Economy Ministry to award scholarships to Beduin students

The program is designed to integrate students from the Beduin sector in the South into engineering colleges and increase their chances of finding jobs.

By ARIEL BEN SOLOMON
Updated: JULY 30, 2015 01:25
Aryeh Deri (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
Aryeh Deri
(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
The Economy Ministry announced Wednesday it is going to distribute full scholarships and a living stipend to Beduin engineering students.
“Integrating all sectors of Israeli society into the workforce – especially interested minorities and haredim – is a central goal of the Economy Ministry under my leadership,” Economy Minister and Shas chairman Arye Deri said.
“Technological training programs of the Economy Ministry, which provide professional training in fields required by the labor market, is a tool to reduce social inequalities, increase the necessary labor supply for industry, and strengthen economic growth. We will continue to expand programs to assist target populations,” he asserted.
The program is designed to integrate students from the Beduin sector in the South into engineering colleges and increase their chances of finding jobs.
The program was established by the government’s Institute of Technology and Science Training, with cooperation from the deputy director-general and head of employment at the Economy Ministry, as well as the ministry-backed Rayan Beduin employment center.
On Sunday, 170 students will take an admissions test for the program and around 80 to 100 students are expected to qualify to begin their studies.
The full scholarship is valued at NIS 15,000 a year. It includes a monthly living stipend of NIS 700-NIS 1,000.
In previous years, students of the program successfully found a variety of jobs in fields such as software engineering, architecture, medical equipment engineering, interior design and electrical engineering.