The government’s maxi plan on training and active policies arrives, which between Community funds from the NRP and national resources will be able to count on a total of 7.2 billion euros. The goal is to involve everyone, from young people, with the take-off of the dual system (600 million) to the unemployed-redundant (Gol program of 4.9 billion between Recovery Plan and React-Eu), up to the workers in service through the Fund for new fees, refinanced up to 1.7 billion (1 billion by React Eu and 700 million by the tax decree).
The ministerial decree is ready
The inter-ministerial decree (Lavoro-Mef) is ready, which sets the three legs of the National Plan for new skills, the framework which, by engaging in the relaunch of active policies, has the aim of tackling delays and historical knots in the relationship between training and work. The text was signed by the Minister of Labor, Andrea Orlando, who on Friday 10 December sent it to his colleague from the Economy, Daniele Franco, as provided for by the Pnrr which set the deadline of 31 December for the adoption of the decree in the field active employment policies and training interventions.
Ambitious goals
The objectives, on paper, are ambitious: to reach at least 800 thousand workers, among the 3 million overall taken on by Gol, involved in training activities, of which 300 thousand for the strengthening of digital skills (more than 55% of individuals between the ages of 16 and 74 have no basic digital skills compared to an EU average of 44%). It is also a question of involving the over 2.1 million young people who do not study, do not train and do not work (Neet), a number that has grown with the pandemic. Without considering how, according to government data, over half of the Italian adult population of working age is potentially in need of retraining (between 53 and 59% of 25-64 year olds). There are about 13 million adults with a low level of education (equal to 39% of 25-64 year-olds).
The three lead programs
As mentioned, there are three guiding programs included in the National New Skills Plan: the Employability Guarantee Plan (Gol), which provides for five different activation paths (based on the different degree of employability) and is aimed at unemployed, redundant, citizens’ income earners, disadvantaged people with refresher or requalification courses. The second leg is the Dual System for young people between 15 and 25 years, with the aim of having, by 2025, at least 135,000 more children involved in courses that combine classroom lessons and training directly “on the job”, also enhancing tools such as apprenticeships; today the first and third level ones – the only two with an educational content – involve a few hundred young people, especially in the autonomous province of Bolzano. Third, the New Skills Fund aimed at workers of companies that have entered into collective agreements for the reshaping of working hours, in response to process, product or organizational innovations. The hours spent by employees to train are paid by the Fund.
The tools to be used
There are several tools to implement: refresher courses, characterized by short-term interventions, aimed at addressing the needs for new skills, in particular deriving from digital and ecological transitions and / or from the effects of the pandemic. As a rule, they last up to 150 hours, to which additional hours of alternation / internship / internal training can be added. Then there are the professional retraining courses, of longer duration (over 150 hours and up to 600 hours). It will be possible to provide additional modules for strengthening basic skills which are characterized as short-term training, which can be provided according to individual needs to strengthen basic skills with particular regard to digital, literacy, mathematical and financial and multi-linguistic ones (up to 60 hours).