Neet, as it affects the school-work unemployment … – The Daily

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What the entry into the world of work is becoming increasingly difficult not new, nor is it just an Italian problem. In 2014 the OECD noted that in the countries of southern Europe about 25% of young people between 16 and 29 years was Neet (Not in Education, or Training Employement) that is not enrolled in school nor college, neither working nor attending vocational training courses. About half of young people NEET has also given up trying to get back into training courses and job seekers. Young “ resigned ” that, in fact, are not even the most achieved by reintegration policies in apprenticeships or education.

The causes of this trend, endemic in some countries but worsened everywhere since the economic crisis vary. One common element, however, is the lack of skills that enable young people to be competitive in the labor market . According to a survey of 22 OECD countries a combination of school drop , educational approaches obsolete and unsatisfactory school results (the feedback Pisa Italian students continue to be discouraging) they are part of the problem, greatly aggravated by the lack of practical skills and work experience. According to the OECD study, in fact, less than 50% of those enrolled in vocational courses has the opportunity to combine theoretical study with practical experience. For those enrolled in high schools the possibility of internships integrated course of study it is even more remote. In Italy are less than 9% of secondary school students who have had an experience of structured school-work (Indire, 2013).

The lack of experience and practical skills are penalized for so plurilaureati as for those who left school after compulsory schooling. According to a survey of 7,000 European companies Eurbarometer 81% of Italian businessmen consider the work experience a crucial requirement in recruitment, whatever their position. In Germany to consider essential some kind of experience “in the field” are the 91% of employers in the UK are ‘ 88% . It is no coincidence that apprenticeships and traineeships are integrated into the school curriculum of young Germans and British since the early years of high school and regardless of the address of study chosen.

In the UK, the government is promoting a series of policies to ensure to all a minimum of work experience as part of the curriculum. It ranges from work placement and employed a few weeks up to real two-year paid apprenticeship programs, carried out in companies and partner organizations, ranging from the editors of national newspapers, to the neighborhood stores, ministries or the start up technology. The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Industry, Innovation and Training fund these programs to 100% for young people aged between 16 and 18 years and will co-finance 50% with companies to young people between 19 to 24 years.

The program training provide an alternation between school and work, which guarantees young people a knowledge and skill highly valued by future employers, who are also involved in the development of the training. It is a holistic approach to education, where companies such as Google, Jaguar, Asos work directly with schools to provide training to 360 degrees, modeled on the inclination and aspiration of the students but with an eye to the needs of the market labor. And the benefit to the partners seems clear: a study published in March 2015 by the Center for Economic and Business Research estimates that on average, for each apprentice who completes the program, the productivity increases of about 10,000 pounds a year .

For young Italians, raised in the context of a clear separation between the vocational training courses and academic, this means starting at a disadvantage in the global labor market. With equal qualifications, it is very likely that an employer prefers to hire a young candidate who has a minimum of work experience. Experience more or less in any role, and maybe in a different industry. Because while the aspiring architect Italian attest technical knowledge through diplomas and Master, his same age British, as well as having similar qualifications will also demonstrate reliability, ability to work in teams, and to solve problems through the summer internship at a local supermarket.

Ben is therefore the proposal contained in the text of the Good School just passed in the Senate that, inspired by the German dual model of school-work, provides apprenticeship programs from the third year of high school , also including the high schools (art. 1, para. 33-44). The proposal is one of the most anticipated reforms and proposes simplification of apprenticeship contracts (provision strengthened by the Jobs Act), creating territorial laboratories for employability and facilitated partnerships between schools and companies for the creation of paths alternation school- work 400 hours for technical and vocational schools, apprenticeships and 200 hours targeted to high school students.

In the past, legislation (think of the Law no. 25 of 1955, the Treu Law 196/1997 or the Biagi Law 30/2003), while trying to comply with compulsory training, did not address the underlying problem that characterizes the Italian apprenticeship, which is to be disconnected from school and the lack of a real dialogue between education systems, companies, families, students and trade unions. So there is hope that the educational offer in Italy may soon be appropriate in those who already have become the standards of theoretical and practical training in Europe. The school-work, clearly show the international examples, greatly reduces school drop and, above all, can create a bridge between training and work thereby reducing the youth unemployment .

In Italy the schools look with suspicion to collaborations with external partners but it is to be hoped that the school will be able to adapt instead, and soon, the challenges that context increasingly competitive and globalized world offers. The alternative, namely the status quo, it means penalizing entire generations of young Italians, who will be forced to look elsewhere for their educational opportunities, with an obvious disadvantage for the many who do not have family behind and connections can guide them.

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