Israel 21c reports:
…For these students in their twenties, Tech-Careers, set up by [Asher] Elias* and an American business partner three years ago, is more than a technical school - it is a direct pathway into a middle class Israeli lifestyle that they never could have imagined…
The goal of the year-long intensive program … is to help young Ethiopian Israelis integrate into professional Israel. During long days that start at 7:45 am and last well into the night with homework, the school operates like a computer training boot camp. Students first master basic computer skills and then proceed to learn advanced computer programming skills, preparing them for jobs in Israel's elite high tech industry.
…Living 5 to 6 in rooms provided by the kibbutz, the students learn in a small two room building that houses an impressive array of computers.…
The program is 100 percent subsidized and the students receive a monthly $200 stipend to buy basic necessities.…
…In return for receiving fully subsidized training and living arrangements, students must agree to devote all of their time to learning their new profession. That means no outside jobs or leaving the kibbutz for any reason until the weekend. In addition, students take at least two exams a week and if they fail any exam more than twice, they are off the program. Passing is an 80.
"When you have low expectations, the results are accordingly," Elias explained. "I set very high standards, because people will adjust to those standards." …
Ten more projects like Tech-Careers could change the entire face of Ethiopian Jewry in under a decade.
* Asher Elias' father is Motti Elias, well-known to Ethiopian Jewry activists from the 1970s and 80s.