Young people from the Lombardy region are set to become entrepreneursbut don’t see the attraction in manufacturing
Becoming entrepreneurs, or professionals, is the main ambition of most young people from Lombardy – in other words, being in charge of their own time and life. Not as choosy (or waiting for their ideal job to fall from the sky) or mollycoddled, entitled, given to a do-nothing culture, as we might think, then. It’s an illuminating snapshot about the personal and professional expectations of our new generations, and it certainly demands some pondering.
This is what a survey conducted last May by Eumetra for entrepreneurial association Assolombarda revealed, a survey that involved interviewing 1,000 young women and men aged between 18 and 26 years, residing in the provinces of Milan – Pavia, Monza, Brianza and Lodi – with a high-school diploma under the belt and, 36% of them, a degree as well. The results were presented and discussed last week at a conference entitled “I giovani, il lavoro e la cultura d’impresa” (“Young people, employment and corporate culture”), part of the initiatives belonging to the “Pavia capitale della cultura d’impresa” (“Pavia as capital of corporate culture”) programme.
What do these figures reveal, exactly? 29% of interviewees aspires to a future as entrepreneurs (the percentage rises to 35% amongst graduates and to 41% amongst graduates who work and study) while another 28% wishes to freelance. All in all, 57% aims to set up their own business and only 28% wants to “be employed”. Basically, the notion of a “steady job”, so much featured in Checco Zalone’s parody Quo vado?, is really not that appealing, at least in the Lombardy region.
Yet, what is it meant with “entrepreneur” and “professional”? “Consulting” is in first place (17%), followed by the healthcare and social sectors; then are the banking, finance and insurance sectors, as well as commerce, informatics, tourism, creative roles, the public sphere; manufacturing and the energy sectors are second last, with “no-profits” in final place.
Here’s a key point: factories, even the digital neo-factories, are just not seen as attractive. Indeed, only 15% of interviewees mentions manufacturing as the “leading sector of the Italian economy”, while most of the others (49%) attributes this to the tourism industry. Let’s delve a bit deeper, as in 2009 and 2010 similar data emerged from a national survey carried out by Ipsos, undertaken first for a book entitled Orgoglio industriale (Industrial pride), published by Mondadori, and then for Assolombarda. The reappearance of such results, having seen how the manufacturing sector drove the post-Covid recovery, and especially in an area (Milan, Monza and Brianza, Lodi and Pavia) marked by strong industrial presence and interconnected high-technology services, suggests a genuine lack of narrative reliability from leading entrepreneurs – a narrative that should actually have impressed the new generations – as well as a continued lack of trust in the industrial sector.
The Assolombarda-Eumetra survey says that, “More than half the sample (54%) sees manufacturing as a by-product of specialisation and only 39% links it to innovation. Confirming this perception, 53% of interviewees believes that jobs in the manufacturing industry require greater experience and technical skills than they used to, while only 35% of them finds that labourers have gained better rights and legal protection in recent years, and a mere 23% thinks that the work environment in factories is safer and healthier than in the past.”
Hence, despite the progress achieved in terms of environmental and social responsibility, the quality of new industrial architectural design (“the beautiful factory” – properly planned, transparent, bright and safe) and radical high-tech transformations, a negative perception of factories continues to affect the new generations.
Here’s a minor note that, however, may bring some hope: 42% of young graduates believes that “the manufacturing industry offers good opportunities for jobs related to environmental sustainability” – a positive perspective that should be encouraged.
And here are some more figures, in order to better understand the context: 55% of interviewees looks for “flexible hours”, 49% would like to “have some free time for activities outside of work” and only 35% would prefer smart working – here, too, the inclination of wanting to “be in charge” of one’s own time is noticeable. And the key value? To 81%, it’s “family and loved ones” – more important, then, than success and career.
These are the essential findings of the Assolombarda survey: findings that prompt some thoughts that should actually be publicly debated by politicians (which measures to implement in order to fulfil the new generations’ work ambitions, and therefore on what should Italian and European funds be more adequately spent?) and, above all, entrepreneurial organisations and corporate representatives.
The survey prominently shows how important the values of entrepreneurship and free choice are when building one’s own future, though the participants were obviously positively affected by the fact that they grew up in regions (Milan – both the metropolis and surrounding cities) socially and culturally shaped by entrepreneurship. As such, it would be interesting to see the results of a survey undertaken in other areas featuring widespread entrepreneurship, like the north-west, north-east and Emilia-Romagna regions, and places where enterprises are neither very present nor historically embedded, such as Central and Southern Italy.
More thoughts concern the perception of industrial enterprise by the new generations, and how it could be made to appear more rewarding and enticing, highlighting – even further – the power of its high-tech productive standards and high levels of quality and sustainability (such as those intriguing environmentally-friendly steelworks).
In essence, we really need to reiterate the values inherent in the best ‘made in Italy’ manufacturing, though without falling into rhetorical misconceptions focused on picturesque ideals and the notion that “small is beautiful”. And we should also emphasise a world brimming with extraordinary professional and personal development opportunities for entrepreneurial young women and men, such as those offered by the mechatronics, automotive, aerospace, shipbuilding, life sciences, furnishing, fashion, agribusiness sectors, and so on.
Basically, we have to write a “new factory narrative”, using all the media and languages that will most effectively reach the new generations – an unavoidable challenge, and one we need to tackle in order to give substance and a future to our young people’s main ambition: becoming entrepreneurs.
