Israel Innovation Authority Pilot To Open R&D Centers In North, Employ Thousands Of Engineers

The Israel Innovation Authority is launching a national pilot program to create thousands of engineering jobs in Israel’s North specifically and peripheral regions in general by encouraging leading Israeli tech companies to open development centers in these areas.

The pilot begins on April 15 with an opening event led by the Israel Innovation Authority at the Bar-Lev High-Tech Park in the western Galilee in northern Israel. At least 10 leading Israeli companies based in the center of the country are expected to attend, including Check Point, Fiverr, WalkMe, Outbrain, Playtika, and SimilarWeb, among others.

Companies interested in expanding their R&D activity and in recruiting top-level candidates will have the opportunity to meet with residents of the north specializing in software and development who are interested in working in tech jobs close to home – something sorely missing from the region currently.

The Bar-Lev High-Tech Park, located between Acre and Carmiel, a half-hour ride from Haifa, is expected to draw hundreds of entrepreneurs, tech professionals, and engineering and computer science students living in the north or interested in relocating.

The Israel Innovation Authority will present its programs for Israel’s so-called peripheral regions, areas outside the center of the country. These will include grants for tech companies opening branches in towns in the periphery which can serve as anchors of sustainable employment.

As part of the program, the Israel Innovation Authority will incentivize companies to open R&D centers in these areas. Support valued at NIS 10 million per company will be given over three years, so long as the company conducts 80 percent of its activity in the periphery and 60 percent of its employees reside there, the Israeli Innovation Authority said in a statement.

“The goal is to change the face of the area by creating thousands of jobs for engineers in our technology park, to bring a wider range of high-tech jobs closer to home, to contribute to the development of the local ecosystem in general, and to expand the high-tech radius northward in the future,” said Yael Jagerman Lavie, Chairwoman of the Bar-Lev High-Tech Park.

Aharon Aharon, the Israel Innovation Authority’s CEO, said: “The goal of the conference is to bring together two key parties – growing high-tech companies eagerly seeking top-level employees, and skilled workers interested in employment closer to home. We are keen on enabling these companies to realize the potential that exists in the north and to initiate activity and grow employment there.”