The first group of over 60 workers from India has arrived in Israel under a government-to-government agreement to support the country's construction industry, which is experiencing a significant shortage of skilled workers.
The G2G arrangement has been developed to exclude intermediaries and ensure fairness in the hiring process through screening tests administered by Israeli examiners. These examiners have visited India several times and coordinated the process with government agencies.
The inaugural cohort of Indian construction workers landed in the country on Tuesday evening.
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"Today we had a farewell event from the first batch of 60+ Indian construction workers going to Israel under the G2G agreement. This is an outcome of hard work of many, including @NSDCINDIA. I’m sure that the workers become 'ambassadors’ of the great P2P relations between India and Israel," Israel's ambassador to India Naor Gilon posted on X on Tuesday.
Previously, just over 900 construction workers had arrived from India in recent months through the B2B pathway, which involves recruitment agencies in both countries.
Sources within the construction industry expressed frustration at the slow progress. Despite more than 20,000 foreign workers from India and Sri Lanka being approved for construction jobs after screening tests conducted by the Israeli Contractors Association (ICA) over three months, only around 1,000 workers had actually arrived.
The delay was attributed to bureaucratic procedures, including obtaining various government permits.
Many of the selected workers are reported to have resigned from their previous positions and are now awaiting visas to work in Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during a telephone conversation with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in December last year, discussed advancing the arrival of Indian workers to Israel.
The Israeli construction industry employs workers in specific fields where there is a lack of Israeli workers.
The largest group of about 80,000 workers in the construction industry came from the Palestinian Authority-controlled West Bank and another 17,000 from the Gaza Strip, a huge majority of whom had their work permits revoked following Hamas' brutal attack on Israel in October.
Another group of about 7,000 workers in the sector comes from China, and some 6,000 are from Eastern Europe.
About 18,000 Indians are working in Israel, mostly as caregivers.
Israel and India also signed an agreement in May last year during Foreign Minister Eli Cohen's visit to New Delhi that would allow 42,000 Indian workers to work in the Jewish state in the fields of construction and nursing. This move would address the rising cost of living and assist thousands of families waiting for nursing care.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry released a statement that 34,000 workers would be engaged in the construction field and another 8,000 for nursing needs.
About 800 workers from India have also joined the agricultural sector in Israel during the past six months.
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