Established in 2006 by JDC-Tevet (the Employment Initiative of JDC-Israel in partnership with the Israeli government), the Strive program is designed to help poorly-educated, unemployed, young Israelis to find work with long-term career potential. The program is based on a model developed in the United States.
The Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute undertook an evaluation of Strive with two goals: to examine and improve the program’s implementation and to assess the employment outcomes for program participants. The study was initiated and funded by Tevet.
The study collected data from over 180 participants in Strive centers in Tel Aviv and Haifa, and conducted in-depth interviews with Strive staff members and community-based employers. The study examined Strive from a number of perspectives, including:
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Characteristics of participants at program entry
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Changes over time in participant employability and employment
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Job characteristics and job satisfaction
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Rates of job promotion and career advancement
To better assess the impact of Strive, the evaluation study compared the employment data of participantsand of a control group of individuals with similar characteristics, drawn from the Labor Force Survey of the Central Bureau of Statistics.
Changes to program based on evaluation:
Based on the study, Strive introduced a number of changes in the program to increase its effectiveness, including:
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Refining participant criteria to reflect the realities and needs of applicants
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Expanding the program’s successful employment-preparation elements
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Improving how the program works with employers
Strive succeeded in helping a significant percentage of participants to find jobs.
After the first year of the program, the employment rate among Strive participants was much higher than in the control group (60% vs. 36%). After two years, the employment rate rose to almost 70%. In addition, almost all of the participants had been placed in at least one job during the first year.
The findings were presented at a number of major forums on the development and expansion of the program. Today, an improved model of the Strive program is in place, in additional cities.
Citing suggestion: Ziv, A., Strosberg, N., & Slater, Y. (2011). The Strive Program: An Evaluation Study. RR-597-11. Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute. (Hebrew)