Auditor's report: the state is guilty of non Haredi integration into employment

On Tuesday, the State Control Committee will discuss the comptroller's report on government actions to encourage haredi integration in the labor market.

The report shows that some of the plans are not ready, are not tracked, there is non-compliance data, and not all budgets are utilized.

State Control Committee chairman Amnon Cohen of Shas says: "You cannot blame the Orthodox for all the harsh words of the Minister of Finance - when it turns out that the state is to blame for the lack of finding employment, by contempt, bureaucracy and laziness. They promised to give rods instead of fish. Fish are cut and the rods do not exist. "

State Comptroller found that there was not written in any specific program to encourage haredi employment, and that the Ministry of Economy has not yet prepared an operational work plan and set a down point. State Comptroller determined that "the tasks of national importance are social - economic but the image that comes indicates that progress in handling are small and slow."

According to the Planning and Budgeting Committee of the Council for Higher Education, the number of Orthodox students studying in תשע"א (2010-2011) academic degrees was approximately 6,400 (of which 60% are women)., But also that mean, states the State Comptroller, that although the Council for Higher Education for the Ministry of Finance has recognized the importance of the subject and worked to advance it, still not enough has been done in this regard.

To increase the number of Haredi students during the academic years – תשס"ה-תשס"ח, the Ministry of Finance and Planning and Budget Committee set aside each year a special budget to finance the Orthodox unique study tracks. However, examination showed that the budget utilization was low (תשס"ח school year [2007-2008] was utilized only 50% of the budget), but was not approved requests from academic institutions who the ultra-Orthodox sector wished to study, and which could lead to an increase in the number of students. Merely in 2009 CHE approached the Ministry of Finance to please update the criteria to be possible to provide a broader scope of demand and enable more learning opportunities.

Employment target set by the government in 2020 for the Haredi sector (aged 25-64) is the employment rate of 63% for men and women. About men it is assumed that 9,200 of them will be added to the labor market each year, but the auditor found that the government did not set goals - Interim Final Destination derived for 2020, and that this goal is not at all – affordable.

The main program for professional training of men known as "decent living" participated in 2005-2010, about 620 men of whom 250 were placed at work. Practical training program trained 30 students only, and to encourage academic study program attended by about 700 people. Fatah Program (Haredi employment development centers) which centers operated as placement and career guidance for the unique ultra-Orthodox population, led to their placement of approximately 1,250 men since its implementation in 2006. According to the state comptroller's calculations the total number of men integrated at work, is about 1,600. Auditor says that "While this contribution is important but its rate is negligible in light of the government's target."

Auditor also found deficiencies in monitoring and controlling the activities of the Ministry of Economy, including the lack of data regarding the number of students in accredited programs and non - match data, non-test execution progress of the programs, the lack of completion of some of the plans and examination of cost-efficiency.

State Comptroller also noted that one of the functions Civil Service Administration - National Ministry of Science and Technology is to act so that the period of service of yeshiva students also exploited the civil service professional training - employment. In practice, since the administration utility operated in 2008, and the date of completion of the audit in August 2011, i.e. for three and a half years, employment training has not yet been activated.

'בחדרי' גם ברשתות החברתיות - הצטרפו!