Jolt and TALMA launch new program to close Israeli techies’ English language gap

Israeli startup Jolt, an online business school for self-made professionals, is launching a new program together with TALMA, the Israel Program for Excellence in English, to help raise the standard of English speaking, writing, and reading, required for employment in the high-tech industry. The program will include 150 academic hours across a one-month period aiming to test reading, writing, and speaking abilities in accordance with the internationally-accepted Cambridge scale for assessing language level.

The urgency for a new program focusing on the English language came after a worrying survey conducted by Jolt showing that 3,000 applicants in Israel miss out on job opportunities by not knowing enough English. Alternatively, employers themselves are having difficulty recruiting candidates who meet the requirements of speaking English that are essential to performance.

"It’s inconceivable that in a high-tech industry that is thirsty for quality personnel, a basic requirement such as a high level of English poses a barrier," says Doron Aaronson, Jolt's director of operations in Israel. "The harm is twofold. Candidates miss out on high-quality jobs because of the skills they were supposed to be taught by the education system. Employers and high-tech companies are then forced to give up on those quality candidates. This new program is designed to close the gap left by many graduates of the education system. We believe that we can help fill these desirable positions in Israeli high-tech."

Alon Futterman, CEO and founder of TALMA, explained how the collaboration with Jolt “opens doors for those who lost their jobs during the Corona period and are now seeking to integrate into the global high-tech market. In all of the frameworks in which TALMA operates... we see the large gaps in English, which constitute a significant barrier to labor market integration and the progress of employees within an organization.”

TALMA was established in 2014 by philanthropic institutions such as the Schusterman Foundation and the Steinhardt Foundation with collaboration from the Israeli government. It works in schools in over 30 regional authorities in the social and geographical periphery of Israel where there is a shortage of qualified teachers, as well as in the Ultra-Orthodox, Druze, and the business sectors. Its mission is to provide equal educational opportunities for students from all sectors. Jolt was founded in 2015 and has raised a total of $23.2 million over three rounds to offer professional video courses to tech workers at every career stage.