FAITHFUL TO BEN-GURION’S VISION:

Ronald Lauder’s employment center in the Negev Five years ago, the president of the World Jewish Congress established a professional placement center for thousands of young women and young people in Beersheba, which found work for 1,700 people. Now, it is

EVER

since David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister, announced his goal to make the Negev bloom, many have endorsed his vision, but few have actually attempted to turn his vision into reality. One of them is Ronald Lauder, businessman, philanthropist, and president of the World Zionist Congress and chairman of the board emeritus of Jewish National Fund-USA.

Thirty years ago, Lauder fell in love with the Negev, and since then has worked to promote the area’s economic and social development. In 2015, he established the Lauder Center for the Advancement of Employment in the Negev in the Old City of Beersheba, which promotes employment and is the central address for young people and families who have chosen to set up their homes in the country’s South. JNF-USA and Ben-Gurion University are the partners operating the center.

To date, the center has found employment for 1,700 young workers, and has provided professional employment counseling to 3,100 others.

“Ron Lauder carries the vision of Ben-Gurion, the ideal that the future of the state of Israel lies in the Negev. He believes that to realize this vision it is necessary to encourage young people who have skills in hi-tech and other progressive occupations to move there,” said Lauder Center chairman Avi Balshinkov.

“This is why Lauder created the Lauder Employment Center in Beersheba five years ago. The center aims to offer thousands of young men and women employment thanks to its relations with Ben-Gurion University and JNF-USA,” he noted.

As the center has good relations with some of the best employers in the region, it has been able to secure work for 1,700 young people and offer professional advice in job hunting to 3,100.

“The success of the Negev center lead us to the decision to set up a similar one in the Galilee. The future center will serve Jewish, Arab and Druze youngsters, assuring their future in the region will be secure and they will benefit it [thanks to their skills] as the Negev had been strengthened [by the center in the Negev],” Balshinkov added.

“Loyal to the vision expressed by Ben-Gurion and to the actions taken by the various administrations to improve the Negev and the Galilee, we push on. I am proud to be a partner to realize this vision as a representative of Mr. Lauder in Israel and as the head of the Lauder Employment Center. I am glad to say, in Mr. Lauder’s name, that he is currently placing the final touches to his Beersheba residence, which will be attached to the employment center.”

Moreover, “the vision behind the establishment of the center is to keep in Beersheba as many graduates of academic institutions as possible, among the thousands who graduate each year,” says Tamar Gil, vice president of the Lauder Center for Employment and deputy director of Eretz-Ir, a nonprofit that promotes urban communities in the Negev and Galilee, and operates the center on behalf of JNF-USA.

“One of the first things that we did, when we started out in 2015, was assess the local employment situation, in order to understand the needs of employers in the Negev who have been bemoaning the lack of available workers for years,” she reports. “At the same time, we investigated why many young people who completed their studies in academic institutions in Beersheba were looking for employment in the center of the country.”

Surprisingly, they found that there are 35 organizations that promote employment in the Negev, and each of them works with a different population.

“The problem was that these bodies did not work together,” Gil explains. “We decided to set up an employment organization forum, in which we brought all those organizations to sit around one table. At the first meeting, employment issues were raised that were resolved, thanks to cooperation between the various bodies.”

There was one major problem: employers prefer to hire experienced workers over those who have just received their academic degree. The “human capital” in the Negev is comprised mostly of young graduates of academic institutions who do not have work experience yet.

“Employers will not hire young people, because they have no experience, but they cannot gain experience, because no one wants to hire them,” Gil explains. “That’s how the Negev has lost many young people who moved to the center of the country, where they got their first job opportunity.”

In order to encourage employers to hire young people, an internship program for engineers was established.

“As part of the program, we subsidize the salary of an intern part-time during the summer months,” Gil explains. “Employers commit to providing a mentor for the intern in order to help him or her become part of the workforce. The interns gain practical

experience in the field so that potential employers can be suitably impressed with their abilities. Happily, the results have been amazing. Ninety percent of those who participated in the internship program have been offered full-time employment in the places where they performed their internships.”

One of the graduates of the internship program is Nora Adamov, 27, who is currently completing her studies in electrical engineering at the Technological College in Beersheba.

“During my internship with RoboTiCan, I worked for four months while I was studying,” she says. “I gained practical knowledge and experience in my field, and it was important that I find work in the field in which I had studied. After I completed my internship, the company offered me a job.”

“As a company based in the Negev, our policy is to support the region in terms of both employment opportunities and social involvement,” says Hagai Balshai, CEO of RoboTiCan Ltd., a company specializing in security and defense and R&D robotic platforms, and which employs dozens of workers. “We are involved in employee apprenticeship and mentoring programs to help employment in the area. The Lauder Center has helped create a win-win situation, both for young people seeking employment and for our company, which is looking for workers.”

The internship program is conducted in collaboration with academic institutions in the Negev.

“The goal is to create a bridge between the theory that is taught in academic institutions and the practical knowledge required to integrate into the working world,” says Pnina Avital, employment partnerships manager at the Lauder Center. “The program helps young people integrate into the working world in the best way possible. Employers who are seeking experienced workers know that these young people have gained practical experience that allows them to integrate immediately into the work environment. The worker receives practical training, learns what is required to do in the field, and at the same time integrates into the company’s corporate culture.”

Morphisec, Inc., which protects businesses from cyberattacks, also participates in the internship program. The company’s development center, located in Beersheba’s hi-tech park, has accepted several interns, who have joined the company’s 65 employees.

“When we find a trainee who has the qualities we look for in an employee, we bring him into the company,” says Tali Amar, the company’s human resources manager. “We benefit by adding an employee who has already gained hands-on experience, knows the people working in the organization and understands how we work.”

Over the years, employers in the Negev have learned that the Lauder Center is a source of potential employees.

“We receive inquiries from employers who are looking for workers, and we send these requests through multiple platforms,” says Avital. “We opened a number of WhatsApp groups, with each group focusing on specific areas. Many employers send their job listings directly there.”

The Lauder Center provides employers with a room where they can interview potential job applicants. This summer, a weeklong major employment fair will be held, in which employers from various fields will meet and conduct job interviews with students. Later, groups of students will visit large companies in the South.

“Our relationship with employers and the fact that we understand their needs help make the right connections with young people who are looking for work,” adds Avital.

In addition, the Lauder Center established a forum that connects dozens of human resource managers from various organizations in the Negev, which meets quarterly for an event that includes lectures and workshops.

“We assess their needs, outline solutions and provide tools to help make Negev companies attract more people,” says Avital.

“The sessions produce networking and collaborations. As managers of human resources departments, the opportunity to meet colleagues from different disciplines and share information with them is important for us,” says Amar.

An important aspect of promoting employment in the Negev is Ben-Gurion University, where some 20,000 students are enrolled. The Career Development Center was established in collaboration with the Lauder Center, with the goal of helping the university’s graduates not only find a job after completing their degree, but also remain in the Negev.

“It is important for the university to connect the world of academia to the job market,” says Meital Tzur, director of the center. “The connection with the Lauder Center was natural, to help students integrate into the workforce in the area within existing job opportunities.”

The center assists students to find employment in the subjects that they are studying.