Huge posters displayed mainly in Metropolitan Tel Aviv shocked some passersby. The posters featured young people, ostensibly graduates of high-tech fields, with hard-hitting, often cynical texts such as “Let’s give a big hand to Tzahi! Because of him, another adolescent got exposed to porn,” or “Bravo to Alma, who made the dean’s list! Because of her, thousands of kids are addicted to gaming. Instead of playing with your career, play firing missiles out of the atmosphere. Israel Aerospace Industries.”

The provocative ad campaign to recruit staff for Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) testifies, more than anything, to the shortage of engineers and other high-tech workers in Israel’s advanced industries. The IAI is an old, respected company owned by the government. As such, the recent campaign evoked intense discussions and even something of an uproar on social media.

The campaign was launched after an extensive study conducted by the company. It found that a unique sense of purpose, technological depth and diversity are all significant draws. The goal is to provide direction for young engineers and show them the enormous significance of working on behalf of the nation’s security instead of focusing on online gambling, shopping or porn.

According to Ethosia, a placement firm specializing in high-tech, Israeli high-tech industries raised an unprecedented $25.6 billion last year, some 140% greater than it raised in 2020. The companies’ public offerings and sales soared to $82.5 in 2021, five times greater than the sales and public offerings of Israeli companies in 2020. This growth demands more and more manpower. A market survey conducted by Ethosia determined that the industry, with its 360,000 employees, still has over 20,000 more positions to fill in important fields such as engineering and development.