(IsraelNN.com) The first 40 soldiers taking part in a new program designed to give them marketable post-army skills have just finished their basic training.

The military program, called Maalot, a Hebrew acronym for Comprehensive Training and Employment Program, is a targeted service track that gives selected soldiers training needed for both the military and civilian industrial
Soldiers completing the specialized courses will then be employed according to their training.
workforce. Among the courses offered to Maalot soldiers are computer numerical control (CNC), aircraft construction technology, and certification for electricians and mechanical engineering technicians.

The Maalot soldiers were taken on tours of industrial facilities and were exposed to the various learning options during the course of their regular IDF basic training. Soldiers completing the specialized courses will then be employed accordingly for the duration of their military service, after which they will transfer to work in private industrial factories.

The pilot Maalot program currently underway, including a coordinator assigned to the unit, is sponsored by the IDF, the Industrialists Association, the Joint Distribution Committee, and the Ministry or Industry and Trade. Towards the end of the pilot, the sponsors will consider expanding the new service path to more participants and to other industrial training options.

One of the stated objectives of the Maalot program is to address the serious lack of quality skilled workers in Israeli industry, according to the Industrialists' Association.