Piedmont increases funding for the ITS system; 61 courses are set to begin
The budget for 2026–29 rises from 42 to 48 million – The ecosystem also includes one-year higher technical training courses, open to workers
Piedmont is strengthening its ITS and higher education system thanks to a budget of 48 million euros for the 2026–2029 programme period, an increase of six million compared with the previous period. Over 40 million is earmarked for the ITS Academies and 7.68 million for IFTS courses.
A key issue for Piedmont, at a time of profound industrial transformation, is to consolidate a higher technical education system capable of providing young people with specialist skills and of meeting the growing demand for skilled workers within the subalpine region’s manufacturing sector.
In total, this amounts to 42.31, which comes from the European Social Fund Regional Programme (2021–27), whilst a further 6 million comes from the Ministry of Education’s Higher Technical Education Fund. The Regional Executive, led by President Alberto Cirio, has approved the resolution supplementing the resources already allocated for the planning of the regional training provision within the Higher Technical Education System. Of this additional funding, 3.45 million euros will be allocated to enhancing the training provision of the ITS Academies, whilst 2.49 million euros in incentive funding will support the management, operation and sustainability of the Piedmontese ITS Academy Foundations.
There are a total of 61 new two-year courses due to start in the 2026–27 academic year, run by the seven ITS Foundations which, in accordance with the national mandate, also involve the business sector and cover the main industrial sectors – from agri-food to textiles, including mechatronics and aerospace – as well as the worlds of tourism and culture. They represent the core of a fully-fledged higher technical education system. These programmes are strongly focused on the acquisition of specialist skills and are designed to maintain a close link with developments in the labour market and the professional needs of businesses across various sectors, from aerospace to ICT.
The Piedmont system is based on ITS – Higher Technological Institutes – highly specialised schools offering two- or three-year courses leading to a higher technical diploma, alongside the IFTS – one-year training programmes aimed not only at young school leavers but also at workers, which award higher technical specialisation certificates and are also structured to provide professional retraining. As at 31 December last year, according to figures from the Piedmont Region, there were 4,200 students and nearly 1,400 graduates.
