Two modules under the "Youth training program":
As IMS’s main vision is to re inverse the strong trend of migration, mainly from the rural areas. Being Tourism of high potential, IMS works in expanding job opportunities through tourism in the rural areas. As for the Youth Program, IMS is offering a career guidance & soft skills program that will enable them to stay and work in Lebanon. Therefore our educational mission is to help these girls identify themselves as leaders in their communities.
Career Guidance:
IMS “Career Guidance” program is offered to grade 11 students. Girls are carefully chosen to participate in the 180 hours training program, receiving a certificate of completion at the end of the program. The aim of this platform is support girls to choose their career pathway, i.e. what major they must decide on for college. As the educational curriculum in many countries and specifically Lebanon, lacks a well-organized career guidance program, IMS decided to fill this very critical gap by launching this new orientation program.
During the program, girls start knowing themselves better, taking various international and well-chosen quizzes to be able to better define what they like, dislike, their interests, skills, knowledge and what natural talents they have. As the majority seek careers they simply “thought” they like, at IMS, we support girls choose ‘who they are’ rather than who they think they are. Meaning, many times we think we want to be in a particular career path, never taking into consideration if this path matches with our strengths, our talents and skills we need to work on. During the program, girls understand step by step who they really are which make choosing the right career effective and successful.
Using the above information, but also more supportive ways, we introduce girls to the workplace by organizing field visits to different industries they are interested in. In this way, they can see a closer perspective of how their life would be – maybe sometimes, how they don’t want it to be. In addition, we bring experts and young professionals to share with the girls their different career paths and experiences. Finally, we study the job market in rural areas and identify each girl with the right job for her, which also helps her consider working in her village, by filling social, economic, agricultural etc, gaps.
In this way, we believe that girls get a chance to decide freely without pressure what they really want to do. We support their choices through mentoring sessions with young career coaches. In their final year, a follow up is offered to these girls to ensure they are taking the right choice.
Soft Skills:
IMS “soft skills” program is offered to grade 10 students. Girls are carefully chosen to participate in the 180 hours training program, receiving a certificate of completion at the end of the program. The aim of this platform is support girls to get ready for the career selection pathway in the following year (grade 11). Through the formal sessions (workshops, lectures, etc.), and informal sessions (mentoring sessions), we help them know better their personalities, temperament, natural talents and skills they would like to acquire in the future. Using active learning methods, educational games, workshops and quizzes, girls become more proactive and start acquiring good mini habits that help us together define ‘who they are’ and where they want to be in the future.
Examples of workshops we have already delivered:
Emotional Intelligence: “How to use your emotions wisely?”
Leadership skills: “How to become good leaders in your communities?”
The power of mini habits: “How can they change your lives and help your reach your goals?”
Alongside other workshops, trainings and activities, girls learn good study and reading skills, hospitality services, by taking part in cooking, housekeeping and restaurant courses. The objective of the Hospitality & Management short courses is assisting them to develop responsibility inside their households, by working in teams which strongly improve their team work skills.
Finally, IMS will continue to focus on Rural Tourism, combining Education (Career guidance & Soft skills),Hospitality & Management and social enterpreneurship as key areas of development.
