The country’s relaunch will come through education, especially technical and advanced training

Europe believes in training. And Italy too is called upon to bet on technical and professional education, to meet the challenges of a future that promises change. Prime Minister Mario Draghi said as much in his speech to Parliament. He dedicated an entire chapter of his programme to education, especially technical training. “It’s been estimated that we need about 3 million graduates from technical colleges in the digital environmental sector, over the five-year period, 2019-2023,” Mario Draghi explained. “The National Recovery and Resilience Programme is allocating €1.5 billion to technical colleges (ITS), four times the funding for a normal, pre-pandemic year.”

To innovate, in order to meet the challenges of digital transformation and ecological transition, with the right skills. This is the task that the technical colleges will carry out, to enable the country to prepare for the future.

The InCom Foundation decided years ago to bet on this innovative path, as President Benedetto Di Rienzo explained. “The Prime Minister’s focus on the world of education, giving it an investment role for the future of our country, is certainly a source of satisfaction for the entire nation, especially for all who work in the training sector, who have believed, and will continue to believe, that education and training must be the engine for growth and development, not only economic but, first and foremost, cultural and social.

From here, the vision of the future central position of professional and technical education, which, like universities, operates closely with the business system, encouraging and facilitating the employability of young people. The significant funding, which has been reconfirmed by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, as part of the European Next Generation Plan, represents a stimulating opportunity.”

The economic world greatly applauds the paradigm shift. “We’re looking with attention and interest at the shift announced by Prime Minister Draghi to make technical colleges one of the cornerstones of education in our country,” said the President of the Chamber of Commerce, Fabio Lunghi. “For some time now, we’ve supported the various, significant initiatives launched by the Province. These colleges are the road to employment, as a number of analyses show; in the fruitful synergy between the world of education and the business system, they represent a concrete model for introducing our young people into the world of employment. And it’s to this model that we are devoting an in-depth study, during a webinar, on Wednesday 24 February, involving everyone involved in the ITS system in Varese.”

The presentation of Varese’s advanced training course will be an important moment to lay the foundations for a cultural change, where laboratory skills will once again be the focus.

Varese Province, whose production soul has always produced valuable collaborations with the education and technical system, in particular, are convinced that the path indicated by President Draghi, and even more so, by the EU Next Generation directives, will bring benefits to the entire system. “It’s clear that Draghi comes from the world of economics and employment, and he knows it perfectly well,” Emanuele Antonelli, the President of the Province of Varese, said. “His call to align what education has to offer with the demand for the new generations, with particular attention to the relaunch of the technical colleges, works towards meeting the needs of businesses and the employment requirements of young people. I often talk to entrepreneurs who, despite having jobs to offer, complain about the lack of adequately trained technical staff. Perhaps, at last, with the funds from the National Recovery and Resilience Programme, it will be possible to get these schools, which are already working very well, off the ground, especially in our area, and to make them known as well as possible to families and young people. And to make it clear that higher education in technical fields opens doors to the world of work and is not to be considered inferior to a traditional, university course. The Province insists on this point, also with initiatives and events aimed at teachers, families and young people.”

 

Translated by Edoardo Graziani, Sarah Guarneri

Reviewed by Prof. Rolf Cook