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Way to learn to work – Investing in young people: Italy – May 2015

COUNTRY: ITALY INDEX

Introduction.....................................................................................................................................................................2

Part I Context ..................................................................................................................................................................3

Facts & Figures ............................................................................................................................................................3

Legal framework..........................................................................................................................................................4

EDUCATION: policy to support individual knowledge..........................................................................................4

WORK: Labor market policy to enhance re-‐employment of youth.....................................................................4

WELFARE: social policy to support individual welfare of youth ..........................................................................5

Part II Best practices & future (to fill in after meeting in your country) ...................................................................6

Best practices ..............................................................................................................................................................6

Future...........................................................................................................................................................................6

Ideas, suggestions in order to activate young people..........................................................................................6

Recommendations to policy makers .....................................................................................................................6

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INTRODUCTION

In ‘part one’ each partner can offer some ‘facts & figures’ and ‘legal framework’ which gives an idea about the context of the host country. The aim is not to be complete nor to compare with other countries, but to give

relevant information in order to help the participants/visitors to better understand the ‘best practices’ presented to them during the coming meetings.

After the meeting, the host partner can be asked to complete ‘part two’. Best practices can be ‘tools,

programs, initiatives, methodologies…’ which have proven to be effective in enhancing the employability of young people and in activating them. During the meeting the presented ‘best practices’ can be discussed: what

are the results? what are their strengths/weaknesses? Are there other opportunities? Are there new ideas/suggestions? What about the transferability to another country? Are there any recommendations to

make towards policy makers?

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PART I CONTEXT

FACTS & FIGURES

1. Unemployment rates of your country: national, regional, local averages

In the first quarter of 2015 the employement scenario shows some positive changes:

a. the number of employed people has increased -‐ on an annual basis (+ 133.000 , 0.6%). The increase concerns both genders and the whole country and regards both nationals (+50.000 units) and immigrants (+83.000 units);

b. the number of full-‐time workers also rised significantly (+104.000 units, + 0.6%). Uninterrupted since 2010, also the growth of part-‐time workers continues – even if at slower pace (+ 0.7%, 28,000 units); unfortunately it is mostly made of involuntary part-‐time, whose incidence has reached the 64.1% of all part-‐time workers (it was 62.7% in 2014);

c. the national unemployment rate, increased continuously since 2011, dropped down to 13% (-‐0.6 compared to 2014); The reduction applies to both gender, to the North (-‐0.4 points) and especially the South (-‐1.2 points) of the country. Yet regional disparities remain high (with values of 9.0% and 20.5% respectively). In the Centre instead, the unemployment rate rised to 12.1% (+0.1 points).

The unemployment rate in Lombardia is 8,6 %. Still lower than the national one, it has increased compared to the 5,5 rate of the year 2010. In Brescia, in the year 2015 the rate has reached 9,1%.

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2. Youth unemployment rates of your country: national, regional, local averages

In the year 2014 the national youth unemployment rate has increased to 42, 7%, then slowly decreasing: in

the first trimester of 2015 it has lowered to 41,9%. In Lombardia and in Brescia, it was 20,3 and 17,5% respectively in 20141.

3. Number or percentage of people receiving a work disability benefit and/or youngster below 25

years receiving a handicapped young persons benefit

There are different kinds of disability benefits. Unemployed people with a severe physical or mental handicap receive a monthly check (around 280€, less than the social security check which is 450€). Disabled people who are employed but whose health conditions are worsening can apply for a special retirement benefit, but there are no fixed criteria for the assignment which is decided by a specific commission. N° people receiving disability benefits (age 18-‐65): about 130.000. After the age of 65, disability benefits end and people are entitled to receive a “pensione sociale” (social retirement benefit).

4. Unemployment benefits of your country

(Criteria to get them, minimum amount, duration, difference in age categories, …)

ASPI (Social insurance for employment) Economic benefit in favor of employees who have lost their jobs involuntarily. Requirements: a state of involuntary unemployment . At least 2 years of insurance & 1 year of contributions in the last two years Duration:

1 Data for 2015 are not available.

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Age Year

< 50 >50 & <55 > 55

2013 8 months 12 months 12 months



Amount: 75% of the average monthly salary for the last two years Decadence:

- loss of unemployment - re-‐employment for at least 6 months - retirement, refusal to participate, without justification, to an active policy initiative

(training , internships , etc. .) or non-‐regular participation - non-‐acceptance of an offer of employment whose pay level is at least 20% higher of the

gross amount of the allowance. Mobilità (Mobility allowance) It is an intervention to support redundant workers in case of:

- Depletion of the Extraordinary Redundancy Fund (see next slide); - Staff reduction; - Business transformation; - Company restructuring; - Company closure.

