To be hired you need a technical training course. The government’s plan for young people
The unemployed in Italy at the end of August were just under 2 million, of which 785 thousand were aged between 15 and 34. According to the Minister of Labour, Marina Calderone, there are as many as one million jobs not filled. The CGIA of Mestre asked itself yesterday how the existence of such a paradox is possible.
In reality the estimate could be rounded down. According to September data in the Excelsior-Unioncamere-Anpal System, in fact, in 2022, compared to 5.2 million hirings expected from the business-services-professionals system, over 40% would have been difficult to find. Therefore, last year 2 million jobs would have been available due to lack of candidates or low qualifications (as well as other reasons). In short, the question that the artisans of Mestre ultimately ask themselves is more than legitimate: why does unemployment remain high (it is higher than the European average) even if, in theory, there would be work? Why does the number of vacancies remain high even though the number of employed people is at record levels at 23.5 million people?
Just look at the Excelsior data to observe how the most requested figures are heterogeneous: welders, general practitioners, electronic engineers, plasterers, company managers, mechanics, nurses and maintenance technicians. These are not all positions for which a degree is required, on the contrary. Therefore, if in September out of 530 thousand offers expected there was a 47.6% difficulty in finding them, it means that the negative externalities of the training system are putting the functionality of companies in crisis. In the North, for example, last year around one place in two risked not finding workers (Bologna was the capital most in difficulty with 47.7%). A trend which, due to the negative demographic trend, risks worsening further.
Yet there are signs of life coming from the world of education. Research by the Adapt Foundation in collaboration with Intesa Sanpaolo has highlighted that ITS (higher technological institutes) courses carried out as apprenticeships guarantee students greater employment stability, while providing companies with answers to their needs. The ITS record placement rates for graduates that stand at around 86% 12 months after obtaining the qualification, and above all 93% of them carry out a job consistent with what they have studied. These data compare with 69.2% of young people who find a job at the end of a three-year degree and 72.1% at the end of a master’s degree. The research conducted by Intesa Sanpaolo and the Adapt Foundation also reported that the ITS Foundations (bodies made up of schools with local businesses and institutions; ed.) that provide apprenticeship courses have an even higher placement rate of graduates.
Yet the number of ITS members is around 25 thousand units, while the number of apprenticeship contracts signed annually stands at around 550 thousand. Improving employment levels starting from training is possible. It is no coincidence that the Council of Ministers recently approved a bill by the head of Education, Giuseppe Valditara, which, starting from 2024-2025, establishes the technological-professional training chain precisely to enhance the employability of young people. And, not to be overlooked, this is absolutely not a minimum wage issue.
