Beit Berl College Re-Trains Former Teva Chemists as Advanced Chemistry Teachers

Selected by the Ministry of Education, Beit Berl College developed and launched a program to retrain chemists who worked at Teva to become high school teachers of advanced chemistry. The 18-month program, which began this month, will provide intensive training in pedagogy, methodology and skills to prepare these students to begin teach already in the coming academic year, October 2018. The students, former employees of Teva’s Applied Pharmaceutical Ingredients (TAPI) and other departments who were laid off as a result of the company’s downsizing, have advanced degrees and years of experience in chemistry fields. Utilizing former Teva employees’ extensive experience, the program seeks to address the severe shortage of chemistry teachers in Israeli high schools [Israel faces a drastic shortage of chemistry teachers, particularly for advanced studies in high school (4 and 5-unit matriculation tracks), resulting in a lack of young people entering the science; industry leaders have reported a critical shortage of scientists and researchers in fields of chemistry to fill positions in R&D and production].

Program Head, Dr. Tami Yaron, views this program as a valuable way of imparting indispensable expertise to our society: “Teva workers bring a wealth of knowledge and experience that can spark innovation in chemistry teaching, and open up new horizons for Israeli students throughout the country. These workers now have the opportunity to contribute to society and leave their mark on the next generation of researchers and scientists. Our aspiration is to see a flow of young people to the fields of science and research.”

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries building in Jerusalem
(Photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem, The Jerusalem Post)

The Education Ministry selected Beit Berl College, known for its experience in retraining professionals for a second career in education – from retired army officers to hi-tech professionals who seek a meaningful career change – and which has ever more become the place to study STEM-subjects at the highest level. The Ministry will pay for the students’ tuition in the form of loans that will convert into grants after two years of teaching in the field. This program is yet another example of Beit Berl College’s innovative solutions in real time to societal as well as educational needs utilizing our teacher training experience.

Read about the re-training program in The Jerusalem Post.