More than 1,000 young professionals from the Arab community attended the Tsofen-Tashbik 2024 Annual Career Fair.
As part of their ongoing efforts to integrate more Arab engineers into Israel’s tech industry, Tsofen-Tashbik, a Jewish-Arab non-profit organization, hosted the Annual Career Fair in Haifa on May 23. Tsofen-Tashbik has been organizing career events since 2015. These events provide young Arab professionals opportunities to network and engage with industry leaders, gain valuable insights, and explore potential job prospects.
More than 1,000 young professionals from the Arab community attended the fair to meet and network with representatives from 22 prominent hi-tech companies. The event provided a ray of hope for young Arab professionals seeking employment in the tech sector. The event reflected the growing aspirations of educated young Arabs in tech sector employment. With the economic downturn, layoffs in tech amid the war, and heightened tensions between Jews and Arabs in Israel, many Arab tech professionals fear that it will be even more difficult to find relevant employment. In addition, organizations like Tsofen-Tashbik, working to narrow gaps in hi-tech employment, are concerned that the economic downturn will spur the government not to renew tenders for integration of Arab citizens into hi-tech.
As it is, Arab citizens make up less than 5% of the professional tech labor force in Israel, much less than their portion of the population. Many job seekers attending were either new to the market or workers who were laid off last year. Almost one hundred found jobs at the fair, and numerous companies collected CVs of talented individuals for future hires, reinforcing the industry’s commitment to ensure its doors are open to talent from Arab society.
In June, Tsofen-Tashbik also held the Annual Mentoring Program Event in Nazareth. The annual mentoring program in Nazareth pairs 300 mentors and mentees, matching students and graduates from Arab society with senior engineers from both Jewish and Arab communities. This year-long program includes both personal and group meetings, fostering valuable connections and promoting professional growth. Despite the challenges in finding mentors, 30 companies participated in the event, providing mentors from:
Intel, BMC Software, Simploud, Viaccess Orca, Meddev, Amdocs, Nvidia, 123Completed, Driivz, Windward, Taboola, Starkware, Claroty Ltd., Mobileye, Dell Technology, Haat, Tufin, Biosense Webster, Check Point Ltd, Galil Software, Renal Innovation Ltd, DEAN Intelligence, IBM, Qualcomm, GE HealthCare, Nilit Ltd, Salesforce, Imperva, Semiconductors Industry, Apple, Amazon, and Housetable.
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Do you need support integrating these resources and issues into your philanthropic, communal, or Israel education work? Reach out for consultations, connections to experts, program support, training, or to plan your next event or mission. If you’ve used our resources, tell us about your experience!
