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Employment Initiative Nurtures Entrepreneurship Among Israelis with Disabilities
Admiel, 28, is a profoundly deaf young adult who communicates through sign language. Though he had succeeded in acquiring the skills to become a jewelry designer, his income potential was still limited, as he was reliant on receiving occasional work from others. Despite his talent and determination, Admiel lacked the training and resources to take his career to the next level.
As part of the Employment Initiative, established by JDC in partnership with the Government of Israel, Admiel together with 20 other deaf and hearing-impaired individuals participated in a Business Entrepreneurship Course in sign language run by the MATI Small Business Development Centers — the first of its kind. The Employment Initiative seeks to break the cycle of poverty that exists for Admiel and the nearly 750,000 "chronically unemployed" individuals in Israeli society by helping to address the cultural, social and other barriers faced by this population and by equipping them with both the soft and hard skills required to help them find and keep decent jobs. In particular, the Initiative is targeting five populations shown to have the greatest need for supported assistance in entering the workforce: immigrants, people with disabilities, Haredim, Arab-Israelis, and young adults. In the case of Admiel and his fellow course participants, the Employment Initiative helped to remove a traditional barrier to success and create new opportunities by providing an appropriate business training course for deaf and hearing-impaired individuals who until now have gone without. Although the course content was standard, the course format was entirely tailored to the needs of the participants. Course instructors, for the most part hearing individuals, underwent training in advance. Each spoken lecture was simultaneously translated into sign language and transcribed (and later sent to each student by e-mail). Thus all participants were able to benefit from 80 hours of entrepreneurial training — including developing a business concept, writing a business plan, an introduction to tax laws and marketing — along with 70 hours of one-on-one mentorship. For Admiel, the course was the perfect chance to develop the skills he needed to move from being an employee to his own boss. Armed with the skills, knowledge, and confidence gained in the course, he proceeded to open his own business — a combination hair salon and jewelry store in Kfar Saba. Today his business employs a [hearing] hair stylist — and plans to hire another employee soon. He is already successfully supporting himself through his business. "Without this specialized program, designed with great attention to the needs of the deaf and hearing impaired, I would have become frustrated and lost my motivation in jobs that did not allow me to fulfill my potential," explains Admiel. He would also have been reliant on disability payments to make ends meet — a disempowering and disheartening situation for such a capable young man. The Employment Initiative was able to help by increasing accessibility to a training course to ensure that participants’ disabilities were no longer a barrier to their career development. This was achieved by bringing together a broad range of organizations with the expertise to develop the program and recruit appropriate participants including MATI, the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Employment and Institute for the Advancement of the Deaf and the Israeli Deaf Association. Today, Admiel is one of 230,000 adults between the ages of 18-65 who receive disability payments and is among the 15% of this population who are currently employed. In collaboration with MATI and others, the Employment Initiative will offer people with all levels of disabilities access to training opportunities that maximize not only their ability to be employed, but their ability to become independent and self-sufficient. January 2006 |