Requirements: possession of a seniority of at least 12 months, of which at least six of the actual work. Duration:

Age in central/northern Italy in southern Italy

< 40 12 months 24 months

>= 40 & < 50 24 months 36 months

> 50 36 months 48 months

Amount: 80% of the theoretical gross remuneration due Cassa Integrazione Guadagni Straordinaria (Extraordinary redundancy fund) It is a financial benefit that supplements or replaces workers salaries in order to cope with the crisis of the company or to allow it to deal with restructuring or reorganization. Requirements: Beneficiaries may be workers employed under a contract of employment with at least 90 days of seniority. Duration: from 12 to 36 months, depending on whether it's business in conversion, restructuring, business crisis or bankruptcy procedure. Amount: The allowance amounts to 80 % of the salary that the employee would have received for the hours not worked between zero hours and the contractual time limit and no later than 40 hours per week . For the year 2013 thresholds are set in:

€ 959,22 gross per month for those employees whose remuneration is less than or equal to € 2.075 gross per month;

€ 1.152,90 gross per month for employees who have a salary greater than € 2.075 gross per month.

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In 2015, the Italian government issued a new framework law on employment, so called “Jobs Act”, which entered into force on May the 1st (but that is still lacking some regulations needed to be fully

applicable). The new regulation is going to reform:

o rules regarding dismissal and related compensations; o the system of unemployment benefits.

The above describe ASPI has been replaced by NASPI, that widen the target of potential beneficiaries by changing the entitlement criteria. NASPI can also be paid in a single solution if used to start a new

enterprise or invest A six month unemployment benefit has been established also for workers employed with short term,

atypical contracts, and a further unemployment subsidy -‐ ASDI -‐ has been introduced for people who:

- are unemployed;

- have gone beyond the time limit of NASPI;

- are in a condition of economic need.

According to the new system, unemployed people can receive the ASDI if accept to subscribe an agreement with Employment services, both public or private, which must include: a) commitment to

active job search; b) availability to guidance and training initiatives; c) acceptance of adequate job offers.

5. Social benefits of your country (if applicable)

(Criteria to get them, minimum amount, duration, …) See below.

6. Figures of early school leavers (if available)

The mayority of neets are male, geographically the highest rate can be found in Southern regions and in the

islands, even if included among the richer/low unemployment regions, Regione Lombardia appear to have a very high percentege of young people not in education or training.

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7. Existence of any kind of work agency, job center, … to support ‘activation of people’ (= getting a job)

(name + private or public + short description of their services). Please enclose a picture of the organizational structure of leading jobseekers to work

Employment centers. From 1997 “Employment Centers” have been reformed, giving them new tasks -‐ including providing information, counselling and selection, and a more active role in work placement. They have the task of matching work demand and offer at local level, under the authority of the Ministry of Labour and Social policy. Temporary employment agencies can provide recruitment and selection services and professional support for job search.. To be authorized they must met specific economic, know -‐ how and logistics criteria set by law. Can run training, retraining and labour insertion programs for socially disadvantaged people. Accredited Work Agency: Work agencies are authorized by the Regional Government. They offer:

• Information (on incentives, grants, job offers, special projects..) • Orientation • Recruitment and selection • Support in job search • On the job mentoring.

They are entitled to access regional funding to support their services (so called “sistema dote”). Youth Information points are free access municipal services for young people, sometimes managed by social enterprises. They provide information and advice about:

• school choice • job search • leisure and holidays • social engagement activities and volunteer • experiences of study and/or work abroad.

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Work Integration Services For mentally and phisically disabled and other socially disadvantaged people. Funded by municipalities, might be managed by social entrerprises. Beneficiaries are sent by municipal social workers. Placement is facilitated by the obligation for companies to employ a certain % of people belonging to these categories.

