Eran Lasser, Co-Founder at DAN.IT Worldwide skills shortage overview. Can it be resolved? Talking including Israeli perspective.

1. Worldwide (and Israel)
IT skills shortage overview
(and how can we try to
resolve it)

3. My first step… - MAMRAM
● From the age of 18 till 25
● Got the best programming training…
● Program in C language
● Responsible for IT training of all computer
professionals in the IDF – Israeli Defense Forces
● In the reserve forces till today ☺

4. Startups and VC’sIT Services
Responsible for more than 30,000
IT professionals in the Israeli
Hi-Tech market, now occupying
senior positions
Angel investor,
Chairman, Advisor

5. ● About the Skills Shortage in the Hi-Tech sector with Israeli
perspective
● Some examples of how can we try to fill the gap
What are we going to have today ?

6. The Mazda 323

7. 2018 Employee – Employer discussion:

9. Software developers shortage –
Laying down the facts (U.S. Stats):
● About 225,000 unfilled software developer jobs (The App Association)
● Average salary of $105,000 Annually
● Only 13% of High Schools teach computer science
● Colleges and universities provides only about 30,000 graduates per year, with
about 1.85 Million of them working in the market (from about 7 Million
employed in the IT market at all) - (Source: CompTIA)
● Unemployed rate is 1.9 for software developer (Bloomberg/Labor Department)
● 1 Million unfilled programmers jobs predict by 2020

11. A glimpse of Israel

14. Skills shortage in Israel
● About 300,000 employees in the Hi–Tech sector (Out of 9 Million
population, and about 4 Million total employees in the market)
● More then 15,000 unfilled jobs in the Hi-Tech sector
● 3.9 % country wide unemployment rate
● More than 6,000 active start-ups
● “report of human resource in Hi-Tech industry in Israel”

15. And - attrition rate is high
(Source: IATI)

17. So – what are the solutions ?
● Outsource to other countries
● Find nearshore solutions
● Import professionals
● Train and retrain
- Really !! Co-op with Academics
● Start early, think ahead
● Use 40+
● Invest in “employer branding” - reduce attrition rate

18. State of the offshore market - Israel
● Israeli companies transfer work out of Israel equal to 20,000 employees,
worth 960 million $ annually (Source: Ethosia)
● Ukraine – 28%, Poland – 19 %, Bulgaria – 14%, Belarus- 14%, India – 12%,
Romania – 7%, Macedonia – 2%, others – 4 %
● Others – Interesting… Russia, Slovakia, China, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Latin
America…

22. Use of nearshore solutions
● Talpiot – Highly Religious Women located near Jerusalem
- 1000 women in peak state. Working in Nearshore concept with leading companies in Israel
● i-Rox – Same concept. Tel Aviv area
● Galil Software – Arabic and Jewish working together in the north of Israel
giving nearshore solutions for companies in the Tel-Aviv area
● Israeli Innovation Authority subsidize these initiatives heavily

23. Import professionals – “Be in Tel Aviv (BETA)”
example
Companies in BETA pledge to provide you with a relocation package including:
● Up to $20K relocation bonus
● Yearly round-trip flight home
● Streamlined work visa process
● Apartment hunting assistance
● Housing for your first six weeks in Tel Aviv
● School & community matching assistance
● Paid cell phone
● Hebrew tutor (if you’re interested. All of our companies are English
speaking)
● Help from an accountant who understands
International/Israel tax law

24. Training Bootcamps
● In Israel are used for years in Mamram IDF to train its next generation of
software developers, and are used widely
● Aim for people with no background in computers but either have bachelor
degree and pass acceptance tests
● Programs like “Big Idea Gap year” brings students from abroad to learn so
developers in Israel
● About 4,000 graduates yearly in all programs
● Israeli Innovation Authority and Immigration Authority support these
programs

25. Working with Academic institutions
● Programs that blend “Bootcamps style” software development
course into first and second year of study in University, approved
by the Ministry of Education
● Find a job as student in Hi-Tech company (Second year)
● Finish University with 3+ years of experience

26. Re-Training of current workforce
● MAAGALIM Foundation (Circles) funded by the ministry of social
affairs, aim to re-train employees with over 20 years of work in
organizations
● Train QA, MCSA, Mobile technicians and more

27. Over 40 ?
A lot of emphasize on 40 Plus ex-IT workers, and how to bring them back into
production
● https://www.jobsafterforty.com/
● Age & Work
● Future 45

28. Starting early (K12) – Just an example
● By Ministry of education and Innovation Authority
• SkillZ Coding Junior – Programming – Age 7-15
• SkillZ Math – Age 7-15
• SkillZ Coding – Programming - Age 15-18
• SkillZ Makers – Drones - Age 14-18
● Over 300,000 participants, from 1,900 schools
● Other programs – Together with IDF – all over Israel, Cyber and
programming

29. And – do not forget - Employer Branding
● Need to lower the attrition rate… and to hire more and faster…
● Everybody is doing this now in Israel…
● Video Examples:
• Zappos
• Dropbox
• Rapid7
● Weebly Careers Page

30. Thanks!
Eran Lasser
Lasser74@gmail.com
e.lasser@dan-it.com.ua