“If Israel wants to grow and become a better nation, it must focus on including all sectors of society: secular, religious, ultra-Orthodox, Arab Israelis,” Schwartz said at CTech. told. “After all, we are all one nation sharing the same land.”
3 View gallery
Bushra Masreeb in Portland Israel (left) & Rami Schwartz
(Photo: Michal Hazan)
“When I was growing up, the only jobs allowed outside the home in a patriarchal Bedouin culture were teaching or maybe social worker. High tech was never considered and there was a hard glass ceiling. The women-only technology hub in Portland solves these problems for Bedouin and Druze women. I wish I had had that option when I was younger. There’s so much potential here.”
The Portland Trust (TPT) was founded in 2003 by Sir Ronald Cohen and Sir Harry Solomon. Its mission is to promote regional peace and stability through economic development. TPT Israel is focused on expanding economic opportunities for Arab, ultra-Orthodox and other marginalized communities.
Schwartz points out that Portland Trust Israel’s leadership team reflects the organization’s diversity. “Of our four partners, two are men and two are women. Two of them are Jewish, myself and Ainas Makhmurray Aharon, and two are Israeli Arabs, Nasreen and I. Dr. Haddad Haji Yahya and Ayman Saif.”
How many participants are there in your program?
Schwartz: “We already have over 220 graduates in core high-tech positions, and another 100 in various stages of training. Specifically, we currently have 110 Druze graduates. (90% women), 30 Bedouin women, 110 young Arabs (50% women), and 70 Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) men participating in various programs.
So far, hundreds of young people from the Druze, Bedouin, Arab-Israeli, and ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities have become DevOps engineers, backend and full-stack developers, automation QA engineers, manual QA testers, It fits well into a variety of professions, including data analyst. .
When the Portland Israel graduate asked Schwartz to name some of the tech companies he’s worked for, he rattled off a long list: Wix, Monday, Amdocs, Radcom, Vayyar, Personaletics, Dataloop, Finastra, Pagaya, Incredibuild. is mentioned.
3 View gallery
Portland Israel Women’s Technology Hub
(Photo: Michal Hazan)
How is Portland different from other organizations in Israel that support the high-tech development of Israel’s Arab and ultra-Orthodox population?
Schwartz: “That’s a great question. What the Portland efforts have in common is that they can reach talent who aren’t currently embedded in the high-tech industry and place them at large companies in the industry. Unlike other efforts, the Portland effort Israel’s goal is job integration, not vocational training.”
Schwartz: “Portland has created the infrastructure necessary to identify talent that would otherwise not have made it to Israel’s high-tech industry and to successfully integrate technical professionals from the social and geographic peripheries into Israel’s high-tech industry. We are committed to building. Candidates for our program undergo a very rigorous screening process and upon successful completion, graduates of our program receive training in professional and employability skills. They will be placed in the heart of Israel’s high-tech industry. Once they are employed, they will continue to be supported by the Portland Trust.”
The basis of the Portland-Israel model is the creation of remote technology hubs for people who, due to cultural or religious restrictions, are unable to work in mixed-gender environments at corporate headquarters. As a result, technology employers are adding workers to their teams that were previously inaccessible to employers.
of lotus The program operates out of the technology hub of the Druze town of Daliyat al-Carmel and offers a unique full-stack bootcamp program for young Druze women who want to build a career in technology and lead social change. I am. Similarly, Samanawhich runs a women-only technology hub for young Bedouin women in the village of Zarjil, offers an intensive four-month bootcamp to help participants with careers in QA and QA automation for ERP and CRM systems learn about technology. Helping you find your place in the world.
of portland Furusa (Arabic for “opportunity”) The program recruits talented computer science graduates from the Arab community, trains and prepares them for specific high-demand roles, and places them in desirable entry-level positions in Israel’s high-tech industry. To do. Beyond Dev, on the other hand, is a gateway program into the high-tech industry for highly talented and capable young Arab academics who do not necessarily have qualifications in computer science.
of portland Torah Vudat (“Torah and Knowledge”) program, which recruits ultra-Orthodox Jewish men who are often unable to integrate into high-quality employment because they lack the necessary qualifications, and is a highly prestigious program at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. We provide you with the tools and resources you need to earn a bachelor’s degree in computer science. He is one of the world’s top academic institutions and supports them through research.
