Valditara: 4+2 brings schools and businesses closer together

"The enrolments to 4+2, the technical vocational education, are being completed and I must say that they are a great success, at the moment there are still paper enrolments, but the data I have is really extraordinary so this is wonderful news". This was said by the Minister for Education and Merit, Giuseppe Valditara, today at Fiera Milano at the signing of the Protocol of Understanding 2026, between the ministry, Confindustria Moda and Confindustria Accessori Moda.

"It is an important step of innovation, linking school with business, not being ashamed to say that school and business must be closely linked and that training is also done in business," Valditara added. "It is an important cultural shift that is still not understood by those, and I am referring to some political forces and especially some trade unions, who think that 4+2 is actually a way for entrepreneurs to exploit our students: how much further from reality.

The minister added that the contents of the protocol, signed at the opening of Micam and Mipel, aims to 'create a strong link between schools and the business world to ensure that the training of our young people is increasingly in line with the needs of the labour market'. In short, cutting-edge technical and vocational training that is increasingly connected to innovation, enterprise and the global dimension, and therefore also promoted in non-EU countries for young people who could later be included in the Italia labour market. The new 2026 Memorandum of Understanding renews and expands the previous 2021 agreement.

For Luca Sburlati, president of Confindustria Moda, "The signing of the Protocol with the Ministry of Education and Merit represents for Confindustria Moda a strategic investment in the future of the fashion industry in our country. On the same wavelength was Giovanna Ceolini, President of Confindustria Accessori Moda, who added: "Italian fashion is not just creativity or aesthetic expression. It is above all manufacturing, skills, employment. It is a supply chain that produces industrial and cultural value, generates identity and supports the economy of territories'. Barbara Cimmino, Vice-President for Export and Investment Attraction of Confindustria, confirmed: 'Investing in young people means investing in the future of the country and our companies. The signing of this Protocol strengthens the link between school and industry, offering young people concrete skills in a phase marked by generational change and deep transformations in the supply chains'.