"Work Training: Italy Falling Further Behind in Europe: The Decalogue for Turning the Tide"

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The importance of education is constantly emphasized by labor unions, entrepreneurs, politicians, and economists, but Italy consistently lags behind. Why?

Italy consistently ranks poorly in European adult education rankings. Data from 2022 shows a drastic decline in participation in training courses compared to previous years, and companies, especially micro-enterprises, are reluctant to invest in employee training.

Looking at the entities companies turn to for training course implementation consultancy, the role of labor consultants stands out (42.4%), followed by training companies (27.9%), and then trade associations (26.7%) (Unioncamere - ANPAL data, Excelsior Information System, 2022).

In short, there are many shortcomings, role confusions, and untapped potentials that should be addressed, considering the importance of education for the future of our country and the job market, especially regarding topics such as digitalization, the impact of artificial intelligence, and environmental sustainability.

If things continue this way, we'll likely find ourselves here again next year and the year after, lamenting the need for more and better training. Wouldn't it be time to change course and try to shake up this dismal trend?

Aware that what you're about to read may seem radical, I'll try to propose some ideas, certainly not exhaustive due to the impossibility of delving deeper here: a sort of decalogue to finally tackle this issue head-on.

a) Encourage training. Companies neglecting training should face higher contributions or taxes to emphasize the importance of this investment.

b) Role of collective bargaining. Put training at the center of collective bargaining: it's not enough to establish bilateral bodies and interprofessional funds or fill contracts with good intentions if training isn't practiced in negotiation dynamics, to the detriment of workers' right to be trained.

c) Mandatory Training: Some training topics should be made mandatory, as is already the case for health and safety at work. It's about protecting supreme and constitutionally guaranteed rights such as the right to work and to do business, especially when training involves digitalization and the impact of new technologies.

d) Direct funding for workers. Training funds should be directly accessible to workers or individuals interested. People could take leaves similar to parental leaves. In Sweden, where more training is done in Europe, this is the system adopted, along with scholarships to cover university fees and subsidies for the weaker segments of the population.

e) Uniform certification standards. It's necessary to establish a uniform competency certification standard at the European level. Much ink has been spilled on this topic, but the adoption of a uniform system is still far from being realized.

f) Update the school system. If data analysis, data science, big data, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity will have a greater impact on companies, which will increasingly demand professions such as engineers, technicians, doctors, ICT technicians, and specialists in computer and mathematical sciences, why isn't the school system and institutional guidance adapting accordingly?

The above list is by no means exhaustive. Indeed, the more attentive may have noticed that I initially mentioned a decalogue but actually only cited six potential areas of work that could be integrated.

It's time to act to reverse the negative trend. A change of pace is important in addressing immobility, unhealthy habits, and procrastination to avoid intervening when the cows have already escaped. There is much to be done today to ensure a better future for Italy through education. "The only skill that will be important in the 21st century is the ability to acquire new skills: everything else will become obsolete over time." - Peter Drucker

"We are at the bottom of the rankings in Europe for adult education: we slipped to the eighteenth position in 2022 after being consistently at the fifteenth (data from Inapp 2023). We are among the last countries for the spread of interprofessional funds: only Greece and Poland are worse than us (source: Unioncamere - ANPAL, Excelsior Information System, 2022, on Enzima 12 elaboration, training report 2023). The number of people aged between 25 and 64 in Italy who participated in training courses in 2021 decreased compared to the previous year (Elaboration INAPP 2022, based on Eurostat data, Labour Force Survey), and the participation rate in training courses is inversely proportional to the age of workers. The European Commission's target for adults (47% by 2025 and 60% by 2030) seems to be far off for our country. Looking at companies, things are not better. In Italy, only one in five workers in micro-enterprises has participated in at least one training course, while three out of five are trained in large enterprises (source: INAPP 2023 on INDACO-Enterprises Survey 2022)."