2021 Impact – Young Professionals Aliyah | The Jewish Agency - U.S.

YOUNG PROFESSIONALS ALIYAH

Known as the “start-up nation,” Israel’s job market is competitive and booming. In 2021, The Jewish Agency has prioritized encouraging more young professionals to make the move to Israel, particularly those who might be enticed by the job opportunities in high tech and medicine.

YOUNG PROFESSIONALS ALIYAH

Known as the “start-up nation,” Israel’s job market is competitive and booming. In 2021, The Jewish Agency has prioritized encouraging more young professionals to make the move to Israel, particularly those who might be enticed by the job opportunities in high tech and medicine.

Many of the doctors who come to Israel do so through Masa Doctors, a program by Masa Israel Journey (founded by The Jewish Agency and the Government of Israel), which helps hundreds of young Jewish doctors pass the Israeli medical licensing exam to live and work in Israel. To more rapidly integrate immigrant doctors into the medical field upon arriving in Israel, The Jewish Agency is developing a special program that will enable medical professionals to begin studying Hebrew while still living abroad.

 

Evgenii, 26, from St. Petersburg, Russia, had already been a surgeon in residency for three years in his native country. He came to Israel in October 2021 with Masa Doctors and is in the process of completing a medical exam before having surgical privileges in Israel. As part of the program, Evgenii lives in Be’er Sheva and attends Hebrew lessons daily, visits hospitals and hears from Russian-speaking doctors who teach him and his peers the differences between Israeli and Russian medical practices.

 

Evgenii (right) practicing medicine in Russia | Photo provided by Evgenii

 

“The best part of this whole adventure is getting to learn better medicine. Israel is one of the best countries for medicine in the world and by being here, I’m able to learn a lot and improve,” said Evgenii. “I’m gaining so much experience, and I’m really glad I’m here and took this step.”

 

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In 2021, more than half (55%) of the 28,601 olim (immigrants) who made Aliyah were under the age of 35.
Of those olim, who helped boost Israel’s economy, 1,100 are medical practitioners, 1,670 work in engineering, and 750 are educators.

Israel’s tech sector is also a major draw for young professionals, with Israel Tech Challenge (ITC) opening the door for talented professionals from Israel and abroad to develop their careers in technology. Established by The Jewish Agency and the Israeli National Cyber Bureau in 2013, and in cooperation with Masa Israel Journey, ITC offers participants both training and job placement in top tech companies in Israel.

 

With a bachelor’s in electrical engineering, David, from Munich, Germany, wanted a career in high tech in Israel. After discovering ITC, he enrolled in the program through Masa, getting the best of both programs as he got to participate in trips and other Masa activities while developing technical skills and networking extensively with ITC connections.

 

Inside a class at ITC | Photo provided by ITC

 

“After my first internship, I applied to and secured another internship at Waze, thanks to their partnership with ITC. Now I’m in the midst of the Aliyah process and have gotten so much crucial support,” shared David. “ITC is quite challenging and a big investment of time and effort, but you really get so much from it.”

 

“We work with over 300 high-tech companies,” said Shlomo Lifshitz, ITC’s director of registration. “We arrange for students to go to these companies for a period of five weeks to two months, to get hands-on experience by doing a project there and learning the inner workings. At least 50% of them get hired as employees following the project.”

Since its establishment in 2016, over 2,000 people have taken courses with ITC.

Ethiopian Aliyah         Ulpan Etzion

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