Preparatory Course

Preparatory Course for Employment Screening and Placement Exams

Project Background/Need:

One of the main obstacles in the integration and advancement of Ethiopian Israeli university graduates in Israel's job market are the screening and placement exams that take place at the various employment screening institutions throughout the country. Because of the fact that the composition of these exams is influenced by culture and the results are affected by culture, they do not enable Ethiopian Israelis to display their true abilities. This leads to repeated failures among Ethiopian Israeli examinees and prevents a great deal of them from finding employment, as these exams are a standard part of the acceptance process at many companies. We have seen the clear contradictions between the young Ethiopian Israeli adults' abilities and proven success in suitable employment opportunities, and the results of the above screening exams.

As a result of the paramount importance that we see in providing these young adults with tools to succeed on the above exams, Olim Beyahad initiated the "Preparatory Course for Employment Screening and Placement Exams", which aims to assist Ethiopian Israelis in successfully passing the exams, despite the cultural obstacles that are built in to the exams.

Target Population:

Ethiopian Israeli university graduates.

Project Goals:

• To develop and create the tools, system, and necessary knowledge that can remove the cultural obstacle presented today by screening tests that exist in job placement institutions in Israel.
• To help Ethiopian Israelis gain acceptance to suitable jobs and advance in their jobs by giving them the ability to overcome these cultural obstacles and successfully pass the employment screening and placement exams.
• To create partnerships with relevant governmental and non-governmental organizations who are interested in using our example to help advance the absorption of other communities and sectors, even with regard to other tests and diagnoses.

Method/Project Description:

In 2009-2010, Olim Beyahad operated a pilot of the preparatory course in cooperation with Tech Career, the Adam Milo Institute and the Feueurstein Institute. The pilot included a thorough research process during the months before the actual course began, with the goal of identifying and understanding the exact difficulties that Ethiopian Israelis face when taking employment screening and placement exams. This process included a thorough qualitative analysis of the exam files of 30 Ethiopian Israeli university graduates who had taken these exams at the Adam Milo Institute in the past. The recurring challenges and problematic areas on the test were recorded and an appropriate preparatory course was formed, with a focuses on these problematic areas.

Participants took 2 exams - pre-course and post-course - and an in-depth statistical examination was conducted, along with a qualitative analysis of the examinees' files in the pre-course and post-course tests, in order to monitor the course's effectiveness and success rate. The entire analysis and research process was accompanied by various professionals.

From the analysis of the pilot's results, it was clear that our preparatory course assisted the participants in significantly improving their scores on the exams. As a result, Olim Beyahad decided to operate additional preparatory courses in the form of a regular program. The course is based on the pilot, while necessary adjustments have been made in order to further improve the course's effect on participants' scores. The preparatory course meets twice a week for 2.5 months, and also includes additional reinforcement meetings once every other week. All participants take a pre-course and post-course exam in order to monitor their progress.