Vocational education and training in Italy

The main entities providing VET guidance services and counselling are:

1. The Public Employment Services (PESs): they operate at metropolitan area level, according to guidelines established by each Region. They represent the public reference point for people looking for employment, for those who wish to change job, for companies willing to recruit new staff members, for those who want to attend a training course and for those who need general guidance. The main services offered, which can vary on the territory, are:
• reception and information: needs identification and orientation to the most suitable service
• self-consultation: databases, national and local press, bulletin boards and internet sites dedicated to labour market
• vocational guidance: analysis of personal characteristics, attitudes, motivations, knowledge and skills, training on job search strategies and support in the definition of a project of professional development and / or training;
• promotion of traineeships: training and orientation experiences carried out through work placement in the company
• job matching and preselection: service for collecting the curricula of job seekers, receiving requests from companies looking for staff, identifying and verifying the requisites of the candidates by sending names to the companies
• active job search workshops: support in writing the curriculum vitae or the cover letter and useful information on how to support a job interview

2. Youth information (Informagiovani) centers: they are located at municipal or provincial level offering a free information service to young people. The information provided embraces different areas: it is possible to ask information about the educational or professional choice (job offers, open competitive exams, internships, traineeships, universities, scholarships, etc.).

3. Private entities: they are also entitled to provide guidance services. In this category we can find employment agencies authorized by the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies, training agencies, social cooperatives, foundations, non-profit organizations, trade unions and trade associations.

Italy – Northern part
Contacts of employment agencies accredited by Lombardy region (through its staff offers information and support about VET as well as career opportunities): https://www.dati.lombardia.it/widgets/fps7-4tfr

Italy - Center
Public employment service of Lazio region (through its staff offers information and support about VET as well as career opportunities): http://spaziolavoro.regione.lazio.it/pages/contatti

ARTI Toscana, Regional Employment Agency of Tuscany region (through its staff offers information and support about VET as well as career opportunities):
E-MAIL info@arti.toscana.it
Website https://arti.toscana.it/

Mestieri Toscana, part of the CO&SO network, is specialized in vocational and educational guidance services, professional accompaniment and tutoring of people in situations of disadvantage (social, economic or psychophysical disability) relating to difficulties in entering the labour market. Please visit this website for further info / contacts: https://www.mestieritoscana.it

Italy - Southern part
Contacts of public employment services in Campania region (through its staff offers information and support about VET as well as career opportunities):
http://www.regione.campania.it/regione/it/tematiche/magazine-lavoro/centri-per-l-impiego-recapiti-aggiornati

In Italy, vocational guidance services and vocational education and training (VET) are a regional competence and each region organizes them autonomously; this is why the information here provided are related to the 3 main areas of Italy (northern part, center and southern part of Italy).

Vocational education and training offers three-year and four-year courses which are aimed at providing students with opportunities for the completion of compulsory schooling.

Vocational trainings can also be offered after the completion of the compulsory schooling, to people who need to acquire a professional qualification.

Courses are organized by accredited training agencies, as well as by professional institutes together with training agencies. The purpose of this type of training is a faster entry into the labour market. At the end of the course, a professional qualification is issued.

Vocational training offers are available at the organizing bodies (e.g. training centers), at Regional Departments for vocational training, at the Public Employment Services and Youth Information Centers.

Professional qualifications (acquired through a vocational training course) are recognized at regional level, and a region may recognize a qualification that another one doesn’t. Certain courses can be addressed to specific categories such as drop-out, low-skilled people and other disadvantaged categories.

When can you choose VET education?

The last two years of compulsory schooling (from 14 to 16 years old) can be completed through two different paths: the upper secondary school (high schools, technical institutes and vocational institutes), or the regional courses of vocational education and training.

The vocational institutes aim to provide the student with a solid general technical and professional cultural base in the sectors of services and industry and crafts, for the purpose of rapid entry into the labour market. Vocational Trainings can also be chosen by everybody wishing to acquire a professional qualification in a specific field (e.g. electrician, care assistant, plumber, etc.), even after having completed compulsory education.