Israel subsidizes dozens of programs to help train skilled workers for high-tech industries amid a shortage of technical experts. Today, the Israel Innovation Authority (IIA) is working to attract skilled tech talent from abroad and train new immigrants already in the country, even as the country’s high-tech industry faces a wave of layoffs. We are embarking on another initiative.
Under this initiative, the IIA will fund the professional training of 2,550 people over the next two years, with a focus on areas such as bio-convergence, medical big data and food technology, to bring skilled workers to the local high-tech industry. to deploy public capital.
The IIA, which is responsible for developing Israel’s technology policy and fostering the technology ecosystem, selected 15 training and placement schemes in November. These schemes will receive $17.6 million ($5.12 million) in government funding out of a total NIS of $36 million (approximately $10.5 million). ) budget for the initiative. The rest will come from private sources.
“Our latest initiative is for Israeli expats who live abroad and we want to attract them back to Israel … for new immigrants. [and those] Etay Levanon, Head of High Tech Human Capital at The IIA, told The Times of Israel: “We know we are short on human capital, but we have no hesitation in making long-term investments.”
Lebanon said the IIA is working with the Ministry of Immigration and Absorption to attract highly skilled human capital from abroad, including Russia and Ukraine, to Israel and integrate it into Israel’s technology industry.
Foreign skilled workers who are not of Jewish descent or who do not fall within the definition of the Repatriation Act must obtain a work permit to allow them to stay in Israel for an extended period of time. For a variety of reasons, these visas can be difficult to obtain, making it difficult for companies to recruit technical talent from abroad.
Israel has a vibrant technology industry that powers a respected high-tech sector that accounts for about 15% of the country’s economic activity. At the same time, the high-tech nation suffers from a severe shortage of skilled technical workers, leaving tens of thousands of job vacancies short. The tech job market suffers from a lack of diversity and a severe talent shortage.
Etay Levanon, Head of High Tech Human Capital at the Israel Innovation Agency, said: (Courtesy/Hanna Teib)
Lebanon said the IIA’s initiative, which aims to bring in workers from abroad and integrate Israel’s underrepresented communities, including ultra-Orthodox and Arab professionals, will help create diversity in the tech sector. He explained that it was intended
“Possibility of human resources presented by olim [new immigrants], those entitled under the Law of Return, and Israeli citizens who have returned from living abroad are a significant number,” said Dror Bin, CEO of The IIA. “The aim of the selected schemes targeting this focus is to facilitate the integration of talented and experienced Olims, persons entitled under the Law of Return, and Israeli citizens returning to the Israeli technology industry from living abroad. To maintain our international position as a leading global hub for innovation.”
According to the latest Human Capital in Tech 2021-2022 report by the Start-Up Nation Policy Institute and the Israel Innovation Authority (IIA), there are approximately 32,900 vacancies in Israel, 21,000 of which are in tech positions.
The Israeli government has tried in recent years to address the shortage and lack of diversity in the sector by promoting various programs and initiatives focused on integrating members of the underrepresented community into the industry. did. Dubbed the “Human Capital Fund Program,” his IIA has led to what he calls an “innovative and breakthrough model” that will lead to more specialized training, retraining as needed, and placement of candidates in technical positions. We allocate up to 70% of funds.
“The technology industry is the growth engine of the Israeli economy, even in slowdowns,” Bin said. “The aim of the scheme selected by the Commission is to make the world of technology more accessible to thousands of additional employees from different populations, supported by targeted, innovative and high-quality training. is.”
Initech Software Services Ltd. is one of the companies selected for the latest initiative. The initiative will train dozens of new immigrants from Ukraine and Russia for research and development jobs in biotechnology and medical technology.
Gvahim CEO Juan Taifeld speaks to graduates of TheNest Incubator Program to help Olim set up a business in Israel. July 23, 2018 (Gvahim)
Another institution is AYYT – Data Updates and Technological Applications Ltd. at HIT Holon College. It runs a new scheme to train his 50 candidates with a bachelor’s degree in life sciences for positions such as medical data analysts in the medical technology and digital medicine fields.
A community interest group, the 8400 Health Network, is developing a combined hands-on and mentoring training scheme for senior executives in the tech industry to provide them with the tools to launch a startup or advance to management positions in bioconvergence. provide funding for and the health tech sector. The network group also trains technical engineers and assists in their integration into the bio-convergence industry.
BioForum Applied Knowledge Center Ltd., a biomedical training company, implements a plan to train dozens of life science college graduates for food tech jobs.
Gvahim, a non-profit organization, will receive grants to run a scheme to identify, train and help 400 new immigrants with educational qualifications find jobs in the tech industry.
“The development and adaptation of our technology platform and purpose-built training, including groundbreaking areas such as bioconvergence, medical big data and food technology, will prepare Israel for the evolving needs of the industry’s most innovative sectors.” said Bing.