8. The average budget available to reintegrate an unemployed person (on state/municipal level)

In our region (Lombardy) the available budget for the employment of unemployed people (labor endowment) varies, depending on the characteristics of the person's employability, between 2500 and 4000 euro.

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LEGAL FRAMEWORK

EDUCATION: POLICY TO SUPPORT INDIVIDUAL KNOWLEDGE

Overview of education -‐ ‘flow’ of an individual (from primary school to …) Minimum age of leaving school.

Primary School

5 years

Secondary School

I degree

3 years

Secondary School

II degree

5 years

University

3 + years

University

2 years

There are three kinds of secondary schools:

High school: 5 years duration, main goal is to prepare students to enter university rather than to enter into the work market.

Technical Institutes: 5 years duration. 2 main branches, divided into different specializations: economics (i.e tourism sector, commercial and administrative law..); technology (i.e mechanics,

electronics, computer science, chemistry and materials, agro-‐industry and agribusiness, nautical and aeronautical, video and music making..). More focused on the work market. They allow access to

university. Professional institutes: main goal is to train to a profession but unlike high schools and technical

institutes offer more practical training. Focused on the work market, they allow access to the university. Some also offer shorter courses (2 or 3 years long): they're very practical and more focused

on labour market but don't allow access to university.

Specific measures taken to better match with the labor market

All technical and professional institutes include some form of, usually rather short, stages (short work experiences or job shadowings) in their curricula. In 2003 and 2005, two laws were enforced establishing the so called “alternanza scuola – lavoro” (school-‐work interchange). According to this legislation, students aged between 15-‐18 can be offered an educational project – agreed among schools and companies – to offer them experiences and competences that increase their employability and that can help them in the choice of work or further education. Guidelines for the interchanges are established by legislation, they can be of different kind:

1. Company visits, for group of students with their teachers; 2. Observational intership, a single or small group of students can spend a defined time (usually

few days) in the company, to observe its functioning; 3. Project work: one or more students can develop a project required by a company, with the

help of a teacher or tutor;

Compulsory training 18

Apprenticeship 18

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4. Company simulation: with a duration of 80/100 hours and involving tutors and teachers, it is a simulation of company activity carried out in the company itself and with the support of their experts and employees.

Even if they can be considered as an improvement compared to the past situation, these measure are considered not sufficient. Actually, the weakness of the system is that high schools lack sufficient staff (both in time and skills) to fully develop what the regulation has established; therefore they do not build companies data base nor have somebody to dedicate to this task, neither they can counsel and mentor the students properly before starting their work experience. In general, when asked what is their relation with education institutions, business most common complaint remains that school education is far from employers/market needs.

Furthermore, a specific on the job education is available under the “Apprenticeship system”. Apprenticeship is a full work contract but with a training purpose. The apprentices earn a wage and work alongside experienced staff to gain job-‐specific skills while attending a training program provided both by the enterprise and off-‐the-‐job by a training centre or a school/university. Regulated by law: at national level the “Testo Unico” Act (2011) set the main framework and established responsibilities. Regions regulate apprenticeship especially for what concerns training; trade unions and employers’organizations -‐ through collective bargaining -‐ establish the rules for the application of the contract. Duration: up to three years (five years in handycraft) to complete depending on the type, the industry sector and regional regulations. Salary determined by the collective agreements. Young people from 15 to 30 can apply for an apprenticeship in all companies of the private sector.

Under this scheme, there are three kind of apprenticeship:

1° Type: apprenticeship to gain a vocational qualification or diploma For young people aged 15 to 25 who want to complete compulsory education through a work-‐based

experience, in all the fields of activity. The purpose is to gain a vocational qualification or a vocational diploma, that are certifications of the upper secondary level of the VET system, nationally recognized.

Duration: 3 or 4 years.

2° Type: employment-‐oriented apprenticeship For young people aged between 18 and 29 years old, who want to enter the labour market and learn a

job. It allows to gain a qualification based on collective contracts and/or basic or technical skills. Its duration is generally of three years, five years for craftsmanship. It is the most diffused form, covering

up to 95% of all apprentices.

