IECD & Semeurs d’Avenir: Competency-Based Energy Efficiency and Construction Trades Curricula for Lebanon
Project: IECD & Semeurs d’Avenir, Vocational Curricula for Energy Efficiency and Construction Trades
Service: Consulting
Location: Lebanon (delivered through IECD’s accredited partner technical schools nationwide)
Client: IECD (Institut Européen de Coopération et de Développement) and its Lebanese operational partner, Semeurs d’Avenir (SDA)
Status: Completed
Building a capable energy-efficiency workforce takes more than transferring theory. Lebanon’s technicians need structured learning pathways that combine technical fundamentals, hands-on practice, workplace safety, and the ability to apply energy-efficiency principles on real installations. FREE energy partnered with IECD and its Lebanese operational partner, Semeurs d’Avenir, to design a set of nine competency-based vocational curricula strengthening Lebanon’s technical training system in energy efficiency and sustainable construction.
The work was delivered across two engagements. The first focused on integrating energy efficiency into three construction trades: thermal insulation (100 hours), openings and sealing (200 hours), and plastering and cladding (200 hours). These beginner-level programs paired classroom instruction with substantially longer practical components, so learners would understand both the energy-performance principles behind each intervention and the correct methods of on-site execution. FREE energy coordinated directly with IECD’s pedagogical experts to develop the technical content and exercises in line with the Competency-Based Approach.
The second engagement expanded the collaboration into six further technical specializations: Energy Audit Technician (70 to 100 hours), Electric Motor Control Technician (up to 100 hours), PV Maintenance Technician (100 to 150 hours), Home Automation Technician (up to 200 hours), Heating Efficiency (250 to 300 hours), and HVAC Efficiency (250 to 300 hours). Each curriculum was structured around the professional activities and competencies technicians actually need on the job, covering technical knowledge, installation and maintenance practices, energy-performance assessment, electrical and workplace safety, troubleshooting, documentation, and client communication.
FREE energy’s role was to design and validate the curricula, not to deliver the training itself. Beyond the classroom materials, FREE energy contributed to the technical component of the Training of Trainers, took part in evaluating prospective trainers, and provided follow-up support once the programs were rolled out. This ensured the final curricula were technically accurate, practical, and teachable in the hands of IECD’s accredited partner technical schools, which carry out the actual classroom delivery across Lebanon.
Together, the nine curricula span building-envelope efficiency, energy auditing, motor systems, solar PV maintenance, heating and HVAC efficiency, and smart controls, giving Lebanon’s vocational institutions a modern, market-aligned training toolkit. The collaboration demonstrates FREE energy’s ability to convert engineering knowledge into structured, implementation-ready educational content, helping IECD and Semeurs d’Avenir prepare a new generation of technicians capable of delivering safer, higher-quality, and more energy-efficient work across Lebanon’s buildings and technical sectors.
