Israel Japan | Business Guide | 2018

Israeli High-Tech FinancingTransactions 2000-2017 Israeli High-Tech Exits 2000-2017 70 years of Israeli Innovation > High-Tech > 035 About the authors of this article: IVC Research Center is the leading online provider of data and analyses on Israel’s high-tech,venture capital and private equity industries.Its information is used by all key decision-makers,strategic and financial investors, government agencies and academic and research institutions in Israel. IVC-Online Database (www.ivc-online.com) showcases over 8,000 Israeli technology startups, and includes information on private companies, investors, venture capital and private equity funds, angel groups,incubators,accelerators,investment firms,professional service providers,investments, financings, exits, acquisitions, founders, key executives and R&D centers. The future challenge: Maintaining a skilled workforce With all the success, the industry also faces a number of challenges.For many years, the sector benefited from a substantial wage differential compared to the US and some European countries.The most recent surveys point to a narrowing of the gap.According to data from 2017, the average annual pay for senior software engineers was US$ 91,000. That is below the level in the US,though not by much and higher than nearly all European countries. Israeli wage levels are also earn more than double those of India and China. Last year wages in the sector rose by 7%. The spike in wages is a result of a growing manpower shortage. In the mid-1990s the Israeli high-tech industry got a huge shot in the arm when immigrant flows from the former Soviet Union kept supplies of talented engineers high and had a moderating effect on wages.These days the industry depends on incoming engineers from the country’s academic institutions—and there aren’t nearly enough of them. Complicating the situation is the entry of companies like Amazon into the local market,which tends to further drive up wages. Experts concur that the future success of Israel’s high-tech industry will depend to a large degree on dealing with the manpower shortage.A year ago,the government approved a plan for increasing the skilled work force for the high-tech industry.The plan aims to provide a solution for the current estimated shortage of 10,000 workers. Earlier this year Israel’s Population and Immigration Authority eased the process for the entry of foreign experts seeking to work in the local high-tech sector.For the long-term, Israel’s Innovation Authority presented a plan which calls for nearly doubling the number of workers in high-tech to 500,000 over the next ten years.The major elements of the plan include the integration of women,Arabs,and ultra-Orthodox Jews into the work force,along with veteran engineers above the age of 45. Resolving the crucial issue of manpower for the industry is likely to help Israel maintain its position as a leading global high-tech centre in the years to come. 1964: The Olympics took place in Tokyo.The Israeli delegation included 10 athletes. Historical Moments