year at AUB had the following to say when asked about her future in Lebanon: There are no more places for fresh graduates. We're turning and turning, and we don't know where to go". She expects to stay in Lebanon after completing her studies and has already started handing out her CV.
One of the main reasons behind such hardship it seems is that so many Lebanese are moving back to their home country, with tens of thousands of skilled workers having returned, and with possibly even more soon-to-be graduates planning on staying here, Lebanon is facing the unusual problem of a "reverse brain-drain". The exact number of people returning is not yet known, but real estate agents claim more homes are being sold than any time in the past, with banks showing record high deposits.
A managing partner at Ramco real estate company said : "I'm receiving a lot of CVs from Lebanese coming back from the Gulf, from people who have either been laid off or whose salaries have been reduced. Unfortunately, their salary expectations are too high." Before the crisis salaries for middle east jobs, particularly in the Gulf, were on average 5 times higher than salaries here in Lebanon.
"A lot of money is being diverted from the Gulf and Europe to Beirut, because the financial sectors there seemed risky, and the system here seemed safer. The market here is very segmented, and there are a lot of family-owned businesses. It's difficult to get work in higher managerial jobs if you're not well-connected," said Eric Mottu, an IMF representative in Lebanon. However, even with the record amount of capital flowing into the country, he believes job seekers here will have a difficult time finding work that matches their skills.
He went on to say: "The Gulf was attractive because there weren't barriers to do with religion or sect. That's one difficulty people are facing here."
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