A new program initiated by the Israel Innovation Authority will try to bring back Israeli hi-tech workers living abroad to fill thousands of available positions.
Israel’s hi-tech sector has long complained about the lack of available talent for science, development and technology positions. But the sector’s massive growth in recent months and years has exacerbated the situation.
There are not enough qualified people in the country to fill the 18,500 positions existing in the hi-tech sector, according to Yotam Tzuker of CQ Global, which will manage the program.
Meanwhile, the coronavirus pandemic has encouraged many Israelis to return home. An estimated 600,000 Israelis currently live abroad, 10,000 of whom have a technological background.
The new program, Back2Tech, opens on March 24 with an online meeting of Israeli hi-tech figures who will outline a variety of employment opportunities in companies and development centers operating in Israel. The goal of the program is to allow Israeli hi-tech workers and their families to return to Israel with a guaranteed job.
The program will create meetings between companies and candidates to ascertain mutual suitability that will guarantee employment and facilitate return to Israel. In some cases, accepted tech professionals will be able to start working remotely abroad and coordinate their return at a mutually suitable time.
In the past, the prevailing perception was that Israel’s tech sector was immature and could only develop small start-ups that would be sold to large global companies, Tzuker said.
Now, the story has changed, and Israeli entrepreneurs are turning start-ups into giant industry leaders worth billions of dollars, he said. Multinational corporate giants are also establishing development centers to create influential products for the global market, he added
The pandemic has taught us that Israel can be used as a base to conduct business worldwide, Tzuker said.
CQ Global was selected by the Innovation Authority to lead the program due to its experience in locating and recruiting candidates worldwide for Israeli companies. The company is active in 30 countries and is well acquainted with expatriate Israeli professionals.