Fòrema survey: the great distance between young people and companies

When imagining their ideal employer, young people in the North-East show well-defined preferences. Only 6% would like to work in the public administration or in public bodies. Much higher, on the other hand, is the interest in the private sector: 38% indicate as their ideal destination a high-tech SME, i.e. an innovative small-medium enterprise (preferably one in the area). Another 30% dream of a large structured company, capable of offering solidity and a career, and 16% their own start-up. Finally, 10% see themselves in multi-utilities.

What emerges is the strong attraction exerted by realities where one can grow and experiment with new technologies, innovative local SMEs or large advanced companies, while the public and traditional companies are perceived as less dynamic and stimulating.

Changing points of view, companies (almost two-thirds of the sample: 64%) report considerable difficulties in finding young people with appropriate skills, particularly in technical production and digital profiles. There is a lack of production specialists (for 49%), maintenance technicians (42%), quality control (37%), data analysts (31%). Paradoxically, companies are struggling to find the very young talent that could help them innovate business models and processes. Today's crucial skills such as data analysis, machine programming (PLC, robotics), metrology or cybersecurity are only partially present in candidates.

In several areas, half of the companies rate the difficulty in finding young people with the required skills as 'high', more than a third with skills such as AI, scripting languages or databases. The message is clear: technology and skills in the company run faster than the preparation with which new graduates come out of traditional education, creating a clear mismatch, which many companies try to compensate for with in-house training.

The intersection between supply and demand shows a 'gap'. Faced with the difficulty in finding qualified young people, companies are focusing on more traditional levers to attract them: competitive entry salaries (62%) and stability, i.e. offering permanent contracts (55%) remain the main levers, followed by in-house training (48%) and clear growth paths (42%). Only one in five (19%), but progressively growing, has chosen to introduce more flexibility (hourly or remote working) to make itself more attractive to young people, while half (54%) maintain presence-only working policies.

Companies that do not communicate innovation and openness risk not being chosen by the most sought-after candidates, further fuelling the 'distance'.

Paola Carron, presidente di Confindustria Veneto Est

"This research photographs with great clarity a tension, and one that we all, as a production system, must responsibly address: the distance between the expectations of young people and the organisational models of our companies," comments Paola Carron, president of Confindustria Veneto Est. 'It is not a problem of commitment or attitude to work, but of different languages. Young people are looking for technological environments, growth paths and flexibility: we can no longer consider them extemporaneous, but real needs and strategic factors for attracting talent and innovation. Companies in the North East have always shown they know how to reinvent themselves, and today we need to do it again, focusing increasingly on digital culture, training and organisational wellbeing'.