The TeLeM Program

Background:

TeLeM (Hebrew acronym for Ta’asukah / employment, Limudim / studies, and Megurim / housing) was established in 1998. TeLeM, which is operated through the Israeli non-profit organization “The United Kibbutz Movement- Nichsei Tarbut”, is designed for young adult new Ethiopian immigrants to Israel, following army or national service, at the most crucial stage in their lives.

 About the Program:

Countless young adults new Ethiopian immigrants to Israel, following army or national service,currently find themselves lacking basic skills in comparison with their Israeli born peers: in areas such as education (Hebrew, English, computers, mathematics, etc.) as well as in more personal areas, such as their degree of self confidence and feeling a sense of belonging to the Israeli culture. As a result, these young adults have extreme difficulties finding suitable jobs following their army service. From this point, the path to severe integration problems approaches quickly with all it entails: frustration, anxieties, poverty , dependence on institutions, violence, etc., which all become part of their daily lives without the appropriate opportunity for change.

TeLeM realized that the key to these Ethiopian immigrants’ successful integration into Israeli society stems from their ability to financially support a family by themselves. The program aims to assist young adults who have completed their army or national service to achieve this ability.

The program provides its participants with paying jobs, vocational studies after working hours, and room and board on a kibbutz. Their employment is either in a kibbutz industry or in another branch of work with an opportunity for on-the-job training. In order to assist in their successful absorption and integration with the veteran Israeli society, each kibbutz provides a liaison coordinator for the group. Each participant also receives advice, training in preparation for employment, counselling to aid them in employment, and general social guidance. Study opportunities during the program may include general or medical secretarial courses, early childhood education, computer graphics, hostelry and more.

The program is yearlong and takes place on 16 kibbutzim throughout the country, from Yotvata in the south to Baram next to the Lebanese border in the north. Young adults ages 25 and under who have completed the army or national service yet did not succeed in their high school studies are accepted to the program. At any one point in time, there are approximately 80 individuals in TeLeM, which operates in an ongoing ‘revolving door’ fashion where participants spend 12 months on kibbutz, yet begin and finish at different times throughout the year – thus it is tailored to each person individually.

Program Objectives:
1) To provide each participant in the TeLeM program with the vocational counseling and necessary training in order to develop long-term employment plans in their chosen fields.
2) To provide informative lectures and cultural programs on how to succeed in the job market and in Israeli society.
3) To provide the participants with suitable living conditions in order that they will have the opportunity to focus exclusively on their training and studies.

TeLeM is unique in the following ways:

Ø The young adults who participate in our program are some of the weakest individuals among the Ethiopian Israeli population. For many of them we serve as their last opportunity to change their lives before experiencing complete failure.

Ø Through taking part in our program, participants are provided with an optimal foundation for success - a paid job at a suitable workplace, living accommodations, a community that accepts them at equals, the opportunity to attend vocational studies, and constant support and assistance from TeLeM’s staff and the liaisons at the kibbutzim.

Ø TeLeM is unique in its personal approach, accompanying its participants throughout all stages of the program, as well as after the program’s completion.

The 1000 TeLeM graduates who are now financially supporting themselves with dignity are the reliable testimony to the success and importance of the program.

Administration
Yael Bargil-Bezner, Program Director, Studies and Supplementary Programs Coordinator
Mobile: +972-52-257-8266
Email: telem@tkz.co.il
Fax: +972-3-692-5460