Tech Giant IDT Opens a ‘Kollel’

By COLlive reporter

The newly renovated headquarters of the IDT telecommunications company in Newark, New Jersey, includes a fully furnished synagogue stocked with prayer books and an extensive scholarly library.

A first for the corporation, IDT sources say this development is part of a new program aiming to serve motivated, high aptitude students who are looking to enter the workforce, but don’t have the necessary skills.

The CyberTEAM Academy (CTA), as the program will be called, is hoping to attract frum Jewish men interested in becoming IT Security professionals along with dedicating part of the day to learning Torah, as commonly practiced in the Orthodox Jewish community.

It was the brainchild of Golan Ben-Oni, a Lubavitch chassidic man from Brooklyn’s Crown Heights neighborhood who serves as the Chief Information and Security Officer at IDT Corp.

“There is an urgent need for IT security professionals,” Ben-Oni told COLlive.com about the program that is said to be particularly interested in training young married men who are focused on providing for their families.

New tech will be taught by IDT professionals, while the Kollel program will be headed by Rabbi Mordechai Lipskier, a young and respected Torah teacher and Director of The Beis Medrash of Crown Heights.

“Our unique kolel for kevius ittim (setting times to learn Torah) aims to provide a healthy transition from the yeshiva setting to the workplace environment, by empowering our students with a passion for Torah as a guide to daily life,” Lipskier said.

Plans are to have ‘development’ instruction, enabling students who didn’t complete high school math or English to complete university-level courses. Through a rigorous program of studies, graduates will be able to earn an Associates Degree in two years and a Bachelors Degree in four years.

“This is a high need, high growth field and we will be positioning our students to enter and thrive in the industry,” added Yona Handler, chief operating officer (COO) of the CyberTEAM Academy.

The training will be combined with internship, a focus on IT Security, coaching for industry certification and assistance with job placement and career development, all for a competitive annual tuition fee.

“We are starting with the end in mind,” Handler told COLlive.com. “We will enable students to progress from their current situation into a great career trajectory.”

For more info, visit CyberTorah.net or email [email protected].