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JDC-ESHEL: Services for the Elderly
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Immigrant Integration
Israelis with Disabilities
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Israel Research Institutes

TEVET: Employment & Entrepreneurship

Need
For reasons both economic and cultural, an estimated 750,000 Israelis are chronically unemployed—a situation that threatens the stability of the nation and could consign a large segment of its population to poverty. Contributing to the employment challenge is the large number of immigrants for whom language and cultural differences are critical barriers to employment.

Response
JDC’s TEVET (Fighting Poverty Through Employment) Partnership with the Government of Israel was forged in 2006 to remove social barriers to employment and raise the level of marketable skills among Israel’s most vulnerable communities—new immigrants, the ultra-Orthodox, the disabled, young adults, and Israeli Arabs. Aiming to break the cycle of poverty through employment, TEVET provides a wide range of assistance, including:

• Professional development
• Microenterprise loans and mentoring
• Partnerships with business sectors to increase employment access

TEVET is putting all sectors of Israel’s citizenry to work.

Impact
More than 35,000 Israelis have benefited from the highly efficient TEVET Initiative, which is composed of a diverse array of projects targeting specific groups that are experiencing their own distinct employment challenges. The approach is yielding successes across the board:

• More than 5,000 Israelis, including many immigrants and minorities, benefit from either CityWorks, an urban-based community employment program, or Ma’avarim (Transitions), which operates employment centers in rural areas
• 450 hard-to-employ youth are served by the STRIVE job readiness program, with employment and retention rates above 85 percent; and 2,000 difficult-to-place young adults gain life skills training, vocational training, and job placement services through the network of Centers for Young Adults
• 200 experienced immigrants benefit from an employment program; 150 Ethiopian-Israelis receive language skills training through Open Door; and 200 mentally disabled Israelis benefit from needed support to enter the workforce
• 3,500 members of Israel’s ultra-Orthodox community receive help with their job search, interviewing, and placement process through Haredi Job Opportunity Centers (Mafteyach)