Despite the coronavirus pandemic, the number of high-tech employees rose by a moderate 0.6% throughout the year, to an annual average of 334,000 people. A relative decline in demand for employees was recorded, partly explained by a significant drop in the rate of voluntary resignations.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n However, a chronic shortage in skilled human capital is still evident, with about 60% of companies reporting difficulties in recruiting employees for R&D positions and 13,000 estimated open tech positions as of December 2020.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The coronavirus crisis impaired the integration of underrepresented populations in the high-tech sector, as demonstrated by the 10 percentage point decrease in the proportion of women among high-tech employees from the Arab sector. However, the potential for their integration is still high given that the number of female Arab undergraduates in high-tech studies more than tripled between 2012 and 2020.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Uri Gabai, CO-GM, Start-Up Nation Central<\/strong>: Sagi Dagan, VP, Head of Growth Division, Israel Innovation Authority<\/strong>: Israel\u2019s high-tech sector remained stable with high demand for technological employees. However, a chronic shortage in skilled human capital is still evident. Despite the coronavirus crisis, Israel\u2019s high-tech sector remained stable with high demand for technological employees. 13,000 open positions were recorded in December 2020 – a 30% decline from July 2019 – but still […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":5457,"parent":0,"template":"","geographic_location":[96,114,111,107,112,108],"collaboration_opportunities":[97,98,99,100,101,102],"mini_site_category":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nKey findings from the report<\/strong>:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Nonetheless, the potential remains high as the number of undergraduate women from the Arab sector in high-tech studies more than tripled between 2012 and 2020.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
\u201c2020 was one of the best years for Israeli high-tech with record capital raising, unprecedented demand for Israeli technologies, and an impressive number of Israeli companies joining the unicorn club. However, the figures presented in this report indicate that we did not escape the crisis unharmed. Smaller technology companies in particular lost experienced technology employees and hired fewer new employees. The negative impact of the crisis on startups\u2019 economic activity may hardly be felt in the short-term, but may later translate into fewer growth companies that would have employed thousands of employees with high productivity and wage levels.
The human capital shortage in the high-tech industry remained high even during the global crisis, demonstrating its chronic nature. We expect increased demand for technological solutions which will in turn lead to an increase in demand for employees capable of developing these solutions. The increased demand will not be limited to the high-tech industry; it will also appear in other industries undergoing a digital transformation. The resolution to this chronic shortage can likely be found in systematic, cross-sectoral collaborations which will create widely implementable solutions. Without an extensive integration of women and members of the Arab and Ultra-Orthodox communities into the high-tech industry, Israel’s main growth engine will have no fuel to run on. I hope the post-pandemic normalization will also include resuming the favorable trend of integrating underrepresented populations in the high-tech industry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt would be wrong to conclude that the high-tech industry, which enjoyed relative stability during the coronavirus crisis, needs less state investment and can rely solely on market forces. Quite the contrary: countries worldwide realize that investing in civilian research and development is crucial for a thriving economy, high productivity, and adoption of technology. These countries are increasing, not decreasing, their investment in technology. Another reason for keeping up the investment in technology is that Israeli high-tech stability is also due to the state adopting the right policy and developing the industry to protect Israel’s vital and nearly sole national resource. To keep this resource going, the state needs to be proactive and use a range of creative financing, technological, and human capital solutions concurrently while enabling progressive regulation. These combined measures will ensure the high-tech industry\u2019s position as the driver of the Israeli economy, helping the economy adopt technological advancements and boost productivity. Human capital is a significant barrier to the continued prosperity and leadership of Israeli high-tech. The industry needs engineers and software professionals for research and development, and must support employees who would bring the products and services to the global market as well as talented managers to lead multinational high-tech companies from Israel. Israel’s policymakers should rise to the human capital challenge to ensure Israel maintains its leading position in the 21st century.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"arrow\"](\"https:\/\/innovationisrael.org.il\/files-en\/inline-images\/Small%20Arrow_Pink-Purple_36.png\")
For the full English report, click here<\/a><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"