Labour, Inps: experimentation with dual apprenticeships from next year

In the morning at school, in the afternoon in a company, according to a formula called 'dual' because it integrates two paths, training and work; two learning places, school and company; two cognitive strategies, theory and practice. It is called 'Scuola per il Lavoro' (School for Work) and it is the new experimental project of dual first-level apprenticeship that will start next year in the technical and professional institutes of Apulia.

The implementation agreement for the promotion, in Apulian companies and schools, of this type of apprenticeship was signed in Bari, at the regional headquarters of Inps, in the presence of the Inps regional director, Benedetta Dito, the director of the Employment Policies department, Silvia Pellegrini, and the director of the Arpal Agency, Gianluca Budano.

Inps will be the steering committee for the implementation of the project; it will provide the regional labour market data collected by the Observatories, offer technical and legal support and promote the initiative through its own channels. The Apulia Region's commitment will be to provide economic incentives expressly targeted at the experimentation of apprenticeship in the schools identified by the Regional School Office, linking the initiatives with regional planning. The Region also undertakes to disseminate the initiative through specific communication campaigns.

The agreement lasts for three years, while the supervision of the project is entrusted to a Committee, chaired by the regional director of Inps. The Committee also undertakes to involve trade associations so that they in turn can ensure the participation of micro and small enterprises, including craft enterprises, which, representing the overwhelming majority of Apulia's production fabric, can generate the greatest spin-offs.

'The link between school and work,' commented Inps President Gabriele Fava, 'can no longer be considered a mere complementary pathway of training and today represents a strategic priority to reduce the distance between the skills built in educational pathways and the concrete needs of the production system. The learning-by-doing approach of dual apprenticeship allows young people to associate talent and the practical dimension of learning, strengthening students' motivation and participation. At the same time, it enables companies to train skills that are consistent with their production processes, with the technologies used and with the skills actually required by the market. The dual system concretely intervenes on three major critical issues of our labour market: school drop-outs, the mismatch between skills and occupational demand, and the difficulty for young people to access stable and qualified employment. The collaboration between Inps, the Regional School Office and the Department of Economic Development and Employment of the Apulia Region goes in this direction'.