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"Income with Respect" Program Opens Doors for Ultra-Orthodox
Tzviel, a Haredi (Ultra-Orthodox) father of eight, found it very difficult to support his family while devoting his time to Jewish learning. Like so many other Haredi men, he was not part of Israel’s workforce; he had to rely on his rabbinical stipend, his wife’s low-paying job, and welfare support to provide for his large family.
Before the Employment Initiative — a partnership between JDC and the Government of Israel — Tzviel’s prospects of finding work in Israel’s largely secular workforce were very low due to his insufficient credentials, a lack of experience and training opportunities in his community, and employers’ general wariness of hiring Haredim. Now Tzviel has been able to learn a profession that is both accepted by and in growing demand in his community, and thus promises gainful employment for him and income for his family. Haredim are one of the target populations of the Employment Initiative, which seeks to break the cycle of poverty that exists for nearly 750,000 "chronically unemployed" individuals in Israeli society by helping to address the cultural, social and other barriers that they face to employment. Through the Initiative, custom-tailored programs are being designed to provide Haredim and four other target populations shown to have the greatest need for supported assistance in entering the workforce — immigrants, people with disabilities, Arab-Israelis, and young adults — with both the soft and hard skills required to help them find and keep decent jobs. Given his dire economic situation, Tzviel was recruited to participate in the Employment Initiative’s Parnasa B’Chavod (Income with Respect) program, which offers vocational training to Haredi adults. The program trains participants in vocations that maximize their abilities, such as computer related work, and represents niche areas of the market in which there is a demand for skilled employees. Access to training opportunities is increased by carrying out courses in an appropriate environment for the Haredi community — for example, genders are separated, and financial assistance is provided to help participants support their families as they complete their training in the minimum time possible. Through Parnasa B’Chavod, Tzviel is receiving highly subsidized training to become a certified hydrotherapist. A relatively new medical healing and rehabilitation field in Israel, there are currently fewer than ten Haredi men trained as therapists, which crucially limits the therapy’s accessibility to male Haredi patients. "I am learning a skill that will be very marketable and will help both my family and my community, which is important," offers Tzviel. And with care centers now seeking to attract new patients from the Ultra-Orthodox sector, it is anticipated that he will easily find employment once he is fully qualified. "Tzviel’s new vocation will bring his family the financial stability they crave and the Initiative’s Haredi staff will seek to allay any concerns he may have about working in a secular environment," explains one of the program coordinators. The staff will also assist any prospective employer in creating conditions that will aid Tzviel’s integration into the workplace. This culturally sensitive approach — providing employment programs that meet the unique cultural, economic and religious needs of the Haredi community — strives to bring Haredim like Tzviel out of the cycle of poverty, facilitating their entry into the work place. Furthermore, outreach efforts made by program staff to prospective employers help overcome other barriers to employment such as cultural prejudice. Tzviel is one of some 40,000 Haredi men in Israel who are not currently part of the workforce in Israel. Parnasa B'Chavod training courses will be reaching over 550 Haredi adults by the end of 2006. Complementary to these courses, the program will also open four Job Opportunity Centers in the coming year. As the program brings wider access to employment opportunities for Haredi adults in Israel, it is moving towards its long-term goal of helping members of the Haredi community to increase their income potential and ultimately to become self-sufficient members of Israeli society. May 2006 |
