Ahmed has successfully completed his studies in software engineering (with an average score of 86/100) at the Sami Shamoon College of Engineering in Beer Sheva; however, he is currently working as a locksmith assistant. Najib has graduated with honors (with an average score of 91) from the Beer Sheva College of Technology, where he studied electronic engineering, electrical engineering and computer engineering. He is serving today as a supervisor in charge of a supermarket checkout line. Bassam graduated summa cum laude (with an average score of 95) from the Beer Sheva College of Technology, having completed his studies in software engineering. He has found work as a customer service representative at [the Israeli telecommunications provider] Bezeq. Adel, too, graduated summa cum laude (with an average score of 98) from the same college, where he studied electrical engineering. He is working in a packing house. And they are not the only ones. Close to 100 engineering students graduate every year from the various colleges in southern Israel, where the Bedouin population is concentrated. However, the high-tech industry, which is still considered one of the major growth engines of Israel, is not rushing to engage their professional services.
“The reasons for this situation are complex,” explains Ibrahim Sana, who heads the first-ever tech startup in the Bedouin sector. “By and large, the Bedouins are studying in colleges, as only very few of the applicants from the Bedouin community are accepted to universities. Unfortunately for them, university graduates have an edge in the labor market, so that already at the very start, they find themselves at a disadvantage compared to university graduates vying for jobs [in the high-tech industry].”
