Infinity Labs, controlled by Matrix IT Ltd. (TASE:MTRX), is offering 100 employees laid off by Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE: TEVA; TASE: TEVA) a free seven-month training course for the high-tech industry. Infinity Labs has been conducting the course since 2014. It is mainly designed for university graduates in the technological professions having difficulty in finding jobs. Haim Geron and Steven Harari, who have been jointly training workers in high tech since 1996, founded Infinity Labs and are jointly managing it. The chairperson is Matrix IT COO Asaf Givati. Infinity Labs also recently hired several Haifa Chemicals workers who lost their jobs.
Infinity Labs' model is based on cooperation with companies seeking to recruit employees. The companies pay for the process, which focuses on providing specific qualifications required for each job or company. Participants in the program undertake to work at least two years in the company for which they are being trained. In an announcement of the opening of training for 100 former Teva employees found to be suitable, Infinity Labs promised that those finishing the course would have the same knowledge as graduates with degrees in the technological professions and two years of experience in the high-tech industry. The participants will gain experience by taking part in practical projects simultaneously with their theoretical studies, supervision by specialists, and independent study.
Last January, the government approved a "national plan for increasing trained personnel for the high-tech industry," which is designed to solve the anticipated shortage of 10,000 employees in the coming decade. Senior executives in high-tech companies have been saying for a long them that a lack of employees is hampering the industry's development, but it appears that the main challenge is the battle for "talents" - the top 10% of technology personnel. A survey conducted among 1,200 high-tech personnel showed that people past age 45 are fired more often than young people, and have more trouble finding work. There are several reasons for this situation. One is that they are not technologically up-to-date, a problem that a new refresher course designed for this group is supposed to alleviate. Another reason is burn-out and lack of motivation among experienced employees in the sector.
Published by Globes [online], Israel Business News - www.globes-online.com - on December 18, 2017
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