JobKatif – Achotenu
La’Ofek — Hope for the Future empowers individuals from Israel’s vulnerable sectors to successfully integrate into the workplace, enjoy greater financial stability and build stronger families and communities. Its multi-varied programs are grounded in three pillars: guiding towards strong academic tracks and building strong skill sets, individual mentoring and financial assistance. Since its founding in 2006 these pillars have proven their success with 2,900 unemployed individuals achieving financial security, plus over 3,000 socio-economically distressed soldiers, and Ethiopian-Israeli young adults paving a stable financial future.
La’Ofek (formerly JobKatif) was launched in response to the 85% unemployment rate among Gush Katif evacuees. For overturning this rate to 88% employed, our Founder and Chair, Rav Yosef Zvi Rimon, received the Presidential Award for Volunteerism in 2008.
La’Ofek’s multi-varied programs include:
Achotenu: A revolutionary academic nurses training program for Ethiopian-Israel young adults. The five-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing program at the Hebrew University’s Henrietta Szold School of Nursing is accepting its fifth cohort of nursing students. Students are accepted based on culturally sensitive acceptance criteria, and are proving their worth. Achotenu was launched in 2016 as a joint project with Hadassah Women’s Zionist Organization of America, the Government of Israel, and La’Ofek.
Ta’asuchayil: An employment-focused program serving impoverished IDF soldiers with the overarching goal to ensure that these young men and women finish their military service with pride and begin their career paths. Ta’asuchayil’s partnerships with the IDF, Shalem and hundreds of businesses have assisted thousands of soldiers to secure employment.
Post-Corona Employment Program: The massive unemployment crisis has most severely effected at risk young adults and individuals over the age of 40. To provide promising employment opportunities, La’Ofek launched this new initiative. Partnering with the Pilat Institute and the Joint Distribution Committee, the program’s uniqueness lies in the seamless contiguity from employment assessment and evaluation, individual mentoring, academic studies, and upskilling training courses to employment.
Nachshonim: Nachshonim enables young adults from vulnerable sectors to be the first in their family to gain an academic degree in professions that offer potential for satisfactory employment and financial growth. Candidates are currently being assessed for acceptance into the Hebrew University’s School of Occupational Therapy.
