Arab-Israelis, ultra-Orthodox, Palestinians shape future of Israeli tech
Starving for experienced workers, Israeli authorities and high-tech companies are investing in training young Palestinians and young people from the Israeli-Arab sector and the ultra-Orthodox community.
Foreign Minister Yair Lapid is a great advocate of Israel’s high-tech industry. His goal is for 1 million nationals to be employed by this sector in the near future. He believes this can be achieved within the next three to five years. Lapid often argues that the high-tech industry could fund other parts of the Israeli economy as well, since high-tech offices need security services, restaurants, etc.
"We have only one place to go: a million high-tech Israelis. When we invest in traditional industries, the market that we're aiming for is 9 million people. When we're investing in the high-tech market, we're aiming for 7 billion consumers. That's the difference. One million Israelis in high tech is an achievable number. Already today, 10 to 11% of the [Israeli] labor market is in high tech. We need to double that number," Lapid said on Feb. 13.
Israel's high-tech sector experienced relatively rapid growth in the last decade, and its role in the overall economy has grown. The total number of people employed in high tech rose from 7.6% of all workers in 2010 to 10% in 2020. That year, the total number of people employed in high tech was 334,619. According to the Israel Innovation Authority’s report for 2021, they were responsible for 25% of all income tax receipts.
Nevertheless, despite the dizzying success of Israel’s high-tech industry, it is not all a bed of roses. A survey conducted by the Manufacturers Association and Deloitte found that there was actually an excess of “junior” employees in high tech. Most of the unfilled positions are limited to people with at least three years of experience. This caused the Manufacturers Association to announce at last month’s Eilat Conference for Industry and High-Tech 2022 that it was launching a new program to train some 5,000 new employees within three years, as well as plans to promote minorities, i.e., Palestinians and the ultra-Orthodox, in the high-tech industry. The idea is to train people with little high-tech experience to the level required in the industry.