(photo Getty Images)
Becoming entrepreneurs, or professionals, is the main ambition of most young people from Lombardy – in other words, being in charge of their own time and life. Not as choosy (or waiting for their ideal job to fall from the sky) or mollycoddled, entitled, given to a do-nothing culture, as we might think, then. It’s an illuminating snapshot about the personal and professional expectations of our new generations, and it certainly demands some pondering.
This is what a survey conducted last May by Eumetra for entrepreneurial association Assolombarda revealed, a survey that involved interviewing 1,000 young women and men aged between 18 and 26 years, residing in the provinces of Milan – Pavia, Monza, Brianza and Lodi – with a high-school diploma under the belt and, 36% of them, a degree as well. The results were presented and discussed last week at a conference entitled “I giovani, il lavoro e la cultura d’impresa” (“Young people, employment and corporate culture”), part of the initiatives belonging to the “Pavia capitale della cultura d’impresa” (“Pavia as capital of corporate culture”) programme.
What do these figures reveal, exactly? 29% of interviewees aspires to a future as entrepreneurs (the percentage rises to 35% amongst graduates and to 41% amongst graduates who work and study) while another 28% wishes to freelance. All in all, 57% aims to set up their own business and only 28% wants to “be employed”. Basically, the notion of a “steady job”, so much featured in Checco Zalone’s parody Quo vado?, is really not that appealing, at least in the Lombardy region.
Yet, what is it meant with “entrepreneur” and “professional”? “Consulting” is in first place (17%), followed by the healthcare and social sectors; then are the banking, finance and insurance sectors, as well as commerce, informatics, tourism, creative roles, the public sphere; manufacturing and the energy sectors are second last, with “no-profits” in final place.
Here’s a key point: factories, even the digital neo-factories, are just not seen as attractive. Indeed, only 15% of interviewees mentions manufacturing as the “leading sector of the Italian economy”, while most of the others (49%) attributes this to the tourism industry. Let’s delve a bit deeper, as in 2009 and 2010 similar data emerged from a national survey carried out by Ipsos, undertaken first for a book entitled Orgoglio industriale (Industrial pride), published by Mondadori, and then for Assolombarda. The reappearance of such results, having seen how the manufacturing sector drove the post-Covid recovery, and especially in an area (Milan, Monza and Brianza, Lodi and Pavia) marked by strong industrial presence and interconnected high-technology services, suggests a genuine lack of narrative reliability from leading entrepreneurs – a narrative that should actually have impressed the new generations – as well as a continued lack of trust in the industrial sector.
The Assolombarda-Eumetra survey says that, “More than half the sample (54%) sees manufacturing as a by-product of specialisation and only 39% links it to innovation. Confirming this perception, 53% of interviewees believes that jobs in the manufacturing industry require greater experience and technical skills than they used to, while only 35% of them finds that labourers have gained better rights and legal protection in recent years, and a mere 23% thinks that the work environment in factories is safer and healthier than in the past.”
Hence, despite the progress achieved in terms of environmental and social responsibility, the quality of new industrial architectural design (“the beautiful factory” – properly planned, transparent, bright and safe) and radical high-tech transformations, a negative perception of factories continues to affect the new generations.
Here’s a minor note that, however, may bring some hope: 42% of young graduates believes that “the manufacturing industry offers good opportunities for jobs related to environmental sustainability” – a positive perspective that should be encouraged.
And here are some more figures, in order to better understand the context: 55% of interviewees looks for “flexible hours”, 49% would like to “have some free time for activities outside of work” and only 35% would prefer smart working – here, too, the inclination of wanting to “be in charge” of one’s own time is noticeable. And the key value? To 81%, it’s “family and loved ones” – more important, then, than success and career.
These are the essential findings of the Assolombarda survey: findings that prompt some thoughts that should actually be publicly debated by politicians (which measures to implement in order to fulfil the new generations’ work ambitions, and therefore on what should Italian and European funds be more adequately spent?) and, above all, entrepreneurial organisations and corporate representatives.
The survey prominently shows how important the values of entrepreneurship and free choice are when building one’s own future, though the participants were obviously positively affected by the fact that they grew up in regions (Milan – both the metropolis and surrounding cities) socially and culturally shaped by entrepreneurship. As such, it would be interesting to see the results of a survey undertaken in other areas featuring widespread entrepreneurship, like the north-west, north-east and Emilia-Romagna regions, and places where enterprises are neither very present nor historically embedded, such as Central and Southern Italy.
More thoughts concern the perception of industrial enterprise by the new generations, and how it could be made to appear more rewarding and enticing, highlighting – even further – the power of its high-tech productive standards and high levels of quality and sustainability (such as those intriguing environmentally-friendly steelworks).
In essence, we really need to reiterate the values inherent in the best ‘made in Italy’ manufacturing, though without falling into rhetorical misconceptions focused on picturesque ideals and the notion that “small is beautiful”. And we should also emphasise a world brimming with extraordinary professional and personal development opportunities for entrepreneurial young women and men, such as those offered by the mechatronics, automotive, aerospace, shipbuilding, life sciences, furnishing, fashion, agribusiness sectors, and so on.
Basically, we have to write a “new factory narrative”, using all the media and languages that will most effectively reach the new generations – an unavoidable challenge, and one we need to tackle in order to give substance and a future to our young people’s main ambition: becoming entrepreneurs.
(photo Getty Images)