READY FOR OUR LIVES

International Erasmus Plus Project2015-2018

NICOSIA 29° MARCH -03° APRIL 2017

I.I.S. A. VoltaNicosia- Italy

Immigrants at the job market

Italy is the European country that has received the most immigrants in the past fifteen years.Up to the late 1990s, the largest proportion of immigrants was from North Africa, whereas the majority of migration inflows originated from Eastern Europe.From 2007 to 2014, the national resident population is slightly down, while the foreign one has grown at an average rate of about 8%; in eight years the number of foreign individuals has grown by about 2 million.Population growth is also due to family reunions, which represent the majority of the residence permits issued. Among the communities of non-EU origin, citizens prevail from Albania, Morocco, China, Ukraine, the Philippines.Looking at the data for the past two years, many communities have recorded significant growth rates, for example, the Romanian community.

Migrant workers are highly concentrated in unskilled jobs, although around a half of them has a university or an upper secondary degree. Around 40% with a tertiary degree is in a manual position, and this value rises to 60% among holders of an upper secondary degree. This means that many migrant workers are over-educated relative to the jobs they hold. A similar problem occurs to national workers but to a much lower extent.

The opportunities for career development are very low although there are no data on discrimination in occupational careers, a relevant factor to consider is that migrant workers in Italy gain access mainly to unskilled jobs with high occupational instability that offers very limited opportunities for intra-generational mobility. However, the recent increase of self-employment among migrant workers has opened to them new opportunities for job improvement.

In Italy, migrant workers tend to concentrate in some sectors (agriculture, services to families, constructions, hotels and restaurants, low and unskilled service jobs), where the control exerted by trade unions on work activities is traditionally weaker than in the industrial sector, so there is a high incidence of undeclared work. Union density is very weak in the case of services to families because personal contacts of these workers with trade union representatives are more difficult, in some cases, language difficulties represent further obstacles.

Migrant population and, more specifically migrant workers, are concentrated in the Northern and Central regions, where a more dynamic economy requires migrant workers to a greater extent, and in Lazio (more particularly, in Rome, the city that attracts the highest number of non-nationals in Italy). The Northern regions attract particularly in the constructions sector and in the services to families, but also in the primary sector.

Another aspect that is worth mentioning refers to the importance of social networks as providers of information, social contacts and opportunities for job search. But a by-product of this situation is that migrant workers of a given country who are employed in a given sector tend to attract in this sector other workers from the same country, producing an ethnic specialisation for specific occupations (eg women from Philippines in the services to families, men from Albania and Romania in the construction sector, and so on).

A relevant phenomenon that has increasingly involved migrant workers in Italy is entrepreneurship. Around 312,000 entrepreneurs are non-national, with a sharp increase in the recent year and it represents the most influent trend in the area of entrepreneurship in Italy.

It has been calculated that, without the increase of non-national entrepreneurship, the overall number of firms in Italy would be declining. Non-national entrepreneurs are highly concentrated in the North of Italy and among males. The sectors of trades and constructions attract the highest number of non-national entrepreneurs, but they are very active also in phone-centres and internet points.

Italy has the lowest rate of naturalization among the EU countries. This is particularly painful for the "second generation“, the law currently regulating the Italian citizenship, approved in 1992, is based on the "right of blood". It gives Italian citizenship to all children born to Italian parents. On the contrary the children of immigrants born in Italy have to wait until their 18th birthday before they can apply for citizenship - but only if registered after birth otherwise they will be just immigrants, needing a residence permit - issued on condition they can prove an income. Some parties and associations are asking for the approval of the jus soli that is the right of anyone born in the territory of a state to nationality or citizenship. Changing the citizenship law will be an important step to better the lives of many. It will convey the message that immigration is not a danger to the Italian society, but rather an opportunity.

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