Ministry of Education and the Del Vecchio Foundation sign a Memorandum of Understanding for technical and vocational colleges

The Ministry of Education and Merit (MIM) and the Leonardo Del Vecchio Foundation have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to launch a major project in support of technical and vocational colleges. The signing forms part of the Foundation’s mission to implement and support projects with a high social impact. The agreement marks the launch of an initiative consistent with the ongoing process of innovation in the education and training system, whilst respecting the principles and autonomy of individual educational institutions. 

The resulting public-private partnership is aimed at promoting, for lower secondary school pupils and in specific geographical areas, projects and career guidance programmes designed to develop transferable and professional skills in line with innovation and digitalisation processes, with a view to enhancing the technical and vocational education pathway and ensuring that training is aligned with the current and future needs of the production system, with a particular focus on sectors with high growth potential (advanced manufacturing, energy, mobility, digital and green technologies) and on the technical skills required by innovative businesses and start-ups.

Minister Giuseppe Valditara commented: “With this Memorandum of Understanding signed with the Leonardo Del Vecchio Foundation, we have kept our promise to involve a major private sector player in the process of enhancing the quality of technical and vocational education. We are strengthening the dialogue between schools, businesses, ITS Academies and the world of innovation by investing in the ‘4+2’ technology-vocational pathway – a strategic reform designed to provide ever-greater opportunities for our young people and to develop the skills that Italia needs.”

Nicoletta Zampillo Del Vecchio, Chair of the Leonardo Del Vecchio Foundation, adds: “I would like to thank Minister Valditara for giving me the opportunity to provide tangible support for technical and vocational training – the path that Leonardo always followed; he was an engraver who built a great business from a technical trade. Since 2018, the Foundation has launched and set in motion many important projects, but this has always been a great desire of mine since I took on the presidency, and today it is being put into action. Young people have always been a central focus for my husband too. As a visionary, he knew that their education is a priority for shaping the future, which he saw with great clarity. Access to quality education for all is one of the key areas for our Foundation. I believe it is important to unleash ideas and energy, in line with the policies implemented by the Ministry, to help bridge once and for all the gap in perception between families and young people and the real opportunities offered by technical and vocational pathways – namely employment, attractive salaries, the chance to continue their studies and access to positions of responsibility.”

The next step will be for the Ministry to appoint the Joint Technical Committee, comprising two representatives from the MIM and two from the Foundation, which will be responsible for setting out the activities in detail and for monitoring their implementation and outcomes.