A new technical, languages and digital programme to bridge the gap between school and work

The same applies for the fashion industry, which requires up to 2,100 skilled workers in the sector each year, whilst only 900 enter the labour market. A similar situation applies to students on three-year and four-year vocational education and training (IEFP) courses. A significant labour shortage is also forecast in this sector: on average, there will be a shortfall of between 55,000 and 76,000 young people graduating from vocational qualification and diploma programmes each year.

At the other end of the scale are sixth-form students . Again according to data from the Excelsior information system, between 2025 and 2029, the number of jobs requiring a sixth-form qualification is estimated to be between 25,000 and 30,000 per year. This figure is, in a sense, in line with their prevailing tendency to go on to further study at university. So much so that out of every ten students enrolled at university, as many as seven come from a general secondary school, two attended a technical secondary school, and one a vocational secondary school. It is therefore not surprising that there is a surplus of secondary school leavers relative to demand: across the classical, scientific and humanities streams and so on, annual demand is estimated at between 12,800 and 14,900 young people, compared with a supply of 74,200. This translates, more or less, into 60,000 potential unemployed people each year.

Even when it comes to post-secondary education choices, the picture is fairly clear: overall, there should be enough young people with a tertiary qualification (260,000 expected per year, compared with a demand of between 247,000 and 268,000), but in some fields there will be a significant shortfall. For STEM degrees, it is estimated that there could be a shortfall of between 9,000 and 18,000 graduates each year, particularly in engineering and the mathematical, physical and computer sciences. For economics and statistics, the shortfall could be 12,000–17,000. For the medical and healthcare sector, the shortfall is estimated at 7,000–8,000. The gap is even more pronounced for ITS Academy graduates: whilst around 117,000 vacancies are forecast for 2025, over 67,000 – equivalent to 57.3 per cent – have been described as ‘difficult to fill’.

Based on these figures, the Meloni government – and Minister Valditara in particular – has launched a wide-ranging programme of educational reforms, some of which are coming into effect in the 2026/27 academic year, which has just begun. Perhaps the most significant reform is the full implementation of the 4+2 system: this year, over 21,000 students will be enrolled on a four-year course. The key feature of this new technical pathway is that, for the first time in Italia, it offers an integrated educational programme that encompasses and links together courses from technical and vocational colleges, regional vocational education and training (IeFP) programmes, training institutions accredited by the regions, and ITS Academies. By forging strong links with local businesses and communities, with a ‘campus’-based approach.

Alongside the 4+2 system, also this year, the of all technical education pathways will begin in the first year groups, as provided for in Decree Law 45/2025. The reform, which was amended during its implementation following discussions with the trade unions, provides for two broad sectors: economic and technological-environmental, structured into a national general education stream and a flexible specialisation stream, which may include a regional stream. The overall aim is to ensure that technical education is more closely linked to the world of work. Alongside a somewhat more ambitious move towards towards internationalisation with the launch in June, in Cairo, of the TechSkills Forum between Italia and Egypt on technical education, utilising the CLIL methodology (Content and Language Integrated Learning, Ed.) from the third year onwards.

One of the main developments this year is the major plan to improve, on a large scale, foreign language skills of 150,000 sixth-form students and 15,000 teachers. The initiative, running alongside the opportunities offered by the Erasmus+ programme, has a total budget of 420 million in funding from the 2021–27 National School and Skills Programme. Students benefiting from mobility and language development schemes (experiences, training courses, work placements and internships) will be selected by schools primarily on the basis of criteria linked to merit and ISEE status to ensure the right to education and equal opportunities for all students. The standard model is a two-week mobility programme, but longer modules, of up to six months, may also be organised. Students and teachers are covered for all travel, board and lodging expenses, and teachers may also be eligible for remuneration for additional hours worked.

The new school year also brings changes in the digital sphere: with the 2.1 billion allocated for the digitisation of classrooms, 155,952 classrooms have been transformed into innovative learning environments. A total of 7,698 laboratories have been set up for digital professions, which will also help support schools in the new 4+2 system. These initiatives are complemented by integrated training campuses, featuring technologically advanced laboratories for the digital professions of the future, as provided for in the School Plan 4.0 for technical and vocational colleges.

Then there are the new programmes . In 2026/27, the first cycle will begin, covering the first years of nursery, primary and lower secondary school. There is a strong focus on science and technology subjects (including AI), but also on reading and summarising . On the AI front, training for school staff has already begun, through 2,000 regional training centres funded by the NRRP. It will, however, be next academic year, 2027/28, for the new curricula in upper secondary schools, which will include, amongst other things, a cross-curricular ‘technological integration’ across all (or almost all) subjects, bringing about a mini-revolution in mathematics and STEAM. Here too, the aim is clear: to bring schools and the world of work ever closer together.