3°Type: higher education and research apprenticeship A complex form of apprenticeships, permitting to fulfill different aims. For young people aged

between 18 and 29 years old who want to: take an upper secondary level diploma or higher education degree that could be obtained through a full time education programme as well; gain a technical

qualification through a work-‐based experience with all the advantages of a labour contract; get a job and become a researcher in the private industry sector. Duration is not fixed, but decided, depending

on the apprentice project and certification to be gained, among all the partners involved (normally comprising at least a school or university and an enterprise).

So far, most of apprentices aim at acquiring a vocational qualification. Aged among 18 to 24, almost 1/3 is 25 and older, they are employed mainly in: tertiary sector, retail, SME and tourism industry. 50% of apprentices have gained only a lower secondary education certification.

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WORK: LABOR MARKET POLICY TO ENHANCE (RE)EMPLOYMENT OF YOUTH

1. Does your country have a Minimum wages system? And if so what does it look like? There are no regulations in this sense. Benchmarks for wages are defined by so called “contratti

nazionali”, national agreements periodically negotiated among employers organizations and trade unions (that can be completed by regional or company’s agreements) for single economic sector

(including health and public workers).

2. Please give a brief overview of how the different responsibilities regarding unemployment and social security are divided between the different tiers of government (state, province/district, municipality, etc).

Central Government a) Work, social benefits and retirement legislation b) Incentives c) Management of Social and unemployment benifts trough a special national Agency d) UE funds planning e) Systemic actions plans, also following EU strategies f) National councils (observatories) on work and social policies. Regions a) Directions of Active Work policies (VET and training; Public Work Centers…) b) Regulations of interships and apprenticeships c) Systemic regional plans. Provinces a) Management of Public Employment Centers b) Registration of workers, unemployed and disabled to the related lists c) Local management of ESF and other Employment funds directly or trough the action of accredited Training and Work agencies, according to national and regional legislation d) Local systemic actions. Municipalities a) Work integration of social disadvantaged people.

3. Subsidies (for employers or/and employees)

The incentive scenario is rather intricate, deriving from a bunch of different laws enacted at different levels (national, regional and local). Incentives have different nature: economic, fiscal, legislative or regarding social security contributions. Focus on targets (age, gender, territories, sectors..). At national level, specific for young people: - for companies employing people aged 18-‐29 who have been unemployed from at least 6

months or have not obtained a secondary school degree (decontribution of 650 Euros per month for 18 months)

- for companies offering an apprenticeship contract (elimination of 100% of the contributions for 3 years)

At national level, all the other incentives are related to different unemployment conditions (long term enemployment or being part of one of the social benefit programs described further on).

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4. Specific programs (trainings, internships, job placements,…)

According to local policy. Eg. “Dote Giovani” (dote = endownment but also dowry like in marriages)

It is an individual grant -‐ according to the system in force in our Region -‐ that job seekers can “spend” to obtain training and orientation services from an accredited work agency. Periodically, they might include an incentive for the enterprise.

WELFARE: SOCIAL POLICY TO SUPPORT INDIVIDUAL WELFARE OF YOUTH

Rent allowances, Child care benefits, Tax reductions,

Mobility benefits, …

As showed in the diagram, public social spending in Italy is strongly unbalanced to the benefit of the

elderly rather than family and young people.

At the national level, the main economic benefit for families are children benefits (assegni familiari).

All workers – both employees and self workers – are entitled to this benefit, for children from 0 to 18 years old. The amount depends on family income and number of children – decreasing for higher incomes and

increasing with number of children. The amount is further increased for families including a disabled relative. It is delivered within the salary for employees and as a distinct bonus for all other entitled workers.

No rent allowances or mobility benefits are foreseen at national level.

Mostly, welfare services and benefits are in charge of local municipalities. In fact, they provide: - Social housing - Residential services - Education and care for children, disabled and elderly - Services of first asylum for homeless.

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The provision of some services (such as child or elderly care) can also be in the form of economic voucher/support to buy the service in the market. Municipal economic aid may result in: - Fixed monthly allowance for short periods of time - Total or partial contribution for creche and kindergarden fees - Vouchers to spend in the supermarket for groceries - Contribution for households expenses - Contribution for rent - Voucher on the occasion of a new born - Contribution for rent.

