The Economic Society for Haifa in cooperation with the Municipality of Haifa, Phillips, the Haifa-Boston Partnership, an organization by myself and other partners initiated a program for occupational succession for evacuees in Haifa, which starts these days!
The Haifa Boston partnership raised a donation of about one million NIS for the project
The Haifa Economic Company, together with the Haifa Boston CJP partnership, initiated a dedicated program to maintain employment continuity for the evacuees staying in the city. The program is in cooperation and led by the former president of Phillips, Efrat Shafer, together with the Bezami organization, the Haifa Municipality's welfare system, the Haifa Municipality's Opportunity Center and the North District Employment Service.
According to Or Shaf, CEO of the Economic Society for Haifa:
The issue of employment remains the main unanswered issue for the evacuees, after the needs of the children in the educational frameworks and the welfare issues were taken care of by the Haifa municipality, a vacuum was created that needs to be addressed. Mainly in order to create for them an essence and a real reason to get up in the morning.
At the beginning of the war, about 6000 evacuees arrived in Haifa, mainly from Kiryat Shmona, Shlomi, Kibbutz Dan and Otef Darom. Today there are about 2500 evacuees from the north whose length of stay in the city is unknown and at this point no change is expected.
Efrat Shafer explains:
To encourage participation in the program, we made it our goal not to harm the grants given to evacuees while introducing them to the employment system. Therefore, building the employment model was challenging. We tried to build together a move that would allow, as much as possible, a return to a normal life. Places of employment that will suit the needs and requirements of the evacuees, a job of 50% or more and a response to needs such as resilience and the acquisition of skills.
The purpose of the program
The purpose of the program is to find solutions to maintain employment continuity for approximately 250 evacuees (in the first phase), who are staying in the hotels in the city, as well as to create a Haifa pilot, which can be replicated throughout the country.
The main challenges faced by the evacuees are a sense of isolation and the lack of routine when the support systems they are familiar with such as communities, workplaces and the local education system do not work, the evacuees experience emotional stress, uncertainty about the future, and fear of economic dependence, what the future holds and the lack of control over basic things such as housing, education, and income. In addition to the challenges experienced by the entire population in Israel during the war.
Chairman of the Economic Society for Haifa, Rani Bender Messer:
I welcome this important initiative, for the evacuees staying in the city. As a company that believes in business in Haifa, it is very important to take care of both businesses, and no less to take care of the community staying in the city from an employment point of view, in the challenging times we are in. The Economic Society for Haifa will continue to initiate horizontal projects and bring to one table significant factors to drive business processes in Haifa.
The employment model
The employment model was built voluntarily by a group of lawyers specializing in labor law together with the legal department of the Philips company. The compensation for the employment of the evacuees will be financed by a generous donation from the Haifa-Boston Partnership, which will contribute approximately one million NIS for the project in the first stage.
An organization myself together with an opportunity center will lead the work with the evacuees. The process will include building a personal plan for each participant in the program, accompanying and training. The placement will be an internship for three months in which the employer receives an employee free of charge, and the employee receives 5000 NIS.
The pilot company is Philips which has already offered a number of jobs in various fields such as: development, maintenance and security.
Hila Perlman, CEO of Haifa Boston Partnership:
Since 7.10 we have been working with many partners in Israel and in Haifa to help the Israeli society and respond to the tremendous needs that arise frequently. The Jewish Federation of Boston along with JFNA supported significant organizations and projects for aid to affected communities, emergency assessments, and for hospitals, and the reconstruction of the South. From the moment the economic company approached us to join this significant project, we knew it was one of the cornerstones of taking care of the evacuees in our city, and we worked to bring the resources to realize the project. The uniqueness of the project stems from the package of services that includes individual escort, babysitting for children or transportation to the workplace, in order to break any barrier in building a routine.
The model sounds interesting, how do you reach the job seekers and who are the contacts?
Beiti and her family were evacuated from the far north, have been living with me in Haifa since October 7.10
The husband has been recruited in the north for about 5 months.
There is no prospect of a return for them.
Who can be contacted regarding framework issues for the pre-school of the son? And of course how to establish contact with the service providers in the business as described in the article.
Thanks
And what will they do with the money? PR and advertising for themselves?