The National Insurance Campaign for Required Work (Photo: National Insurance Spokesperson)
Tens of thousands of soldiers begin an independent civilian life upon their release from the IDF. But the crossroads at which they stand offers them not only laziness but also confusion, especially in regards to the labor market.
One of the first rights they are given immediately upon release from service in the IDF is The preferred job' means a one-time grant for work in a required branch (under the responsibility of the National Insurance Institute).
In light of the changes experienced by the employment market in recent years, especially in the shadow of the corona epidemic, we set out to check what has changed in this matter: what are the 'required' industries, how long do you have to work to be eligible for a grant, how long is the right to exercise?
And what about the total amount of the grant?
A creative campaign by the National Insurance on this very matter, designed to increase awareness and interest around the issue and indeed succeeded in catching our eyes as well, raised the questions: Has the "preferred job" become more attractive over the years?
What percentage of those 60,000 veterans actually exercise their right to the grant?
And what causes others and many to give up the right?
The "work grant" campaign of the National Insurance for veterans (photo: National Insurance spokesperson)
What is a 'required work grant' anyway?
According to the National Insurance Law, this is a one-time grant of approximately NIS 9,950 (as of January 1, 2022) for soldiers released from mandatory service, who worked full-time (8 hours a day) and for at least 6 full months, in required work (except for clerkships), in the following areas: gas stations, construction sites, hotels, agricultural growing sites and packing houses, industrial plants and workshops and nursing homes.
The grant will also be paid to those who have completed national service or civilian national service who have completed 24 months of service.
as well as for national-civil service finishers who got married during the service period - provided they served at least 6 months and got married within 30 days from the day the service stopped.
The right to exercise is reserved for those young people for a period of two years from the day of release.
Following the corona crisis, the National Insurance Law was amended so that all those who were released in 2019-2020 could complete their work period up to 3 years after the end of the service.
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Work at agricultural growing sites (including medical cannabis) and packing houses
Preferred job for veterans - National Insurance (official website of the National Insurance)
Examples of recognized required work
Industrial plants and workshops
: non-professional jobs in the construction, food and textile industries and other industries such as car garages, high-tech factories, printing houses, infrastructure works at Mekorot, work at electrical company facilities, tailoring and more.
Gas stations
: car washes, car repair, gas stations and fuel tanker drivers.
Construction sites
: landscaping, connecting new buildings to infrastructure, communication and electricity networks, earthworks, paving and painting roads, placing light poles, measuring works, quality control on behalf of the Standards Institute, polishing and pest control, renovation of existing houses.
Hotels
: with the exception of clerical work, for example: waiters, chambermaids, cooks, washing dishes, cleaning work, entertainment staff, bell boys, pool workers, security guards.
Recently there has been an interest in working on passenger ships, which is also considered required work (see video below).
Agricultural breeding sites and packinghouses:
Cleaning work, nurseries for growing plants, yes, also medical cannabis farming, KKL forests, greenhouses, a farm for raising animals, pest control, security and guarding. In this area, you can also receive a partial grant of NIS 6,481 for 4 full months of work (100 working days at least).
Care and nursing
: About a quarter of a million disabled people live in the country, not necessarily physically disabled but those who need support and care. Such recognized work is assisting people with disabilities (nursing) and personal care for people with disabilities staying in an institution.
Jobs in hotels and passenger ships
Preferred job for veterans - National Insurance (official website of the National Insurance)
What's new for example?
In addition to working in the vineyard where you can wander among the vines and finally understand the difference between Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, you can either relax on a passenger ship, serve cocktails to those wading in the pool and join train dances, you can also work in the natural gas field and join a family team in the heart of the sea.
Let's dwell for a moment on this developing field that was once inaccessible and is now recognized as part of the required work.
The gas rigs are among the most complex and expensive engineering projects established in the State of Israel.
They are both a home and a workplace for dozens of professionals, who are responsible for their proper and safe operation and the ongoing supply of energy to the State of Israel and the neighboring countries.
The teams at Asda work and live as one big family.
The work on the rig is carried out at sea in shifts around the clock, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
The Israeli crews on the rig alternate between them, two weeks of work on the rig and two weeks off, allowing for the storage of strength, rest, recreation and family time.
Getting to and from the rig is via a dedicated ship or helicopter.
The new fields that are offered to veterans give them everything they are looking to achieve at work: the one-time experience, the connection to the team, familiarity with leading fields that are even considered prestigious and even a sense of freedom/vacation.
So why is the percentage of realization of the right to the grant still low?
Jobs in industrial plants and workshops
Preferred job for veterans - National Insurance (from the official website of the National Insurance)
Why do only 20% exercise their right to the grant?
Today, approximately 12,000 veterans exercise their right to a grant and apply for required work.
Not a bad percentage in principle (about 20%) but still in need of improvement, if this is a right that is in the best interests of the citizens of the State of Israel, why does a very high percentage (about 80%) choose not to exercise it?
