In 2022, there were 465.000 young people in Italy who left school prematurely [Italian population between 18 and 24 years old with at most a middle school diploma, who has not completed a professional training course recognized by the Region lasting more than 2 years and who does not attend school courses or carry out training activities], equal to 11,5 percent of the population in the 18-24 age group (see Tab. 1).
In the same year, however, the so-called "brain drain" who left our country to move abroad numbered 55.500 [Italian population aged 18-39 who have emigrated (cancelled from the registry)]. In essence, the former are 8 times higher in number than the latter (see Tab. 2). They are two extremely delicate issues which, however, continue to receive very different levels of attention from public opinion. If school dropout is not yet perceived as an educational plague with a frightening social cost, the "escape" abroad of many young people, however, is, although the number of the first critical issue is much higher than that of the second. This is what the CGIA Research Office says.
For many SMEs it will be difficult to find trained staff
If we also add to these specific features that characterize our youth world the ongoing demographic crisis and the "digital revolution" now upon us, all this will have very serious repercussions for our businesses too. With fewer and fewer young people and for a significant part of them with an insufficient level of education, for many SMEs finding trained personnel to include in the production processes will be a mission impossible.
We have few high school and college graduates
Compared to the main countries of the European Union, Italy presents two major problems in the field of school education/training:
- a low number of diplomas and graduates, especially in scientific subjects. If we are unable to close the gap with our competitors in a reasonably short time, we run the risk of a general impoverishment of the country system;
- a high educational poverty which, according to experts, goes hand in hand with economic poverty. The causes that determine the "escape" from school are mainly cultural, social and economic: children who come from socially disadvantaged environments and from families with a low level of education are more likely to abandon school before completing the course of studies which leads them to obtain at least a high school diploma.
More resources to support professional institutes
It should also be noted that, sometimes, dropping out of school can be caused by dissatisfaction with the available training offer. In this sense, the extraordinary inclusive work carried out by Vocational Education and Training (VET) institutions should be underlined. These realities have become a point of reference for students of foreign nationality, for those with disabilities and for students returning from previous school failures. Schools that often operate in areas characterized by strong urban and social degradation which, thanks to the extraordinary "anti-dispersion" work carried out, should be supported with greater resources than have been made available up to now.
The most critical situation concerns the South
At a territorial level, the southern regions have the highest levels of school dropouts. Therefore, from the comparison between school dropout and "brain drain", it is Campania that presents the highest gap (the former is numerically 16 larger than the latter). This is followed by Puglia and Sicily with 14, and Tuscany and Sardinia with 8 (see Tab. 2).
Only Spain and Germany are worse off than us
Although "escapism" from school is decreasing throughout Europe, among the 20 Eurozone countries in 2022, Italy was in third place for school dropouts among young people between 18 and 24 years old (11,5 percent on the corresponding population). Only Spain (13,9 percent) and Germany (12,2 percent) had a worse result than ours. The Euro Area average was 9,7 percent (see Chart 1).
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