One young person out of four is out of employment or education: a social and political crisis that needs to be tackled
Employment and young people in Italy. A world full of disparities and increasingly disintegrating expectations, and, as such, a serious threat to the development opportunities of the entire country. Moreover, a threat that not only concerns the economy but, more in general, the entire social system and, of course, the quality itself of Italian democracy. There’s a strong link between political involvement, a sense of social civic responsibility and employment (as indicated in the first article of the Italian Constitution) and this issue has remained unchallenged far too long.
To better understand it, let’s consider two factors: a figure of three millions and a percentage of 40%.
There are three million young people (3,047,000 to be precise) who are neither studying, working or training – they’re referred to as NEET, an acronym that means exactly that: “Not in education, employment or training. As a percentage, it amounts to 25% of young people aged 15 to 34 years, the highest average in the EU, even worse than Greece, Bulgaria, Spain and Romania. A “lost generation”, to quote a worrisome phrase by Prime Minister Mario Draghi.
Whereas 40% is the percentage of the jobs that companies would like to fill, but for which they can’t find staff that’s appropriately skilled or could promptly get a suitable qualification.
In summary, one young person out of four is out of school and employment at a time when companies are getting nervous about losing opportunities for general economic growth. In summary, these young people are left at home, disheartened, while companies don’t know who to employ. A troubling paradox.
Which young people comprise the NEET group? According to the ISTAT, OECD and Eurostat data included in the “NEET Working” report – a plan for the development and professional guidance for inactive young people, implemented by the Ministry of Youth Affairs in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour – 1.7 million out of over three million young people are women (amounting to a third of the European NEET rate – an astonishingly dismal record). Many quit studying after obtaining their secondary school diploma. Most live in Southern Italy: in Sicily, where the NEET rate amounts to 30% for young people aged 15 to 24 years; in the Calabria region, where it amounts to 28.4%; and in the Campania region, where it amounts to 27.3%.
Going into more detail, about one out of those three million is unemployed (but looking for a job), while the inactive category (unemployed but not looking for a job) comprises the remaining two million. A dramatic landscape now exacerbated by the crisis brought on by the pandemic, by the recession, and by the impact of rising energy and raw material prices, as well as the deceleration of the growth rate due to the war in Ukraine.
Thus, over the medium term, can a country like Italy, trying to establish a so-called “knowledge economy”, resign itself to disregard what amounts to a quarter of the next generation – and an even higher percentage, in terms of women – along the way, through ignorance and inaction (or precarious work, illegal and undeclared)? No, of course not. Not only because the perpetuation of such blatant disparities deeply unbalances the social system (causing frustration, resentment, and a sense of alienation with respect to the interests and values of the whole country, as reports by CENSIS, the Italian socio-economic research centre, have been showing for years), but also because enterprises – the drivers of development – are lacking indispensable human resources.
This is indeed confirmed by the percentage of unfulfilled roles we mentioned above: 40%. There is a lack of sophisticated skills concerning professions related to technological innovation and digital economy (engineers, mathematicians, computer scientists, statisticians, physicists, chemists, data analysts and cyber security experts, neuroscientists and technicians from the complex sphere of life sciences), but also a scarceness of intermediate technicians in the mechanic, mechatronic and chemical industries, as well as in the whole construction sector.
How to address this? The choices made until now proved to be unsuccessful, from the introduction of a “citizenship income” (welfare allowance dependant on income and citizenship) as a first step towards becoming employed to early retirement for elderly people, under the delusion that the new generation would fill their shoes; from training programmes (managed by regional authorities and extremely inadequate with respect to concrete employment needs) to European initiatives called Youth Guarantee actuated into “GOL” (Guaranteed employability) projects.
It’s time to change direction and channel resources from the PNRR (the Italian recovery and resilience plan) following the indications of the EU’s Next Generation Recovery Plan, reiterating the importance of quality training, the ratio between education and work, the enhancement of standard and higher technical colleges.
Leaving aside more specific measures, however, what’s needed is a more general political and cultural commitment, so as to teach our dispirited and discouraged young women and men the value of education and knowledge, through feasible and useful training programmes – a veritable civic battle involving cultural, entertainment and sports figures, influencers and testimonials the younger generations can rely to.
Italy is a country experiencing an alarming, growing demographic crisis, it’s getting older and it’s decaying (“in 50 years, in Italy, we’ll have 12 million less people”, predicted ISTAT in November 2021) – more reason to act and stop neglecting a quarter of today’s young people, leaving them stranded without study or employment skills. This social crisis needs a more effective and faster response, as well as a strong government taking responsibility for it. Italian President Mattarella has, in several occasions, spelled this out very clearly. It’s now the turn of the government, of Parliament, and of political forces to make some concrete decisions and implement appropriate measures, and inspire a sense of social willpower and passion for a better future.
photo: Getty Images
Employment and young people in Italy. A world full of disparities and increasingly disintegrating expectations, and, as such, a serious threat to the development opportunities of the entire country. Moreover, a threat that not only concerns the economy but, more in general, the entire social system and, of course, the quality itself of Italian democracy. There’s a strong link between political involvement, a sense of social civic responsibility and employment (as indicated in the first article of the Italian Constitution) and this issue has remained unchallenged far too long.
