Mitam will operate a placement service for schools, networks and municipalities, and an internet database of position openings and job-seekers
The teaching profession in Israel lacks effective personnel management, planning, recruitment and high quality placement of teachers. Such management is vital for identifying position openings, sourcing for new teachers to fill them, and integrating supply with demand. Poor practice of personnel management is particularly damaging to mathematics and science teaching, where there is a growing shortage of suitable teachers, and there is strong competition for talented people with science and mathematics skills from the high tech industry.
To address this, the foundation approached Mitam, a non-profit organization which specializes in high quality placement and human resource management for the civic sector. We asked them to consult with teachers and their employers and develop a program which could provide a high quality and professional response.
The proposed program has two components: a placement service, helping schools, networks and municipalities find the excellent mathematics and science teachers; and an internet-based up-to-date database of position openings and job seekers, accessible to both school principals and teachers. In addition, case studies of high quality placement processes and protocols will be documented and disseminated for the benefit of the education community.
This is a very promising venture which could answer a significant need and affect the organizational culture of schools, and education authorities who employ teachers. However, there are some challenges entrenched in the nature of the mission, for which Mitam will have to find creative solutions. Such as:
The proposed plan seeks to address these challenges and estimates that in order to reach financial balance, they will have to execute 60 placements a year, and recruit 200 employers to purchase an annual membership to the database.