Report: High-tech openings rise by 300% as hybrid-working models cemented

“The trend of hiring employees from peripheral geographic areas is here to stay and fortunately even grow,” said Laly David, Business Development Partner at OurCrowd about the company’s High-Tech Jobs Index Q2 2021 which was released Thursday.

The report shows growing demand for startup recruits despite the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, with a 300% year-on-year increase in the number of jobs advertised from Q2 2020 to Q2 2021 and more than 60% of the companies in the report seeking to grow their teams beyond key positions.

The report tracks vacancies and hiring patterns at high-tech companies in Israel and abroad, with all data based on a survey and the Portfolio Jobs section of the OurCrowd website, where more than 100 portfolio companies list current vacancies. It is the third quarter in which the report is being published.

It is worth noting that the number of vacancies posted by OurCrowd portfolio companies on the Portfolio Jobs section of its website has risen. During Q2 2021, an average of 31 new vacancies were added daily compared to 15 during Q1 2021, an increase of 200%, following a steady growth of 7% from quarter to quarter in the previous three quarters. Software engineering remains the most in-demand category with 18% of current openings, and business development is a close second with 15%.

In light of the Covid crisis, hybrid and remote working models have spread across the industry, Even though Israel is a world leader in vaccination numbers. While 95% of companies have reopened their offices, only 13% are working in the office full time. 80% allow employees to work from home part-time. 77% of Israeli companies surveyed say they expect the hybrid model to continue at least until the end of the year.

“As the spread of the Delta variant throws workplace planning in doubt once again, the widespread adoption of remote working patterns suggests many high-tech companies will be able to continue their business activities with minimal disruption,” David said.

Moshe Tanach, CEO of NeuReality, an OurCrowd portfolio company said that “Covid created an urgent necessity that pushed us to adopt a hybrid work environment that is critical, especially for new employees. In NeuReality, we are committed to maintain and improve this new working model, no matter what will happen with the Covid pandemic. We believe it is an essential component in our future success.”

The hybrid work model seems to have more implications, as remote work became, for many, the new normal. More Israeli companies say they are inclined to hire employees from the “periphery” meaning further away from the center of Israel and its big cities - Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa. 35% say they are more open to hiring from the periphery while another 55% said they already did before the pandemic hit.

“Morphisec is moving from the start-up phase to the scale-up phase and has doubled its workforce since the beginning of 2021 across Israel, the U.S., and India,” said Michal Gilboa, VP of Human Resources at Morphisec. “In an effort to address the needs of our employees while growing during Covid, we have opened a small Tel Aviv office in addition to the Beersheba HQ to enable employees to work partially at an office while reducing commute time.”

OurCrowd is a global venture investment platform that “empowers institutions and individuals to invest and engage in emerging companies.” It has more than 240 portfolio companies and 28 venture funds.