The Economy Ministry, via its Investment Center, will invest 33 million NIS in subsidies of higher salaries for employees working for factories and companies located in national priority areas. An extra 27 million NIS will be invested in promoting high salary employment within the cyber industry. Total Economy Ministry in these two tracks: 60 million NIS.

Conditions for the financial assistance: at least 60% of new employees must reside in the national priority areas. The Economy Ministry expects that this financial aid will provide employment to graduates of academic institutions located throughout the priority areas (most of which are in the periphery), particularly in the fields of high tech, engineering, programming and other well-paid professions.

Economy Minister Naftali Bennett stated “National priority areas in Israel represent one of the largest business opportunities in the Middle East today. There is great importance in government intervention, in order to create an appropriate ecosystem to attract leading international and Israeli companies that will set up the base of their operations in these areas.”

Economy Ministry Director-General Amit Lang recently signed a directive that defines two additional tracks for assistance in employment in the national priority areas. The Director-General’s directive, which aims to promote and develop the national priority areas and help recruit more employees into Israeli businesses (in accordance with government decisions 1272 and 546), will be published in the coming days as part of the Director-General’s directive 4.18. The financial assistance will be distributed via the Ministry’s Investment Center.

The track is aimed at companies and factories with an annual turnover higher than 100 million NIS (in the year prior to application), that are committed to establishing an initiative or business, expanding an existing factory in the national priority areas or relocating a factory to the national priority areas.

Within the cyber track, the company is also required to meet the definition “Cyber Company” and to establish or expand its activities in one or more “designated settlement” as described in the directive.

The conditions of this financial assistance: at least 60% of the new employees must reside in the national priority areas. Employers, who request salary subsidies within the tracks, are required to pay newly hired employees salaries that are 2.5 times higher than the average salary in Israel. Salary subsidies will decrease on a sliding scale each year – in the first year, up to 40% salary subsidy will be given within the cyber industry and up to 35% in the general track, whereas in the fourth year, salary subsidies will be reach 25% in the cyber program and 10% in the general track.

Economy Minister Naftali Bennett added “National priority areas across Israel – and particularly the Negev – represent one of the largest business opportunities in the Middle East today. I am not a big believer in government intervention although, in this regard, it is very important for the government to intervene so that an appropriate ecosystem can be created within these areas to attract leading international and Israeli companies. I believe that the factories and companies who will be attracted into these areas following government intervention will discover its huge potential.”

Investment Center Director Nachum Itzkowitz stated “The new tracks were created to assist in the recruitment of highly-paid employees while emphasizing on increasing the rate of growth and encouraging the creation of highly-paid positions within the national priority areas. We assist investors who are interested in establishing or expanding initiatives with highly paid employees in the national priority areas or in relocating a company or factory to these priority areas. The assistance is given via partial salary subsidies of highly-paid employees”.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)