Birth Olim has partnered with the Experts Academy high-tech training program to help Olim move to Israel from around the world and integrate into the Startup Nation ecosystem. Brightcode is a six-month course that teaches Jewish students from their homeland, ages 18-32, emphasizing the skills needed to become software engineers or full-stack developers. At the end of the month, they moved to Israel and were offered a two-year guaranteed job at an Israeli technology company.
“We understand that we have the largest database and trust of young Jews from around the world,” said Gidi Mark, CEO of Birthright. “We have been approached many times by Israel’s high-tech industry and the Israeli government … to see if it would be one of the tunnels through which young Jews experience Israel, not necessarily through the narrow pipeline that is Jewish, but rather through promotion. their own profession”
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Gidi Mark, Irit Ebershtark, and Alexander Nieto
(Photo: Erez Uzir/Adam Barak/Alejandro Nieto)
Traditionally, Birthright offers Jews from around the world a 10-day all-expenses-paid trip to Israel where young people can discover the nation and reconnect with their religious identity. Before the epidemic, it was responsible for about 50,000 visitors a year, and to date has received 800,000 people from 70 countries. It is a database of former participants who are eligible to participate in the program.
“We strive to focus on our mission to connect young Jews to Israel, to Israelis, and to strengthen their Jewish identity and connection to the Jewish community,” he continued. The first five months of the course consisted of eight hours of intensive classes five days a week, teaching a group of 22 students from around the world skills related to HTML, Python, CSS, and RECT, among others. The course is led by Roi Yehoshua, Ph.D., who has been associated with the Academy of Experts for many years and has dedicated himself full-time to the pilot program. Based on the east coast of the United States, it is the team’s responsibility to scan between 9am-5pm EST where he leads the episode.
Experts Academy VP Irit Ebershtark called the program “very difficult and very intensive” for the students, but promised that with hard work, the students will be successfully placed and remain at an Israeli tech company. While Startup Nation is currently facing an unprecedented layoff, there is a thirst for talent. “If you’re good, you’re good. If you have an analytical mind and good logic, you can do it,” she says.
One of the students, 31-year-old Alejandro Nieto from Buenos Aires, is currently participating in Birthcode and expects to be placed at a tech company in Israel this November. With a background in music, he is making a career change and hopes to make it as a full-stack developer in Israeli tech companies.
“I’ve been told by people who know the IT business that it’s not uncommon to find people who have a foot in both worlds,” he told CityTech. “It’s common for programmers or developers who play an instrument or recognize music… There’s a very similar methodological mindset in both and then it becomes very algorithmic.
Nieto participated in the Birthright program earlier this year and decided to apply to Brightcode after seeing a post on Instagram. He was one of 1,500 applicants and was selected after various cognitive tests to assess their analytical skills and interview skills to ensure the quality of their English.
Students spend five months studying the technical skills they need to work in Startup Nation before coming to Israel. The program does not educate the community on ecology or shed light on the country and culture where the students will live for two years. This means that students are expected to do their own research outside of study hours to better understand Startup Nation and get a better understanding of where they are. Students are expected to have some understanding of the country as they have previously been part of Taglit, and the final month is focused on the cultural impact of the movement.
“I hope I can make a good team away from home. I hope I can make good friends in good company… I know there are many options. I hope I feel at home in Israel,” Nieto said.
