Technology specialist. Development director. Administrative assistant. Maintenance worker. Religious school teacher.
If you’re looking for a job, there’s an abundance of offerings now in the South Florida Jewish community. And you don’t have to be Jewish to apply.
Nor do you have to be Jewish to get career-counseling assistance from local Jewish agencies, including JWorks Miami, a program of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation and Jewish Community Services of South Florida, and Career Connections, sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County and Alpert Jewish Family Service.
At this moment, job seekers of all sorts of ethnic backgrounds and career histories are needing support, said Whitney Cherner, Career Connections director
“There are a lot of openings and really great jobs available,” Cherner said. “People feel alone during their job-seeking phase. We want to show them there are free services available to the entire community.”
When Career Connections organized a Jewish Community Job Fair on July 24 in West Palm Beach, about 200 potential applicants attended. Cherner said there were only about 50 at the last fair three years ago.
Although South Florida has a growing Jewish community with expanding communal institutions, a combination of factors is complicating residents’ job searches, not only in the Jewish community but throughout South Florida, Cherner said.
The high cost of living is forcing many people who had planned to retire back into the workforce, she said, and there’s also a frequent mismatch between job seekers’ skills and available positions.
Palm Beach County’s fastest-growing sectors include health care, manufacturing, financial services, construction and technology, she said. There are also lots of low-wage retail and hospitality jobs that are hard to support a family on.
“This mismatch contributes to longer job searches, deepens financial strain and creates an emotional toll,” Cherner said. “Many job seekers report loss of confidence after multiple rejections or being ghosted, mental fatigue from managing long-term stress, and feelings of invisibility within the hiring process.”
Career Connections helps job seekers match their skills to specific careers, touch up their resumes, create online LinkedIn profiles and practice mock interviews. Cherner said the program had 80 active clients in July, compared with only 28 a year ago.
There are several other Palm Beach County agencies that help job seekers, including CareerSource Palm Beach County and the Workforce Empowerment Center at the Urban League of Palm Beach County. Broward County residents can get assistance through similar agencies: CareerSource Broward and the Urban League of Broward County.
Among the agencies and companies seeking employees at the recent Career Connections fair were Fass Pass to Love, a matchmaking service looking to hire a matchmaker, an assistant and a social media marketer; the Mandel JCC in Boynton Beach, which had nine open positions, including a human resources director and water safety workers; and the Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County, which listed 13 open positions.
In addition, many synagogues are in desperate need of religious school teachers, including three that participated in the fair.
Broward County synagogues also are facing a religious school teacher shortage. For the third year, a program called The Learning Collective is offering a $600 incentive to lure applicants with no educational experience.
The Broward County Jewish Federation is financing the stipends for those who take a six-week online training course and are hired by a local congregation. Many schools are likely to employ these would-be teachers: The federation is helping to find teachers at eight Reform and Conservative synagogues that are participating in the program, said Judy Levenson, the federation’s development director.
“If they get hired and take the six sessions, then they get $600,” Levenson said.
Synagogue teachers do not need previous training but should have several important skills, including enthusiasm for Judaism, a willingness to learn classroom management, and patience and love for children, Levenson said. Educators say pay scales depend on the synagogue but mostly range from $35 to $55 an hour.
HELPFUL WEBSITES
For assistance in finding a job in the Jewish community, contact the following organizations:
- Career Connections: jewishpb.org
- JWorks Miami: jewishmiami.org/resources
- The Learning Collective, a Jewish teacher training program, Broward County: jewishtlc.org
- Jewish Jobs, lists non-profit agencies looking for professionals: jewishjobs.com
