Vacancies aplenty but only if you can switch careers
V EMPLOYMENT CHARITY Resource is reporting a record success rate in helping Jewish community members back into the job market, with three-quarters of its 250 new clients in 2021 now in gainful employment.
However, chief executive Victoria Sterman believes that those still out of work are unwilling to consider switching careers to professions where there are plentiful vacancies.
“My personal view is that Jewish people tend to not want to work in the caring industry; they don’t want to be driving; they don’t want to be seen to have a very manual job.”
Clients were going into fields such as operations management, finance and insurance. “Lots have got jobs in Jewish charities, mostly not in caring roles, more in events and finance and fundraising.”
Carol Rosenberg, who compiles research analysis for Resource, pointed out that “compared with the population at large, the people who come here do tend to be more highly qualified overall.
“Around three out of four are educated at least to a first degree level or above so they are less likely to be looking to be HGV drivers.”
Brexit and the pandemic have meant that Resource is currently dealing with fewer Israelis and job seekers originally from EU.
And the greater opportunities for remote working since the outset of Covid may well have contributed to the increasing proportion of women on its books.
There is also a higher proportion of younger clients, reflecting that while “unemployment is lower than we expected, it’s difficult for young people”, Ms Sterman said. Some older people were departing the workforce as the Covid era had made them reconsider their priorities.
Among those found work last year, she cited the case of a 28-year-old who had left yeshivah without qualifications — “and Yiddish is his first language”. After his Resource adviser identified a talent for IT, he began online studies, leading to acceptance for a scheme as an apprentice cyber security analyst, in conjunction with the Open University.
And with the travel industry in turmoil at the height of the pandemic, Resource helped a 44-year-old pilot who had been made redundant into a captain’s role — “he had lots of specialist support”.
One benefit of the pandemic had been that with activities moved online, the North London-based charity is now supporting more clients outside the capital and has just started a small initiative with the Scottish Council for Jewish Communities (SCoJeC).
However, Ms Sterman has had her fill of Zoom and Teams and is keen for clients to once again meet their adviser in person.
To this end, Resource will be revamping its Finchley base to create “a more welcoming and sociable space”.
It will also be responding to the changing demands of employers and job seekers by increasing its social media presence — Ms Sterman notes that TikTok CVs are gaining in popularity.
Although its focus remains primarily on those out of work, another new service is for the “unhappily employed”, geared to helping people with significant workplace problems. “It may have come to a point where the job is making them ill.”
The goal was to find ways to make them happier within their place of employment.
“We shouldn’t be telling them to leave a job — you’re in a stronger position in work.”
They are more highly qualified and so less likely to be looking to be HGV drivers