Hard-to-find skills: universities and businesses are seeking a new training model
In Bologna, the SUPER Foundation presented the white paper ‘Overcoming Boundaries’, a reflection on the future of vocational higher education and on the relationship between universities, businesses and the local community
69.8 per cent of Italian businesses are finding it difficult to recruit the professionals they need. This figure rises to 77.6 per cent amongst large companies. And between 2025 and 2029, the national labour demand is estimated to be between 3.3 and 3.7 million workers. These figures highlight the growing gap between the skills required by the economy and those available on the labour market.
This is the starting point for the White Paper ‘Crossing Boundaries: The Present and Future of Vocational Tertiary Education’, presented in Bologna by the SUPER Foundation, with the aim of strengthening the links between universities, the ITS Academy, businesses, institutions and the professions.
The survey carried out by the Foundation among 101 partner companies shows that demand for technical roles is concentrated primarily in the fields of mechanical engineering and energy efficiency, electrical and electronic engineering and automation, and IT.
Among the most sought-after roles are those in production, the technical department, planning, research and development, and project management. However, alongside specialist skills, there is an ever-increasing demand for soft skills: teamwork, problem-solving, flexibility, independence and reliability.
University life and corporate life
One of the key issues that emerged during the discussion concerns the different pace at which universities and the business sector operate. ‘To launch a degree programme in September 2026, the work has to begin at least a year and a half beforehand. In the business world, four years is an eternity,’ observed Gianantonio Battistuzzi, Vice-Rector and Head of Academic Affairs at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia.