In general you can get financial help when you are in state of need or you live in a particularly fragile situation (job loss, serious illness or disability...). Such situations are defined through economic parameters (ISEE certification) and assessed by a social worker.

Even if regulated by the national framework law on social services, these provisions can have very different features along the country, with sharp difference in quality, quantity and therefore needs coverage among

richer and poorer regions.

In the last year, there has been wide debate in the country around the introduction of a “citizenship income”, a sort of minimum wage/benefit to be given to all citizen regardless of their employments

situation and two parties have proposed bills in the Parliament – the two proposal have differences regarding the amount and the entitlement criteria -‐ but no realistic forecasts can be made about their

approval.

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PART II BEST PRACTICES & FUTURE

BEST PRACTICES

Description/explanation of ‘programs’, ’tools’, ‘methodologies’, ‘Successful stories’, ‘initiatives public/private’ … to enhance the (re)employment or improve the employability of youngsters in the labor market

1. Youth Info point The youth point is an open space office, located in the centre of Brescia, where ad hoc trained people provide information and organize events and initiatives target to people 15-‐29 on the following issue: youth employability, vacancies-‐stage and grants opportunities, training and mobility, leisure and cultural activities, volunteering (including national, European and international volunteer service). It is open Monday to Friday, during office hours, all year round (aside from holidays closure at Christmas and in summer). Evening initiatives on specific subject are organized occasionally. The service is since the beginning result of a private – public partnership: the funds are public, coming from the Municipality whereas the design and delivery of the service and the initiatives are in charge of private non profit enterprises (social cooperatives). What are the strengths of this practice: • it is well connected with all youth services …schools, volunteering associations and centres, work agencies; • its accessibility, due to location, opening times and lack of “barriers” to access. The target is reached every year successfully, with an increasing number of users (around 7.000 y people a year). What are the weaknesses: The initial idea was to move the office and its service to a more informal location, considered as more suitable for the target, but that did not happen both for lack of resources and users habits). Info points used to be present all over the province, but that is no more the case (for lack of resources), therefore there is a lack of appropriate coverage of the territory. Requirements/preconditions: • economic and human resources (or different allocation of those already spent in different information

services) • the availability of youth counselors • a location that is easy accessible, central and visible • public governance (needed since information is a public good) • PPP preferred. 2. Youth Centre “La piastra” “La Piastra” is a centre for young people, offering different kinds of cultural and recreational activities all with the aim of increasing their soft skills trough an informal learning and empowerment approach, based on learning by doing. The centre is open from Monday to Friday, according to the school calendar. Among its activities, it runs a web radio and different workshops. Night events are promoted by youth associations, which cooperate with the Centre. The centre is run by a private – public partnership. What are the strengths of this practice: • its connection with associations and initiatives in the field of youth (innovation, culture and creativity); • the success in reaching the target (3.500 contacts, 600 users, increased users number) • the shift that was able to make from cultural expression to employability trough culture.

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What are the weaknesses: • the centre does not attract girls and thus users are mainly boys; • funding is not sufficient to organized more and more diverse artistic workshop (which need specific

expertise); • social services sending many young people at risk of social exclusion but not enough economic resources

for these specific needs. Requirements/preconditions: PPP preferibili, public governance needed, funding, existing networking with the innovation and culture sector, youth workers needed together with culture and art experts. 3. Project “A network for Youth employability” “A network for Youth employability” is a project supported by Regional funds (for an amount of 250.000 €) within a policy action to support the creation and strengthening of employment networks across all Regione Lombardia. The project “A network for…” took place in the province of Brescia from 2013 to 2014, for around one year and an half of duration; it included 33 small municipalities -‐ representing a population of 41.557 young people -‐ among which the greatest one acted as lead partner and coordinator. The network was composed by different stakeholders: the Province, local municipalities, two social consortium, four social cooperatives, three secondary schools, three foundations, two employers associations and a youth association for a total of 50 partners. Besides, the project saw the participation and active support of other stakeholders like informal youth organizations, parishes, family health centers… The challenge underneath the all project was that to build effective innovations with the concept, not new in itself, of networking and within established practices. The project actions were divided in 4 macro areas:

