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The purpose of this paper is to analyse and explain the high rates of employability of one group of Middle East youth by focussing on liberal arts and soft skills education as an integral part of quality higher education.

This paper employs the survey research method using questionnaires, focus groups and interviews to understand the labour market dynamics in Lebanon and explore factors that correlate positively with gainful employment with a special focus on the graduates of an institution that emphasises the liberal arts and soft skills training.

The paper finds that quality higher education – particularly with a focus on soft skills and internships – boosts the potential of graduates to secure their first jobs after graduation.

Reliable data on higher education, employability and youth are scarce in Lebanon and the region. The paper is based on one labour market study in Lebanon while seeking to extrapolate to Lebanese youth as a whole as well as reflect on employability and youth in the Middle East region.

The paper demonstrates support for improving quality in higher education as well as making soft skills training and the liberal arts critical components for increased employability of youth in Lebanon and the Middle East.

The paper is innovative in its reliance on primary data from a labour market survey as such data are scarce in Lebanon. In addition, advocacy for soft skills training and the liberal arts in the midst of focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics and other professional education at the university level is rare in the Middle East.

The purpose of this paper is to examine differences in students' perceptions of quality and satisfaction with their educational experience among four types of higher educational models, American, French, Egyptian and Lebanese, in Lebanon.

A sample of over 200 students from each of the seven universities included in the research study were surveyed. Their perceptions were sought on a range of demonstrable performance outcomes. These outcomes include the observance of democratic practices, the effectiveness of the teaching/learning experiences, the quality of academic and non‐academic services, and relationships and destination upon graduation.

The findings indicate that universities adopting the American and French academic model, including the Lebanese university, tend to more readily involve students in institutional decision making at both the academic and non‐academic levels in comparison to the university following the Egyptian academic model encouraging democratic practice among youth. Despite the considerable differences among the various institutional types in the philosophy of education, the perceptions of the purposes of higher education and the pedagogical approaches they adopt, students generally expressed satisfaction in the quality of their university education.

With the continuous establishment of universities in Lebanon and the region following different academic models, the research findings may serve to inform policy makers and academic leaders of students' perceptions of quality and satisfaction.

No such comparative study has been conducted to determine the satisfaction of students with their overall higher education experience in Lebanon and the region.