Lhe temptation to pack his bags is great, starting from high school: six out of 10 students are tempted by the brain drain, 1 out of 6 is sure of going abroad. Return? Only 37 per cent of those with an outward ticket also expect a return ticket. This is what emerges from the research “After the diploma” carried out by School.net with ELISa career guidance and training association.
Brain drain: a girl ready to go. Getty Images
«A figure in line with our other researches», confirms Daniele Grassucci, director and co-founder of Skuola.net. «Since middle school, there are many kids who think about going abroadwith the same percentages. A sign of a deep distrust in our country. Their great fear is, once they grow up, of turning into NEETs, that is, those young people who do not study and do not work”.
The official data on the brain drain speak for themselves, and do not allow for discounts: between 2012 and 2021, 248,000 graduates, between 5 and 8 percent of the total, chose to leave to continue their training and then work abroadwhere salaries are higher (by 40%, according to Almalaurea) and attention to merit is more evident.
Another aspect to highlight is that the most eager to stay are the boys from economically disadvantaged families; among them, half choose Italy. While, among the wealthiest, not even a third has the same desire. Going abroad costs money, you know. And who doesn’t want to do it, perhaps more simply can’t consider the option. It’s not so much a free choice, then.
Among those who instead want to leave, 43% think of a complete training course, university first and then work, while 41 would first train in Italy and then leave.
But there is still a theme to raise, and it is that of awareness. So much distrust in our country also hides a lack of knowledge. “The survey was born as part of a set of initiatives on guidance”, continues Grassucci. «The problem is that many job opportunities are not well known. A few examples: among the non-graduates there is a lack of specialized figures such as train conductors, or workers expert in the green transition. We are talking about cutting-edge technicians with excellent salaries: a cabin operator with travel can reach 3,000 euros a month. Among graduates, who in any case are few – 28% against 40 of the OECD average – STEM experts continue to be lacking. 40% of students continue to discard these paths, even if they have very high employability indexes».
A general confusion that emerges from one last figure: only 1 out of 4 boys considers himself well oriented. And the other 3?
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