The first “senior technicians” experts in tourism management and culture 4.0 will arrive from Sicily. It is an absolute novelty: it is a training project structured on two courses, which will start in the autumn, in line with the indications (and funds) coming with the Pnrr. About fifty students will be involved in the first instance, about 25 per course, who will have the opportunity to specialize in the field of hospitality management and in communication, management, marketing and protection of cultural heritage. «We are an expanding reality – says Giovanni Dimauro, general manager of the ITS Archimede, head office in Syracuse and branch offices in Noto, Taormina, Giardini Naxos, Ragusa -. Today we have 6 active courses, three years ago, at my inauguration, we were at one. In October we could rise to eight thanks to ESF funding and further in the following months using the resources of the NRP. In all, we host over 120 students, a portion of which also come from the university. In the Ragusa branch, about ten of the 22 students attending are graduates who want to re-skill themselves and enter the job market immediately ».
At ITS Archimede, the average occupancy rate one year after the title is around 70%, a result not taken for granted given the year and a half of health emergency that mainly affected tourism and cultural activities, the reference area of the Sicilian Higher Technical Institute. The consistency of the training course carried out in the classroom and “on the job” with the employment conquered by young people is 90%, on the national average; employment relationships are of a seasonal nature, but there is no shortage of permanent contracts.
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There are two keys to success, in a land that unfortunately excels in terms of school dropout and the number of Neet (23.2% of young people between 18-24 years, practically one in four young people, neither has nor is looking for a job. and does not attend a course of study, with peaks of 30-40% in many areas). «The first key – explained Dimauro – is the link, stable and structured, with the entrepreneurial realities. Of course, we are not Northern Italy. But I can say that about fifty companies, especially small ones, collaborate with our Foundation. The second is that 60% and more of teachers come from work, and 800 hours of activity, out of a total of 2 thousand hours, are carried out in local companies or abroad. The remaining 1,200 hours are spent in class, also in equipped laboratories and carrying out innovative projects, such as the creation of digital tourist packages already published on the international platforms Izi Travel and Road Travel. Its Archimede, the only one on the island to operate in the technological tourism and culture area, is mainly present in Eastern Sicily. «We are also expanding on Catania, Milazzo-Aeolian Islands area, Gela, Enna and Trapani – added Dimauro -. The goal in the short-medium term is to “conquer” western Sicily as well. We will open new courses, not new ITS, involving stakeholders in the development of “tailor-made” training proposals in line with the needs of local businesses. “” For several working seasons – tells us Giuseppe Assenza, manager of the Hotel Gargallo accommodation facilities , Villa Fanusa and B&B Perla del Sole in Syracuse – our staff are complemented by professionals from ITS Archimede. During the internship phase, the students were immediately able to put into practice the concepts they learned in the classroom. Specifically, we refer to reception staff, able to carry out front and back office activities: we are talking about reception, therefore, but also about booking management, revenue management, promotion and digital marketing. Personnel who after the internships found employment in our facilities ». Along the same lines, Luca Licitra, entrepreneur in the tourism-cultural sector in Noto, owner of the Turnè company. “We take care of the management of the civic museum of Noto – he underlined -. The students of ITS Archimede, from the beginning of the internship, have put into practice and enriched our structure with the technical skills acquired during the course: they have contributed to the promotion of activities on the web, to welcoming visitors and to accompanying the themselves on a cultural journey of great interest inside the museum. Today some of these young people are employed in our structure ».