Program 45 for Training and Placement in Hi-Tech

A High-tech School / Innovation Authority track

In the beginning of October, we received a publication by the Israel Innovation Authority about the Emergency Incentive Program for Swift Training and Placement of workers in high-demand technology professions in all fields of industry. We understood from the very beginning that we didn’t have a lot of time to submit our proposal, about a month. At this stage, we didn’t realize how much effort it would take.

The essence of the track is an important initiative for the State of Israel, through the Innovation Authority, with the goal of significantly increasing the number of employees in technology professions in Israel through swift training and placement programs, providing a solution for a large number of people seeking employment in R&D positions such as Software Engineer, Algorithm Programmer and R&D supportive positions such as QA Automation, DevOps, and more.

The track would be accessed through organizations that know how to carry out rapid training for various professions in high-tech, and have a placement system with proven abilities, and can directly assist students join the labor market at the end of their training.

At Kinneret Academic College, at this point, these types of programs did not exist, but the potential was already present in the Department of Software Engineering, the Diploma Studies Department, and the Kinneret Innovation Center. All we were required to do was link them together along with a significant reinforcement contributor, AllJobs.

We recognized the enormous need to expand employment opportunities in our area and develop high-tech jobs. Led by Mr. Amir Navon, Director of Human Resources and the School of External Studies, Dr. Yael Dubinsky, Head of the Department of Software Engineering, Ms. Deganit Laish, Head of External Studies, and with the coordination of Zohar Gal-Eitan, we sent in the application at the end of November, and about a month later we were very excited to receive an affirmative answer. Out of hundreds of submissions from all over the country, 47 organizations won and we are among them, the only academic institution out of many who applied.

We regard admission into the Innovation Authority track an important component for establishing the high-tech school.

Of the four courses we submitted to the track, we won two, QA Automation and Project & Agile Management. At the core of each course, professional and theoretical learning will be taught by industry-experienced experts as well as soft skills workshops such as innovation and entrepreneurship through the Kinneret Innovation Center for Entrepreneurship (KIC).

After the process of building the courses and recruiting lecturers for each field, led by Dr. Yael Dubinsky, we are now advertising the department for part-time studies with the help of AllJobs. We are working to communicate with those interested, and to register the suitable number students for each track.

At the same time, we look forward to developing additional courses in the High-tech School, with the aim of maintaining a format for training and placement, and to continue with the productive collaboration with AllJobs.

During the month of April, the first two courses opened. More than forty students began studying at the Kinneret High-Tech School.

Thank you to all who engaged in and invested their time diligently into submitting the application that led to ours being approved, and for establishing the High-tech school that will form the basis for future activities related to hi-tech at the college.