The program will have a budget of approximately $2.8 million and offer scholarships of around $3,400 a year.

(August 27, 2019 / JNS) The Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs and Social Services is starting a new program to help haredim find jobs in high-tech industries in Israel.

The program will have a budget of approximately $2.8 million and offer scholarships of around $3,400 a year, the Israeli business daily Calcalist reported on Tuesday.

The ministry said that in 2017 haredi women held 4 percent (3,800) of high-paying tech jobs and haredi men just 1 percent (800).

According to the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics, haredim made up 11 percent of the country’s population in 2018.

The new program created in collaboration with Yedidut Toronto—a philanthropic organization meant to help Jewish communities in the United States, Canada and Israel—will support 50 haredi students a year. As part of their studies, they intend to enroll in part-time jobs during their second year of Jewish learning, according to the report.

Separately, Israel’s unemployment rate fell to 3.7 percent in July from 4.1 percent in June according to the Central Bureau of Statistics and reported by the business daily Globes.