When Shaul Goldstein, head of Israel National Parks Authority, understood the unemployment situation due to corona, he saw an opportunity to launch a project he’d been wanting to for a long time. He turned to the Finance Ministry and requested 500,000 people be hired to clean Israel’s parks and nature sites. He only received funding for 500 people, yet he found a way to support a sliver of a deeply struggling labor market, especially hiring servers and students.
Despite the current unemployment struggles of the Startup Nation, some Israelis are taking the opportunity to explore new career paths. With a new world of work ahead, industries on pause, and the need to survive, some people are choosing to expand their mindset and learn a new skillset – mostly because they have no other choice.
Before corona, Israel’s unemployment rate was at 3%, and today it rests at about 19%. At the start of the corona crisis, unemployment reached its highest at 27%. Those who expect work to return to normal may be waiting a while. Those who understand that a paradigm shift is occurring and that people and their perspectives need to evolve, will find an opportunity for creation.
With over 900,000 struggling with unemployment, new doors open with dependent on available resources, support, education, and skills. While it might feel like the world is breaking down, we also live in a world which values niche skills, and where audiences are easily reachable online. Those who maintain the Israeli entrepreneurial spirit, and welcome a sense of change into their lives, will be the ones who get hired. In a world that is continually innovating, this moment in time is a stark reminder that knowledge is power.
