Hebrew for Employment
Breaking down the barriers towards employment via occupational Hebrew courses in a variety of fields
According to the Jerusalem Institute for Policy and Research (2023), 60% of East Jerusalemite Palestinians are living in poverty. In addition, 53% of East Jerusalemite Palestinians do not participate in the workforce. 73% of East Jerusalemite Palestinian women are unemployed (versus 21% of men), citing the lack of Hebrew as one of the largest barriers they encounter in integrating into Jerusalem’s workforce.
Hebrew for Employment aims to provide a way to overcome the language barrier, and advance the integration of East Jerusalemite Palestinians into the workforce via Hebrew language courses adapted to a wide variety of fields. In this project, we work in collaboration with the Jerusalem Municipal Employment Authority and various organizations and employment programs, and offer occupational Hebrew courses to provide the language skills necessary to integrate into the Hebrew speaking workforce and advance professionally.
Hebrew for Employment in Numbers
31
Courses
300
Students
We have held courses in the following fields, and more:
Cleaning workers
We hold courses for members of the Cleaning Cooperative who seek Hebrew to get by in their work on a daily basis and advance in their field
Day care assistants
We hold courses for day care assistants via a Smart Start and Maon Shablul who need Hebrew for their work in Hebrew speaking day care centers
Young mothers
We hold courses together with Eshet Hayil, a program that works to integrate women, specifically mothers from more traditional backgrounds, into the workforce
Low income families
We hold courses with the Otzma project, which helps integrate low income families into the workforce to raise them out of poverty
At-risk young adults
We hold courses for at-risk young adults ages 18+ via Yated so that they have access to more opportunities and do not resort to living on the streets
Students
We hold courses for students of the Open University who require Hebrew to finish their degrees and to prevent dropout
Small business owners
We hold courses with Maof, a program that helps people open and advance their small businesses
Women
We run classes in local East Jerusalem community centers in order to provide women with the Hebrew language skills they need to navigate the public domain, access healthcare and other rights and resources, and integrate into the workforce
Engineers and computer science alumni of Palestinian universities
We run classes for alumni of engineering and computer science degrees from Palestinian universities to provide them the language skills to integrate into the Israeli high-tech sector
Hebrew for Employment Partners
