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Israel: IT Workforce

This section considers education level of workforce, english fluency and source of high tech talent.

The essence of Israel's achievements in the high tech sector is the quality, energy and enterprise of its people. Twenty percent of the country's workforce are university graduates, the highest proportion in the world after the U.S., compared with 17% in Canada, 12% in Britain and 8% in Italy. Israel has the world's highest percentage of engineers (135 per 10,000 people compared to 85 per 10,000 in the U.S.) and, with 28,000 physicians, by far the highest number of medical doctors per capita in the world. In addition, Israeli academics publish more scientific papers in international journals (110 for every 10,000 persons) than any other country in the world.

Israel's highly educated workforce has been strengthened by more than one million new immigrants from the former Soviet Union over the past decade. These newcomers have an even more impressive educational profile than the average Israeli: 2.3% have second and third degrees compared to 1.2% of the general population. Russian immigrants are especially proficient in R&D disciplines such as advanced materials and new industrial processes which complement the country's traditional expertise in software, semiconductors, medical equipment, biotechnology, electronics and communications.

An important and unusual source of high tech talent comes from the Israel Defense Forces. The army serves as a nationwide screening program to identify the most promising and talented young people and puts them through rigorous training though elite programs in technology and other military functions. Participants gain an unparalleled education and also learn leadership and problem-solving skills and establish personal networks that often form the basis for later partnerships in industry [41].

The service sector remains the largest in terms of GDP and percentage of labor force it employs. In the late 1990s it contributed about 60 percent of GDP and employed 69 percent of Israel’s workforce. Mainly because of the continuing task of absorbing immigration, public services such as education, health, and welfare remain the primary service industries. Business and financial services, wholesale and retail trade, and transportation, storage, and communication services are also important [42].

The following is a comparison statistic published by NASSCOM (National Association of Software and Services Companies: the Indian chamber of commerce that serves as an interface to the Indian Software industry) [43]

Main Destinations for Offshoring IT Services (until March 2003)
Figures from Evalueserve research                                                                                                                                                                                 Not Available (NA)
Parameter India Canada Ireland Israel Philippines South Africa
IT export Industry size (US $, million) 8,955 3780 1920 900 640 96
Active export focused IT professionals 195,000 45000 21000 15000 20000 2000
IT employee cost (US$, per year) 5,000-12,000 36000 25,000-35,000 25000 7000 18000
Number of CMM level 5 certified companies 60 NA 0 0 NA NA
IT Labor Force Low cost, High quality High cost, High quality High cost, High quality High cost, High quality low cost, moderate quality moderate cost, moderate quality
Infrastructure Average Good Good Good Good Good
Main positives English language skills, highly qualified and abundant workforce, robust project management experience Near-shore, highly compatible cultures with UK and US Large development centers of tech companies like Microsoft, Dell, Significant offshoring precedent More shrink-wrapped software production good english skills and cultural compatibility with North America Language skills
Main negatives Ordinary infrastructure, some geo political risk High cost of employees High cost Regional unrest Low availability of Project Managers Nascent BPO industry, lack of precedent
Source: Evalueserve, NASSCOM



Labor force:  [40]
  
2.42 million (2005 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
 
agriculture, forestry, and fishing 2.6%, manufacturing 20.2%, construction 7.5%, commerce 12.8%, transport, storage, and communications 6.2%, finance and business 13.1%, personal and other services 6.4%, public services 31.2% (1996)
Unemployment rate:
  
8.9% (2005 est.)
Population below poverty line:
  21% (2005)


Main urban areas Acre, Haifa, Jerusalem
Ethnic groups Jewish 80.1% (Europe/America-born 32.1%, Israel-born 20.8%, Africa-born 14.6%, Asia-born 12.6%), non-Jewish 19.9% (mostly Arab) (1996 est.)
Languages spoken Hebrew (official), Arabic used officially for Arab minority, English most commonly used foreign language
Population age

0-14: 26.5% (male 851,415/female 812,095)
15-64: 63.7% (male 2,010,888/female 1,986,256)
65+: 9.8% (male 264,708/female 351,521)

 26.5 percent population 0-14  63.7 percent population 15-64  9.8 percent population 65+
  0-14 15-64 65+
Gender ratios

At birth: 1.05 m/f , 0-14: 1.05 m/f , 15-64: 1.01 m/f , 65+: 0.75 m/f
Total population: 0.99 m/f



The department of world Zionist organization offers Israel Professional Internship Program. The Israel Professional Internship Program is designed for those who either just want to get to know Israel or are considering aliyah (The Aliyah Movement is a branch of the Department of Immigration of and Absorption of the Jewish Agency with the purpose to bring Jews throughout the world closer to Israel ). It offers valuable unpaid work experiences in firms and institutions throughout Israel. Aliyah will continue to play a major role in Israel's workforce skills [44].




 

 
 
 
 
 
     

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