Country report: chapter 2

2. Providing VET in a lifelong learning perspective

2.1. National Education and Vocational Training System Framework

The actors involved in the governance of the Italian education and vocational training system are the following:

the Ministry of Education, University and Research that is responsible for setting the minimum public service performance levels (Livelli Essenziali delle prestazioni – LEP) for the education system;

the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies that is responsible for setting the minimum public service performance levels (Livelli Essenziali delle prestazioni – LEP) for the vocational training system;>

the Regions and Autonomous Provinces that are the administrations in charge of planning, organising and supplying VET;

the social partners that contribute to designing and organising active labour policies and particularly VET policies.

Compulsory education lasts 10 years (i.e. up to 16 years of age) and includes the whole first education cycle and the first two years of the second (either upper secondary schools or three/four-year vocational training courses). Everyone has the ‘right/duty’ (diritto/dovere) to pursue education and training for at least 12 years in the national school system, or until a three or four-year vocational qualification is obtained within the IVET system before reaching 18 years of age.

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2.2.1. Three and four-year education and vocational training courses
Three and four-year education and vocational training courses fall under the Regions’ responsibility and provide training for 14-17 year old students. A series of documents, revised from 2004 to date and issued by the State-Regions Conference, have introduced a number of important systemic elements

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2.2.2. Post-Secondary higher technical training system

The post-secondary higher technical training system was recently reformed by the Italian Prime Minister’s Decree (2008) which contained guidelines for both the reorganisation of the higher technical education and training system (Sistema di istruzione e formazione tecnica superiore – IFTS) and the establishment of higher technical institutes (Istituti tecnici superiori – ITS).  As a result, there are now two separate channels within the same system.

From 2007 to today 519 courses were planned that meet the new standards. The vast majority of courses were held in the North, a lower number in the centre of Italy and only 56 in the South.

The Higher Technician Diploma (EQF level 5) awarded by ITS courses covers one of the technological areas specified for each national reference profile. These areas have been further specified by an Inter-ministerial Decree (2011)

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2.2.3. Adult education

In 2009 the Ministry of Education introduced a ‘Draft regulation for the reorganisation of teaching in adult education centres’ (Schema di Regolamento recante norme per la ridefinizione dell’assetto organizzativo didattico dei Centri d’istruzione per gli adulti). The document contains provisions for the establishment of training pathways leading to lower and
upper secondary education qualifications and to ensure that the low-skilled are given priority access to the educational offer.

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2.2.4. The apprenticeship system

Apprenticeships are open-ended
contracts with a specific training purpose. They include both on-the-job and classroom training.
The apprenticeship system has been recently reformed by the ‘Consolidated Act on Apprenticeships’ (Legislative Decree n. 167/2011), that was approved on October 25th 2011 and entered into force on April 25th 2012. The new Law amends and reorganises the previous legislation on apprenticeships, particularly by introducing some new features in the three
types of contract available in the country:

• the ‘Apprenticeship leading to a qualification and a professional diploma’ (Apprendistato per la qualifica ed il diploma professionale)
• the ‘Professional apprenticeship’ (Apprendistato professionalizzante e di mestiere), aimed at young people aged 18 to 29
• the ‘Higher education and research apprenticeship’ (Apprendistato di alta formazione e Ricerca)

In the first half of 2011 160 916 apprentices were employed; the most substantial drop was seen in the manufacturing, transport and communications sectors.

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2.2.5. Teachers' and trainers' profiles

Teachers and trainers have very different features in Italy as teachers' professional
profile is much more clearly defined and regulated than that of trainers as far as training,
recruitment, duties and skills are concerned.

• IVET teachers are employed by the Ministry of Education and work mainly in State vocational schools although some of them also work in Higher Technical Institutes (Istituti tecnici superiori);
• CVET teachers work mostly in centres for adult education (Centri per l'istruzione degli adulti - CPIA) and are mainly employed by the Ministry of Education;
• IVET trainers mainly work in vocational training centres managed directly by the regional/provincial/municipal authorities as well as in private vocational training centres accredited by the Regions;
• CVET trainers work mainly in enterprises but also in public and private vocational training centres. Public centres can be managed directly by the local authorities or accredited by the Regions.

2.2.6. VET provision quality assurance

The accreditation of training institutions is to date the main tool for selecting the organisations that wish to provide training services, and consequently the main instrument available to the Regions and Autonomous Provinces, which are the only institutional bodies responsible for ensuring the quality of publicly funded training. The present, new accreditation model is due to a national agreement among the State and the Regions20 that took place in 2008. The national accreditation system comprises five criteria that provide
specific indications on the basis of which the Regional administrations can model their own territorial accreditation instruments.

 As regards more specifically the use of monitoring and evaluation procedures, these are widely and sometimes even systematically used by the surveyed training organisations schema

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Overview of three and four-year vocational training course

Time sequence distribution of IFTS pathways per geographic area

ITS Technological areas and specific subsections

General features of VET teachers and trainers

Legal status of the accredited training providers

2.3.1. Continuing VET training
The Italian CVT system has been supported by relevant legislation since the 1990s. The European Social Fund (ESF) played for a long time a major role in this development. In these frameworks, the main actors are the Ministry of Labour, which sets the goals of CVT according to Laws 236 and 53, and the Regions which have the general responsibility in managing most training activities, financing spending by selecting the appropriate local-level target and reporting to government. The Ministry of Labour and the Regions co-operate in goal setting with the social partners, who promote IJFs at intersectoral level. The social partners play an important role in promoting company-level training plans (single companies or group of companies) to be financed by either Regions or IJFs.

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2.3.2. Training provided by employers

In the last few years Italian enterprises have become more inclined to invest in human capital. As a result, the training market, particularly its private non-State-regulated sector, has expanded both in terms of demand and supply. As regards the economic sectors, the highest increase occurred in construction, in finance and insurance and in the other business and personal services sectors.

Between 2005 and 2009 this increased by 4.4 percentage points (from 28.8% to 33.2%), indicating that 2.8 million workers were involved in training activities

Enterprises provided training for an overall cost of 3 537 million euro.

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 2.3.3. Training programmes and providers

The increase in CVT provision did not only affect enterprises that provide traditional classroom-based courses but also those that offer alternative learning activities. The majority of these training programmes dealt with environmental protection, labour safety and other content mandated by law.

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2.3.4. Adults' demand for non-formal and informal learning

the levels of adults' participation in training during the 12 months prior to the interviews were 26.9% for non-formal learning and 75.2% for informal activities.

According to the survey carried out in 2011, the levels of adults' participation in training during the 12 months prior to the interviews were 26.9% for non-formal learning and 75.2% for informal activities.

Another factor strongly influencing participation is the employment condition.

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 Enterprises with 10 employees or more that provided training in the 2005 –2009 period by
economic sector

Participants in training courses out of the total number of employees, by size class and
economic sector

Average cost per course hour

Participation in training activities for 18-64 year olds by age class

Participation in non-formal learning for the employed aged 18-64, by work type and age
class