1. Area “Strategies for employability”: included the governance actions, which foresaw a steering committee, the partners’ assembly and a technical staff. This area include also the monitoring and assessment activities;

2. Area “Actions for employability” comprised actions to set up the network among work services, and among work services and companies, the development of new practices to improve the match among job demand and offer which, the realization of internships…;

3. Area “Work – school interchange” targeted to second level secondary schools students, were aimed to support school in improving the implementation of the related regulation (see above “Legal Framework”, the chapter about education). Work agencies helped school in mapping companies/building data base to find the ones interested to host students, facilitated meetings among schools and business to find and solve problems, and offered mentoring during the interships;

4. Area “Civil service” foresaw the possibilities to make an experience as a volunteer in a local organizations that could be used to develop skills and improve employability thanks to a final certification of acquired competences.

Young people could access the different action by sending a request trough a website, candidates were also sent by “Youth Info points”, by youth associations or by municipalities. The project has build relations that are still in place, both schools and companies appeared to be ready and eager to this network approach, but could have not started these processes alone since they usually lack the resources and skills. Yet the quantitative results are rather small: 10 companies involved, 20 internships, 12 civil services completed. All project communication and information actions were granted to a start-‐up run by young entrepreneurs. What are the strengths of this practice: • it built new network; • the model had been acknowledged by stakeholders as having the potential of innovating and improving

employment policies and services; • it created relations among schools and business. What are the weaknesses:

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• The need and desire of innovate practice and tools, to make them more effective and more responsive, is strongly limited by legislative constraints (as was the case for intership and work-‐school interchange);

• sustainability: networks need to be maintained and this is an extra cost for most organizations, Regione Lombardia chose to finance the phase of creation but no funding, tools or indications have been provided to implement network maintenance in the routine activities of organizations.

Requirements/preconditions: • Funding; • Support from the public sector in the form of governance and interdisciplinary involvement of different

youth services; • A culture of open dialogue and collaboration needs to be present in the public administration.

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FUTURE

IDEAS, SUGGESTIONS IN ORDER TO ACTIVATE YOUNG PEOPLE After several years operating as a Work Agency, the data about our users clearly show that we are in general not on the map of young job seekers2, especially when, as in the case of NEETs, they are out of school and not actively searching for work. This phenomenon is reported also from other work agencies of the Region, and thus appears to be a regional and national trend. On the basis of this evidence, several social actors (social cooperatives specialized in youth policies, local authorities, work agencies) have started developing pilot projects to test new ways to activate and involve young people. These projects appear to have some common features:

o strong network and partnerships with schools and education institutions; o involvement of organizations with specific expertise in the field of youth policies; o activities “leave” the traditional and common places of services delivering – offices, public

authorities premises … to move to places where young people naturally hang out (schools, recreational places…);

o an appropriate clustering of young people to better target activities and services; o the combination of formal (training, counseling, cv editing…) and informal activities (sport,

volunteering, culture and music, group works); o change in communication language and tools (with a more intensive use of ICT based tools).

These elements have been confirmed as effective to gain young people activation; the possibility to directly involve young people in the designing, delivering and monitoring of services for their peers is still little explored.

RECOMMENDATIONS TO POLICY MAKERS

The work we carried on for this context analysis draft and during the “Way to Learn to Work” project allow to draw some recommendations to policy makers on critical success factors for policies on youth unemployment.

First of all, we believe that data on youth employment/unemployment and on best practices should be made easily available to operators, at regional and local level, assuring sufficient and correct information to develop

appropriate initiatives. Even in time of spending review, resources should be allocated on preliminary research as a basis for programme/policy design. Other critical success factors in our opinion are:

1. An interagency approach, with the creation of stable networks among organizations with

responsibility to tackle the problem;

2. Programmes and initiatives developed specifically for the youth (see previous paragraph);

3. The active involvement of young people;

4. The involvement of trade unions and of employers, to engage them in finding and delivering

solutions;

2 Young people with disabilities or with other forms of certificated social disadvantage are an exception, given the specific responsibility and skills that our Work Agency has in this field.

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5. A constant attention to the quality of services delivered and to the skills and experience of staff both in VET and in Work Agencies.

Finally, all policies and programmes should be properly monitored and evaluated, sharing results and lessons

learnt with all relevant stakeholders.

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