Abstract
In 2018, the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) supported the implementation of a one-year programme to improve access to employment opportunities for Lebanese and refugee graduates. The accelerated skills training programmes (ASTP) consisted of theoretical and practical courses and periods of paid internship within private companies, cooperatives and local public institutions. The multi-faceted crisis that Lebanon is currently experiencing (financial crisis, anti-government protest movement, the Beirut Port explosion in August 2020 and its repercussions, and the Covid-19 pandemic) makes the context exceptional. The results of the programme in terms of employment should be read bearing this context in mind.