THEimagining your future after your studies, more than one in three students (39%) would like to do a technical job. This is the data that emerges from the study Gi Group Holding And Gi Group Foundation in collaboration with Skuola.net and La Fabbrica. Profiles among the most requested, and lacking, on today’s job market. This is why the ITS and IFTS paths were established, but they are still very little known.
After graduation, more than 1 in 3 students would choose a technical path (ITS and IFTS) but families have different “plans”
The problem, the study highlights, is that the desire of boys and girls is not supported, and is even archived. The expectations of families are different, the guidance activities of schools are not very updated.
Over 7 in 10 parents (72%) would like to see their son or daughter go to university. Faculties are by far the first option for parents with children in high school and technical schools, and the second for those with children in vocational schools, immediately after entering the job market.
To this first form of social pressure Added to this are the orientation activities at school which, as 8 out of 10 students highlight (76%), are also unbalanced towards university. The orientation, then, begins too late: only one student in ten (11%) begins it by the third year of high school, 33% not before the fifth year and one in four has never even done it (26%).
Prejudices about technical professions: they are for men
It is perhaps no coincidence, then, that only one student in five (21%) declares that they know the ITS and IFTS routes. Mostly these are boys (31%) while their peers stop at 17%, also at this level reflecting a gender difference historically rooted in Italy for technical-practical professions. And if another 29% of students have sometimes heard mention of ITS, for the remaining 50% it is total darkness.
Ignorance about technical routes
It doesn’t go any better with the teachers: in technical institutes one in four (25%) does not know the ITS paths, a percentage that rises to 46% in high schools. The situation is even worse for IFTS, practically unknown to 57% of technical institute teachers and 70% of high school teachers. But more generally, it is the level I apprenticeship that has not made inroads. As many as 58% of teachers have no information on these job placement opportunities, which rises to 77% among parents.
What are ITS
The ITS (Higher Technical Institutes) and the IFTS (Higher Technical Education and Training) are post-diploma training courses that aim to prepare young specialized technicians by providing them with the hard skills essential for companies.
ITS offer high-level technical specialization, designed and created in collaboration with the world of work and the school and training system. They usually last two years and include an internship for 30% of the time.
To access, you must have an upper secondary education diploma or a professional diploma obtained at the end of a four-year Professional Education and Training course, supplemented by an IFTS certification. The qualification awarded is the Higher Technician Diploma (EQF level V). It goes from Higher robotics technician to the Manager for the management of garden centers. From the Higher technician for energy saving in sustainable construction to the Higher technician for the management of tourist-accommodation facilities.
What are IFTS
IFTS are courses that involve many laboratory activities. They contribute to building the professionalism required by the market by possessing a high level of technical and professional training. They usually last 2 semesters (one year, therefore) and include an internship for 40% of the time.
To access you must have an upper secondary education diploma or a professional technical diploma obtained in the IeFP courses (three- or four-year professional education and training). The qualification issued is the Higher Technical Specialization Certificate (EQF level IV), which allows access to the ITS courses.
Even in this the offer is very richand ranges from Manufacturing and Craftsmanship at the Mechanics in all its phases (design, production, installation, logistics, maintenance, to name a few). FromBuilding to the Tourism (with an eye for local resources, agri-food and sport). Without to forget Culture and information (with focus on information technologies) e Commercial services (business administration and management).
What students want: internships, internships, practical experiences
Among the gaps to be improved – pending the possible effects of the reform – the students would like more practical experiences capable of really bringing them closer to the world of work, such as internships and internships (31%) e visits or meetings in work situations (23%). Instead, teachers and parents express the hope of receiving more training to better support the children. A need particularly felt by younger teachers, from Generation Z and Y, where as many as 61% of professors desire it.
Destination Work, the free initiative for post-diploma orientation
To accompany young people towards the most suitable post-diploma path for each one, Gi Group Holding and the Gi Group Foundation present the new edition of Destination Work, the initiative which aims to offer students a more aware orientation to the world of work and support them in building a concrete perspective for the future. An initiative «dedicated to high school students but also to families and teachers so that they can be informed points of reference in the post-diploma choice», as he explains Chiara Violini, President of the Gi Group Foundation. ANDwinds and insights will be available online via a dedicated platform and are totally free.
Furthermore, it will be possible for students to book a personalized orientation session for targeted advice that will help them learn about all the post-diploma alternatives and consciously lay the foundations for their future.
If “good advice” from parents gets old
«The world of work is changing so rapidly making “good advice” from parents grow old, pbecause previous experience is not always in step with emerging trends”, declares Daniele Grassucci, Director of Skuola.net. And the same goes for teachers. Hence the inexorable growth of NEETs, the stigma towards technical-practical professions which leaves many jobs unfilled. But also the disaffection of students after the first year of attending University, who end up dropping out before the finish line.
The new ministry guidelines on compulsory orientation
As Angela Mencarelli, CEO of La Fabbrica, explains, it is hoped that «the new orientation guidelines desired by the Ministry of Education and Merit will lead to a change of pace. In particular, orientation activities will be mandatory starting from the first year of lower secondary schools and companies and employment agencies will be increasingly called upon to be part of the educational community, to support teachers in informing, training and inspiring students”.
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