What We Do

ORT has been transforming lives through training and education since 1880.

From focusing on teaching 19th century Russian Jews essential trades and professions, we have evolved to provide 21st century skills that empower individuals and strengthen communities and Jewish life worldwide.

The ORT network reaches 200,000 people, across 39 countries, in more than 40 schools, two universities, and vocational training programs. We bridge the gap between ability and opportunity by providing leading science and technology education.

When students from underserved communities have access to high-quality education, they are better positioned to enter the job market with marketable skills, become leaders in their own right, and invest back into their communities.

From the Kfar Silver Youth Village in southern Israel, to YOUniversity programs, ORT works to address educational disparity in under-resourced communities in Israel’s periphery. In partnership with governmental bodies in our operating countries, we create impact through education by providing after-school science programs, renovating schools and classrooms with updated technology, training teachers, engaging students in robotics and advanced technology, and collaborating with colleges to prepare underemployed adults in practical engineering programs.

For communities in the Former Soviet Union, Latin America and Europe, ORT’s Jewish curriculum helps to counter assimilation and deepens a connection with the community members’ Jewish identities, while simultaneously providing programs of academic excellence.