Harry Triguboff

The extended campus will solve major problems in the entire region including those affecting the local Bedouin community, such as crime and unemployment. The centre will include both a vocational training center as a comprehensive school-to-employment pipeline  for those aspiring to work in the industrial sector, and a holistic center addressing issues of health and welfare in the area.

Higher education and career guidance, personal skill development, and specific training in professions in demand in local factories are all services that will be provided, while a holistic center to strengthen families participating in the labor market, and especially, working Bedouin women, will also be housed within the complex. The center will focus on women’s health and welfare, including nutrition and lifestyle consultation services, parental guidance, lectures, gynecological and pediatric medical services and other women-focused services.

The Idan HaNegev project, the third largest industrial park in Israel, located near Bet Kammah, has been a major boost to local Negev development and already cut unemployment in the adjacent Bedouin communities in half. The extended campus will exponentially impact on the area by providing eventually approximately 10,000 jobs. Construction is to be completed within 14-18 months. 500 meters of the new construction is designated towards the Triguboff Institute economic empowerment initiatives.

Idan HaNegev has given its guarantee that all the Center’s revenues will be used to operate the project for a period of 10 years after construction is completed.

On the basis of the funds invested by the Triguboff Institute, Idan HaNegev received significant other financing from government and private organizations that made it possible to further develop the Park. The new construction will position the Triguboff Institute as the  leading organization in promoting employment of Bedouin in the Negev. Meanwhile, pilot projects providing occupational training and employment promotion are underway in temporary accommodations.

Shalom Norman, CEO of the Triguboff Institute, said, “The Bedouin community is an inseparable part of the State of Israel, and their challenges are intrinsically Israeli issues. While the challenges are significant, the Bedouin community represents a potential force with tremendous ability to positively impact on itself and the broader Israeli society. The center that is beginning to be built now is being established on this premise and we are optimistic that it will serve to meet the challenges successfully.”