On Monday, September 16th, 2019, Mr. Avigdor Kaplan, Director General of the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs and Social Services, came for a visit in Beer Sheva, where the Working Together Initiative was presented to him. Together, the partners discussed the initiative to integrate young adults into meaningful employment in the south of the country.
Matan Hemo, who is in charge of the program at the Ministry of Labor, presented the principles and objectives of the WTI. Keren Goz-Levin, the leader of the initiative on behalf of Eretz-Ir, presented the achievements that had been accomplished thanks to the cooperation with all the organizations in the Negev.
The meeting was attended by representatives from WTI’s member organizations, who reported how the membership has contributed to their organizations in promoting the employment of young adults. The representatives were: Margalit Bar – Director of ‘Yated’ in the Southern District, Kati Feldman of the ‘Ofakim-Netivot Hizdamnut Center’ (employment center), and Netanel Hadad, Director of Lamerhav house in Beer Sheva.
Additional participants were Shelly Nordheim, Director of the Welfare Population Department, the Population Administration, at the Ministry of Labor, and Eti Cohen, Director of the Welfare Department in Beer Sheva.
The Working Together Initiative (WTI) is a product of the Prime Minister’s cross-sector round table that included representatives of the three sectors. WTI is a joint venture led by philanthropists and the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs with a budget of over NIS 12 million for 2017 to 2019.
WTI is supervised professionally by Lamerhav, and Eretz-Ir is the integrating body in the south. A steering committee comprised of the Ministry of Labor’s representatives and participating philanthropists is overseeing the project.
