Towards quality apprenticeships in Italy

ALESSANDRA BIANCOLINI, ISFOL (ITALY)

Presentation held at the Cedefop event ‘Governance and financing of apprenticeships’,

Brussels, 8 and 9 February 2016

Towards quality apprenticeships

in Italy

Alessandra Biancolini

ISFOL-MLPS DG Politiche attive, servizi per il lavoro e la formazione

abiancolini.ext@lavoro.gov.it

Fostering employability of the young

people: the main challenge «Jobs Act» (Law 183/2014) contains delegation to reform jobs contracts and also apprenticeship Implementation is still in progress after adoption of the legislative decree Nr. 81/2015 that is the new legal framework for apprenticeship entered into force last June JoJjjjjj83/2014) containing delegation to reform

apprenticeship contract

•Legilsative Decree n° 81/2015: implementation of the

reform

Apprenticeship recent reform – Aims

To foster the attractiveness and the quality of training within this type of job contract as a step to get a qualification/diploma for youth, shifting on a dual system model To support the transition from school to work strenghtening the bridges between Education and Training system and the Labour market To improve job creation provinding early job experience to all young people and not only disadvantaged target groups JoJjjjjj83/2014) containing delegation to reform

Towards an evolutionary scenario of

apprenticeship (vision 1) maintainance of the three existing national schemes set in the Consolidated act, decree Nr. 167/2011 (and previsous rules) and currently confirmed….. APPRENTICESHIP IS STILL DESIGNED AS AN OPEN END JOB CONTRACT WITH A TRAINING PURPOSE BUT

Major changes: lgs. decree Nr. 81/2015 concerned 1 and 3 type apprenticeship, conceived as tools for modernizing school and VET system by combining learning in training institutions with on-the-job training, providing qualified and skilled workers in a longer perspective and reducing the existing skills gap into the Italian labour market.

Towards an evolutionary scenario of

apprenticeship (vision 1)

Apprenticeship type 2, occupation-based will not cease to exist but it will progressively become one of the options for providing early occupation to young people, within a job contract that grants a minimum set of training provisions managed by the social partners through collective agreements mechanisms of goverance and financing

PUBLIC INVESTMENT IS CONSEQUENTLY SHIFTING

FROM TYPE 2 TO DUAL PATHS TYPE 1 AND 3

Public funds for Initial and Vocational Education and Traning (IeFP) will be increased for 2015-2016 of € 27 mln yearly to implement the new dual paths and placement activity of VET providers and training institutions and supporting the provisions and supply of apprenticehsip for earning an upper secondary VET qualification

Setting the scene

Designing a dual system in Italy: strenghtening work-based learning and providing apprenticehips opprtunities to all students of the upper secondary and tertiary education cycle:

• In the school (also lyceums) school – work reinforced alternance scheme for students of the last three years leaded by the Ministry of Education and Research (from 200 up to 400 hours)

• in IVET – dual paths will be soon offered to all students enrolled in the regional learning pathways and in technical and professional Education (Ministry of employment is carrying out a national pilot initiative to strenghten the placement capacity of VET providers and their potential to support and create local territorial networks)

Key points of new governance/1

• Clear definition of roles and responsabilities among key actors for those apprenticeships aimed at gaining qualifications within the formal edcuation system, type 1 and 3

(GOAL: COORDINATION better address the need of facing the fragmentation of the regulatory framework, though nationwide legal provisions, the implementation of dual paths requires a multilevel governance between the State and the Regions)

More balanced position in the allocation of strategic and operational fonctions due to the arrangements provided within ministry decree of 12 october 2015, laying dawn national standards and criteria for dual paths

Key points of new governance/2

Which standards are implemented nationally and how?

Legal definition of actors, typologies of learning pathways and qualifications that can be achieved through apprenticeship, legal definition of duration of the contract, references to the learning outcomes (and credits transfer where applicable), statutory curricula and related competence frameworks, clear share of training hours between off-the-job and on-the-job.

Definition of national models to be used by training

institutions and employers for:

1) Individual Training Plan 2) Personal Apprentice Dossier containing useful administrative docs, references to mentors activities, transparency criteria and guidelines for assessing the learning outcomes of dual paths

Towards a system more input oriented where paths

have specific goals, lead to qualifications recognized nationally and are coherent and consistent to occupational profiles in the medium-long term (Repository of occupational apprentices profiles is in progress)

Key points of new governance/3

The step by step application of national standards in

- Experimentation of new cooperation dialogue model between different learning venues (schools, VET providers and companies) will increase the degree of active involvement of all the stakeholders

- References to national dual curricula, such as VET paths (apprenticeship type 1 and 3) along with the implementation of crucial national processes, such as the finalisation of National Qualification Framework (including also occupational profiles of apprentices) will foster

Quality development of dual

apprenticeship pathways

Financing arrangements

COST SHARING MECHANISM

Decree 81/2015 confirms the balance mechanism of costs among the actors

of apprenticeship (the State, the apprentice, the employer)

BUT

INVESTMENTS ARE MOSTLY FOCUSED IN DUAL PATHS

linked with the national qualification system and to the high effective share of external training to be provided within type 1 and 3 (target group: students in

compulsory education still)

AND

WAGES OF APPRENTICES HAVE BEEN REDUCED

and better address a cost-effectiveness analysis

Remuneration is proportional to the effective number of hours spent on the job

More adequate mechanism of costs sharing

A national media campaign was launched

very recently to promote the dual system

and innovations through a TV and radio

spot and the website:

http://www.sistemaduale.lavoro.gov.it

No further normative change will be needed but more Training culture!!

Raising the attractiveness of the tool especially for employers!