This report has been produced at a turning point in Lebanon's political history. There is some hope that long-awaited changes will happen this time, including the reforms proposed in this report, to make the most of the human capital potential of the country.

In the complex Lebanese governance setting, reforms have always been difficult to achieve and fragmented. One example of this disjointed approach is the running of pilot schemes that never lead to real reforms. Instead of fostering this silo mentality, what is needed is comprehensive reform bringing together policy, actions and monitoring and evaluation. This is universally true but nowhere more so than in the context of human capital development.

The policy recommendations identified in Chapter 3 propose possible steps to escape from this vicious cycle and link efforts to move forward to foster human capital development and its contribution to national social inclusiveness, economic prosperity and innovation.

More specifically, the reform of skills development needs to start with a more open, shared and multilevel governance structure that actively involves social partners and other actors in the design and implementation of skills policy priorities.

To this end, the government needs to demonstrate its commitment to the reform process by allocating sufficient resources to it and sending a clear public signal that it is serious about change. In parallel, the private sector needs to make a greater effort to cooperate with government. Otherwise, the mistrust between government and the private sector will remain and the reforms won't take root. While the employer organisations should review their role and level of engagement in the VET policy process, it is the job of the government to break this vicious cycle.