Full Country Report. Italy

In Italy, the labour market is gradually emerging from the prolonged recession. However, the risk of labour market exclusion is high, particularly for the young. Although recovering, employment and unemployment are still among the worst in the OECD area. Participation in lifelong learning is very low and shows irregular progress. At the current growth rate, the ET2020 target of participation in lifelong learning (15%) could be achieved by 2030. The trends towards increased participation are related largely to activities promoted by companies or, more generally, due to private (commercial or social) initiatives. Participation in lifelong learning is concentrated largely on people with highly qualified professional roles. The most significant measure is the reform of the active labour market policies. Its implementation could improve the role of employment services and prompt the unemployed to retrain” . Strengthening active labour market policies will have a short-term positive impact on the expansion of participation in lifelong learning activities as well as on the development of guidance services. The anti-poverty strategy could promote social inclusion processes. The reform of public administration and combatting corruption should increase the efficiency of public services and increase the amount of resources available to adult learning policies. However, policy interventions on these issues have often been announced, but never fully implemented. The general strategy which drives public policy in Italy aims at strengthening policy areas where delays persist in the formation of human capital, in productivity and infrastructures, supporting them with appropriate macroeconomic stimuli. This is accompanied by a dual adult learning strategy. On the one hand, for vulnerable groups achieving adult learning objectives is postponed until the resumption of economic growth (the negative effects that ensue are mitigated with the strengthening of social policies). On the other hand developing and increasing the skills of high skilled workers are supported by the state both through opportunities for tax deduction on expenses, and through public interventions to support research and innovation. Italy is last in the EU for the percentage of public spending on education. The OECD argues in its report that "if the reduction of public spending had not been offset in part by private funding, the reduction of resources available to the institutions of the education system would have been even more important". The role played by European funds is essential for financing policies to introduce innovative processes. The disparity level between public and private investment for training reduces the chances of the former to play a redistributive role in favour of vulnerable groups. Consequently the relative educational poverty is increasing.