To better understand it, let’s consider two factors: a figure of three millions and a percentage of 40%.
There are three million young people (3,047,000 to be precise) who are neither studying, working or training – they’re referred to as NEET, an acronym that means exactly that: “Not in education, employment or training. As a percentage, it amounts to 25% of young people aged 15 to 34 years, the highest average in the EU, even worse than Greece, Bulgaria, Spain and Romania. A “lost generation”, to quote a worrisome phrase by Prime Minister Mario Draghi.
Whereas 40% is the percentage of the jobs that companies would like to fill, but for which they can’t find staff that’s appropriately skilled or could promptly get a suitable qualification.
In summary, one young person out of four is out of school and employment at a time when companies are getting nervous about losing opportunities for general economic growth. In summary, these young people are left at home, disheartened, while companies don’t know who to employ. A troubling paradox.
Which young people comprise the NEET group? According to the ISTAT, OECD and Eurostat data included in the “NEET Working” report – a plan for the development and professional guidance for inactive young people, implemented by the Ministry of Youth Affairs in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour – 1.7 million out of over three million young people are women (amounting to a third of the European NEET rate – an astonishingly dismal record). Many quit studying after obtaining their secondary school diploma. Most live in Southern Italy: in Sicily, where the NEET rate amounts to 30% for young people aged 15 to 24 years; in the Calabria region, where it amounts to 28.4%; and in the Campania region, where it amounts to 27.3%.
Going into more detail, about one out of those three million is unemployed (but looking for a job), while the inactive category (unemployed but not looking for a job) comprises the remaining two million. A dramatic landscape now exacerbated by the crisis brought on by the pandemic, by the recession, and by the impact of rising energy and raw material prices, as well as the deceleration of the growth rate due to the war in Ukraine.
Thus, over the medium term, can a country like Italy, trying to establish a so-called “knowledge economy”, resign itself to disregard what amounts to a quarter of the next generation – and an even higher percentage, in terms of women – along the way, through ignorance and inaction (or precarious work, illegal and undeclared)? No, of course not. Not only because the perpetuation of such blatant disparities deeply unbalances the social system (causing frustration, resentment, and a sense of alienation with respect to the interests and values of the whole country, as reports by CENSIS, the Italian socio-economic research centre, have been showing for years), but also because enterprises – the drivers of development – are lacking indispensable human resources.
This is indeed confirmed by the percentage of unfulfilled roles we mentioned above: 40%. There is a lack of sophisticated skills concerning professions related to technological innovation and digital economy (engineers, mathematicians, computer scientists, statisticians, physicists, chemists, data analysts and cyber security experts, neuroscientists and technicians from the complex sphere of life sciences), but also a scarceness of intermediate technicians in the mechanic, mechatronic and chemical industries, as well as in the whole construction sector.
How to address this? The choices made until now proved to be unsuccessful, from the introduction of a “citizenship income” (welfare allowance dependant on income and citizenship) as a first step towards becoming employed to early retirement for elderly people, under the delusion that the new generation would fill their shoes; from training programmes (managed by regional authorities and extremely inadequate with respect to concrete employment needs) to European initiatives called Youth Guarantee actuated into “GOL” (Guaranteed employability) projects.
It’s time to change direction and channel resources from the PNRR (the Italian recovery and resilience plan) following the indications of the EU’s Next Generation Recovery Plan, reiterating the importance of quality training, the ratio between education and work, the enhancement of standard and higher technical colleges.
Leaving aside more specific measures, however, what’s needed is a more general political and cultural commitment, so as to teach our dispirited and discouraged young women and men the value of education and knowledge, through feasible and useful training programmes – a veritable civic battle involving cultural, entertainment and sports figures, influencers and testimonials the younger generations can rely to.
Italy is a country experiencing an alarming, growing demographic crisis, it’s getting older and it’s decaying (“in 50 years, in Italy, we’ll have 12 million less people”, predicted ISTAT in November 2021) – more reason to act and stop neglecting a quarter of today’s young people, leaving them stranded without study or employment skills. This social crisis needs a more effective and faster response, as well as a strong government taking responsibility for it. Italian President Mattarella has, in several occasions, spelled this out very clearly. It’s now the turn of the government, of Parliament, and of political forces to make some concrete decisions and implement appropriate measures, and inspire a sense of social willpower and passion for a better future.
photo: Getty Images