The reasons why we were able to come up with these are:
There is no guiding hand
- no party ever talked to the poet soldiers about their right to a job grant and they had to find out on their own with a bureaucratic party known for heavy, unpleasant, slow and cumbersome customer service.
Employee expectations
- today's young crowd is looking for, beyond the financial reward, also a calm mind, experience, uniqueness and added value in the work they choose for themselves and all these, the occupations recognized as 'required work' have not offered until now.
financial reward
- The minimum wage that is usually offered in jobs of the type indicated above.
In janitor jobs, for example, they will be awarded 2 or even 3 times higher wages in a shorter time and without obligation.
Need for commitment
- the commitment to long-term work (relatively speaking).
The amount of the grant
- it turns out that it is not attractive enough, it is possible and expected to increase the amount of the grant to such that it will further encourage motivation.
If we divide the grant amount of NIS 9,950 by 6 months of work, we will understand that above the minimum wage (NIS 29.12) that the discharged soldiers will earn in required work, an additional 9 NIS will be added to them for each hour of work, that is, about 38 NIS per hour in total (including the grant ), an amount they can get more easily, in temporary jobs such as waitresses, babysitters and the like.
National insurance - how many worked each year according to branches (photo: Dovrot)
"Substantial change in the last 5 years"
The effort of the National Insurance Institute is indeed evident: for the first time ever, the (somewhat dormant, it should be noted) issue is being brought to public awareness with a creative campaign that specifically addresses these young people and speaks to them (not to them or to their parents.
The "Job Grant" campaign was launched at the beginning of this month (November 2022 ) in the various media, whether in outdoor signage in front of the various IDF bases and whether in the digital media, including YouTube, Tiktok, and Telegram, and indeed he did his job.
Michaela Cohen, spokesperson for the National Insurance and Senior Division Director - Spokespersons, Outreach and External Relations
: "In the last 5 years, The National Insurance is a fundamental change in the accessibility of information, developments, reach and success in social networks, expansion of service channels and more."
"Especially after the corona virus, we see that the public feels the difference, with an emphasis on those aged 35 and over, but this is not enough for us," adds Cohen and shares, "The campaign for discharged soldiers is designed for them to recognize their basic right after service, but at the same time, the secondary goal is for them to reach the National Insurance And they will be awake and aware of their rights, such as reserve payments, starting a business, assisting social startups, advising medical committees and preparing the materials for free, pensions in case of an accident at work or at home, etc. "
There is still a lot of work to do with Generation Z, but the 'Nada is to address everyone, on any relevant platform, according to the target audience, and inform them of everything they rightfully deserve.
This is the direction and that's where we're going," Cohen concludes.
A senior official from the National Insurance Institute added that they are working hard with the legislative body to promote changes in order to improve the conditions for eligibility.
Among the bills they submitted and which seem essential for continuation: calculation of the eligibility period for those released from permanent service starting from the day of release from permanent service and not from the end of regular service.
Add professions such as driver of heavy goods vehicles, tractors and forklifts.
Recognize auxiliary power for hospitals as required work.
Reduce the weekly working hours in the nursing branch to 36 (instead of 42), doubling the grant for those who have been working for over 12 months and more.
"You won't believe that these are recognized works for the grant" (Photo: National Insurance spokeswoman)
The campaign, whose goal was to reach the specific target audience, did the job and we found proof of this from official data we received from Google according to which in the second week of the campaign's activity it accumulated 64,000,000 exposures, over 117,000 clicks, and over 30 million full views of the video on YouTube.
In the video segment, the viewing rate rose to 49%, this is a high and unusual viewing rate for positive.
Which means that about 50% of the audience that was exposed to the video chose to finish watching in full, and this is an objective indication of the effectiveness of the campaign.
On the National Insurance website, the campaign received about 350,000 clicks.
In addition, just this week, the campaign was announced in first place as the most viewed campaign for the month of November and overtook leading players in the form of the leading companies in the economy - and all this in the light of the major sales events such as Shopping IL, the Zinni Singles' Day and Black Friday - quite an achievement!
The success and exposure of the campaign according to Google data (photo: National Insurance Spokesperson)
Conditions for receiving a grant
You can get full details on eligibility for a 'work grant' at the veterans' guidance bureaus, at the National Insurance Institute branches or on the website.
Type of work
: You worked in a job that was recognized as required for the payment of the grant.
Minimum period of work
: You have worked at least 150 working days, spanning no less than six months of work within two years from the date of discharge from the IDF.
Full-time position
: (as is customary in the industry in which you work, as a rule 8 hours of work per day), according to the custom at the workplace.
Submission Claim for a grant
: A claim for a grant can be submitted after you have finished working in the required job for at least 6 full months of work, and no later than 42 months from the date of your release from regular military service/national service.
Interested in precise and additional details?
The National Insurance Institute has produced a detailed information brochure regarding the eligibility conditions for a required work grant, which includes many examples.
You can get the brochure as mentioned at the bureaus for the guidance of discharged soldiers, at the branches of the National Insurance Institute or on the website.
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