"The upcoming budget will include a series of programs for a better integration of ultra-Orthodox and Arabs in the employment market in Israel. I am very optimistic about this. I think this is the best government to do it, it will not work by coercion, and precisely in the current coalition composition it can be done right." Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich promised last night at the press conference where the government's plan to deal with the wave of price increases was presented.
Prime Minister Netanyahu agreed with his words and added: "It will not work by coercion. It creates a reaction. The claim that it will work by coercion does not work. We have the ability to work in creating mechanisms that tell people you should enter the labor market, you should invest."
Smotrich, photo: Yonatan Zindel/Flash 90
So what did the two mean?
"Israel Hayom" has learned that one of the solutions being considered these days to encourage core studies among ultra-Orthodox children is the creation of educational frameworks for afternoon hours where the ultra-Orthodox children can study math, English, computer and science subjects on a completely voluntary basis.
The plan is that the frameworks will be managed by private entities - such as, for example, educational foundations that know how to work with the ultra-orthodox sector, and this with a partial subsidy from the state.
The intention is to allow any ultra-Orthodox child whose parents are interested in studying in the afternoon, so that this does not interfere with "regular" studies in the morning.
What does it take for the program to be successful?
As mentioned, this is an initial idea that is being considered these days, but if the program is included in the Settlements Law, the financing issue will not be a problem.
And what is it?
The degree of responsiveness of the ultra-orthodox public may be low, at least in the first stages.
The survey conducted by the Israel Democracy Institute shows that slightly more than 40% of ultra-Orthodox parents want their children to learn English and math.
It is likely that such a program, if implemented, could be particularly successful among ultra-Orthodox families where the mothers work in the high-tech field, and at a later stage could be extended to the entire ultra-Orthodox sector.
The employment rate of ultra-Orthodox men is low.
Ohlich School Bnei Brak,
Will it be Smotrich who, as I remember, who led the increase in the allowances for the young men, will succeed in encouraging core studies in the ultra-orthodox sector and subsequently increase the employment rate in it?
Time will tell, and in the meantime it is evident that both the Minister of Finance and the Prime Minister understand very well that the employment rate among the ultra-Orthodox must rise.
The carrot and stick method Lieberman used as finance minister to encourage core studies in the ultra-Orthodox sector does not work and only produces a "reaction" as Netanyahu said.
The new government's method will only have to be the "carrot" and maybe many "carrots", so we can only hope that it will work.
Why study core at all?
It is difficult to exaggerate the importance of the core studies in the ultra-Orthodox sector (English, math and Hebrew) - they have heavy economic consequences not only on the sector itself but on the level of the entire economy.
The low scope of core studies does not allow this population to integrate into the employment market in an optimal way.
While the employment rate of ultra-Orthodox women is high and on the rise (80%), and is very similar to the rate of the general population, the employment rate of ultra-Orthodox men is lower than that of all men and stands at only about 50%.
"If the inclusion of ultra-Orthodox men in employment does not change, the damage to the GDP in 2035 will jump to 80 billion shekels and in 2050 to 220 billion shekels, this is a catastrophe," warned Dr. Gilad Malach, head of the ultra-orthodox program at the Israel Democracy Institute, about two months ago in a conversation with "Israel Today".
The practical meaning of these numbers is simple - the spillover of poverty to the general sector in the future, provided that the existing situation does not change.
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