Bushra Masreeb is CEO of Samana What makes Samana special?
“Samana “Our Sky” means “Our Sky” in Arabic, but for me it is more than just a name, it is the promise of a better life, where even the sky is not a limit. Samana aims to create quality employment opportunities for Bedouin women that are adapted to the cultural constraints of their communities. In order to comply with traditional restrictions, Samana goes beyond training and mentoring to create important employment opportunities and provide local facilities where women can build their careers. Samana Women’s Technology Hub in Zarjil provides women with a safe haven that takes into account their cultural requirements, while serving as a center of excellence in various technology fields. ”
Speaking of religious restrictions, Ramadan recently ended. How many people fasted at Zarjil Habu in Samana?
“All 14 of us!” Masreeb proudly declares. “It is also taken into account by the employer, in our case SolarEdge, which employs all Samana participants. Just one example: Women can feel safe and at the same time earn a good salary without compromising their traditional or religious lifestyle. It’s like WeWork in Tel Aviv, except it’s a Bedouin woman.”
One of the programs in Portland, Rami, trains ultra-Orthodox men. These same men do not serve in the IDF. Why does Portland Israel need to further his career?
Schwartz: “I’m very aware of that, but I’ll go back to what I said at the beginning. The only way to make Israel a better place is to be inclusive. Ultra-Orthodox and Israeli Arab and Druze people. The success of Portland’s program only furthers that goal. We currently have 70 men in our program, 11 of whom have been accepted into Hebrew University’s computer science program because of Portland. Our graduates are already working in high-tech fields. This is a big step in the right direction.”
Portland Israel claims to offer a local alternative to Israeli tech companies’ offshore solutions. How does it work?
Schwartz: “Israeli high-tech companies often hire junior employees who live abroad for positions, perhaps because it’s cheaper and more cost-effective. In Portland, we’re working hard to get the job done right here in Israel’s outskirts. Why give jobs in high-tech companies in Israel to people from Poland or Ukraine, where there are skilled and qualified candidates living in the country? Let’s protect Israeli jobs. And our graduates. They are loyal. They have a retention rate of over 90%. They do not bounce around from job to job. The government is also involved in providing incentives for employers to hire within Israel. “Portland is not taking jobs away from Israelis. We are protecting jobs for Israelis that would otherwise go to people overseas.”
3 View gallery
Portland Israel graduates integrate into high-tech companies
(Photo: Michal Hazan)
How did October 7th and the subsequent war affect Portland Israel?
“This war created a situation never seen before in Israel’s history,” Schwartz explains. “Hundreds of thousands of residents in the North and South no longer live in their homes. Since the war began, Portland Israel has begun working with government ministries, the Innovation Agency, and others to support these areas in the North and South. Note that I emphasize the word “residents”. This does not necessarily refer to the underprivileged people we normally work with, but to the Israeli population living in those areas. We are now in a critical situation. Portland Israel sees this great need as an opportunity.
“I’ll tell you something else,” Schwartz added. “As you know, on October 7th, many high-tech workers across Israel were called up to the army. So who showed up to take their place? Who needed to fill the gap? It was the Druze, Israeli Arabs, ultra-Orthodox workers who weren’t called up. In other words, our Portland Israeli graduates. They took on more shifts, took on more assignments, and were more active. I’m very involved and I’m doing whatever I need to do.”
The admission standards to Bushra, Samana are very high.
“Our participants had already proven themselves in academia, but just didn’t have the opportunity to break into high tech. Our participants were inspired by the role models of other women in their communities. As for our high standards, if we want to reach the sky (samanas), we have to start from high.”
