Hi Rivi, it’s great to meet you. Tell us a little about yourself and your organisation.
I’m Rivi Beller from VeHadarta, a non-profit organization established a decade ago.
Thanks Rivi. Can you tell us a little more about what you do?
In response to the challenge of matching the skilled young-seniors workforce with the employment needs of the evolving workplace of the future, VeHadarta is leading the way by developing and implementing a unique, creative and innovative program – SKEELZ, an AI based technological platform that uses skills to connect between adult job seekers and working opportunities. This is a new methodology based on "skills-based hiring" where employers are suspending the use of degree completion and previous employment history as key determining factors for hiring, preferring an analysis of demonstrated skills, talent, and competencies.
In order to implement SKEELZ, VeHadarta is partnering with retrain.ai, an Israeli-American company specializing in the development of artificial intelligence (“AI”) engines in the field of human resources. The platform designed to meet the specifications of SKEELZ, uses AI to map the set of skills of the “young-senior job-seekers” acquired over the years of their professional careers, and to map the hiring needs of the employers in the evolving modern workforce. The system then accurately and effectively matches job-seekers with employers. It also expands the variety of positions available to the job seekers, and concomitantly enlarges the supply of talented and competent labour available to the employers.
SKEELZ is the outcome of VeHadarta’s ten years of experience - its deep familiarity and acquaintance with the target population, its existing data base of 26,000 job seekers and 7,000 employers, its digital platform, and its team of professionals offering support and counsel to both job seekers and employers.
That sounds like an amazing platform. What problems facing older people are you specifically aiming to address with SKEELZ?
The increase in life expectancy has created a new age-group of 55-75 year-olds – what we call “the young-seniors”. Many of them retired due to ageism, when employees or professionals receive poor treatment and are denied career opportunities because of their age, and many due to draconian pension laws. These young-seniors still can and want to continue to be occupied and employed, and also live meaningful and interesting lives. In addition, many of them need to generate sufficient income that will allow them to maintain the standard of living to which they were previously accustomed.
Ageism in the work market blocks older adults when they looking for a job opportunity that will improve their quality of life, health, and financial situation. Using the metrics of skills in the core of the hiring system will create an age blind situation where a potential employee is judged by the skills he amassed during his lifetime rather than his age.
The potential positive impact on the jobs market and for those you describe as “young-seniors” is clear. Can you tell us a little more about the background of your organisation?
Our organisation has been active in the older adult jobs market for the past decade and has a user base of over 30,00 employers and job seekers. SKEELZ, our new platform, is a result of the insights and understanding we acquired over the years.
Ten years of experience taught us that access to the job market is one of the most crucial needs of the older adults today. It covers several needs: need for meaningful life, feeling of self-worth, social needs and maintaining a decent level of income.
Is SKEELZ available now?
We are now in the midst of a soft launch and will be launching in the middle of Q4 2023.
Thank you for your time, we look forward to seeing you at Longevitech!
Learn more about VeHadarta and SKEELZ at https://www.vehadarta.org.il/.
Longevitech TLV 2023 takes place across 13th – 14th February.
