Arutz Sheva spoke with officers and students at Israel Tech Challenge, which trains top candidates for leading positions in the Israeli hi-tech sector.
"ITC is an Israeli coding school specializing in the most prestigious and in-demand positions for Israelei hi-tech," said ITC CEO Yehoyada Mande'el. "We train people to become data scientists, cyber-professionals, full-stack developers, data engineers. We do that by selecting the best and brightest from around the world to come here for a six month course during which they learn skills about coding to address coding challenges."
Inbar Ben-Ari, VP Programs and Partnerships at ITC, said that ITC was founded 5 years ago "to bridge the gap in human capital for the high-ranking positions withing the industry."
Mande'el said that, after training, those who participate in the program are connected with the leading companies.
"ITC really prepares you for what is used in the industry now," explained Ashley Stendel, an ITC student from Montreal. "Compared to university, where we learned the historical stuff until 2000, here I find we're really focusing on what's new and what's modern."
Jake Mooney, ITC student from Massachusetts added that "Instead of going for a second degree, where I would have been learning a lot of theoretical knowledge but not necessarily how to apply it, ITC is focused on learning the skills I need to apply in the field directly as soon as I graduate. I feel like I can jump into my next role and hit the ground running."
Ben-Ari said that ITC works with more than 120 companies in Israeli hi-tech all along they way. "They help us create the syllabus and understand that this is valid, this is what the industry is seeking."
"They learn the needs of companies so that when they get interviews they become attractive to the companies," Mande'el said.
"We open our doors to anyone with a proven ability for self-study and independence - we don't necessarily require a first degree or a degree that is irrelevant for Israeli hi-tech," Ben-Ari noted. "The programs are in English, because this is the language that rules the hi-tech scene."
"The program is 9 am to 8 pm every day. A lot of homework, tests, activities," Mande'el said.
Ben-Ari added, "It's a very challenging program, very intensive. Our students come here for full days for 5 months - but it's worth it because this is exactly what they need to get their foot in the door of Israeli hi-tech."
"We can tell you that after all the hard work our students put into the course, 95% in the last 5 years have found leading jobs in Israeli hi-tech," Mande'el concluded. "We keep getting more demand from companies for ITC graduates to join those companies."