“What is the task of politics, destroying the past or building the future?” This is the question that Sabino Cassese posed in the Corsera of last August 18th. And this is the question that is now being asked daily in the face of the disconcerting behavior of the top officials in the government in office.
The holidays of the Italians, for those who have done them, are over; The time has come for fundamental decisions for the country. The issues with respect to which it has now become essential to give an answer to that initial question are many, but one remains decisive and awaits definite and demanding answers, with a vision of the future: economic development. What are the strategies of this government to support the country's economic development? Are you aware of the size and quality of the processes that are pushing production systems and the world of work towards a completely new configuration on a global level? Is there, and how, the objective of accompanying, consolidating and strengthening the important signs of recovery that have been highlighted in recent years, including at a national level? Are we aware that on this level what is at stake is the definitive positioning of the Italian economy in the world context and, therefore, the future of millions of our young people?
There is now a vast literature of reflection and analysis on the various issues concerning contemporary economic development, with studies and insights in particular on the characteristics of the manufacturing of the future and on the function of innovation as a key element of the pervasive process of technological, cultural , organisational, creative that is taking place in our era of generalized digitization.
Among other things, it must be recognized that the European bodies have exerted a decisive push to start a conscious and participatory path of innovation in this regard. First with the Commission's communication on "A stronger European industry for growth and economic recovery” (2012) and, then, with a succession of initiatives, publications of official documents and definitions of strategies and interventions that led to the presentation of the European action plan on manufacturing 4.0 of 2016. Various European countries, Germany in the lead, have set up, and gradually strengthened, new economic policy strategies to decisively embark on a process of industrial revolution. There is no doubt that the recent growth of industry in the EU is the result of the rapid change in the production paradigm that is affecting the foundations of the continental industrial system.
And this is true, albeit to a lesser extent, also for Italy. In fact, it would be wrong to underestimate the change that is taking place in our production system. This isn't about starting from scratch, far from it.
In terms of economic policy, we started in June 2016 in parliament with the approval of an important "Fact-finding survey on Industry 4.0” and from there we then arrived, through various moments of lively, organized and in-depth discussion, at Industrial Plan of the Mise 2017-2020.
The measures prepared by the previous government were numerous, streamlined and well targeted, built as part of a strategy developed on a European scale. It goes from super and hyper-depreciation to support and encourage companies that invest in capital goods, tangible and intangible, at the remodeling by Sabatini to support requests for bank loans, al R&D tax credit, to support innovative start-ups. In the next Enterprise Plan 4.0 of 2017, again, the extraordinarily important issue of the necessary training of skills was addressed, through the establishment of:
a) Digital Enterprise Points for the dissemination of basic technological knowledge,
b) Innovation hub in which to carry out advanced training on specific technologies,
c) Competence Center advanced training and development of industrial research projects.
How effective has all this been? What answers has the national production system given? What happened at the regional level?
In the meantime, what Giulio Pedrollo, vice president of Confindustria delegated to industrial policies, argued in this regard in an interview with Repubblica on 3 September, is significant: "We must begin by admitting that the Industry 4.0 Plan worked, it was effective for the modernization of companies . So, of the country.”
This judgment is confirmed by a series of surveys applied to our real economy which help to understand the transformation phase that Italian industry is currently dealing with, in the context of the economic recovery that began in 2013 and with the support of the measures envisaged by the Industry 4.0 plan. to keep to the most recent things one can, for example, refer to two reports presented in the last two months. The first elaborated by CDP: The Italian production system. Between modernization and Industry 4.0, the second from MET: Industry 4.0 in Italy, diffusion of trends and some reflections; the third of the Talent Scout Innovation School (in collaboration with Cisco Italia, Intesa San Paolo and Enel): The digital transformation and technological innovation of Italian SMEs in 2018.
According to the first report, in the three-year period 2013-15 27% of companies, representing around 60% of employees, had a organic approach towards innovation of the entire value chain or has only begun the journey, mainly interested in R&D and innovation of production processes, without making changes in the organization downstream of production. 60% of companies (27,6% of employees) remains in a static situation, and another 13,6% (15% of employees) activates a "traditional modernization". These are not exciting data, but it should not be underestimated that during the difficult three-year period behind us there has been an innovative process which, although not always at the most advanced levels, involved 60% of workers in the industrial system and more than a quarter of companies.
The Met report instead refers to the most recent period (up to 2017) and investigates a sample of 24.000 companies. Here, proceeding by general synthesis, it is highlighted that in 2017 8,4% of all companies use at least one Industry 4.0 technology (with peaks of 47,1% in the largest size classes) and 10% have an intervention planned for the next three years (35,1% of the largest), aiming above all to achieve objectives such as improving quality and increasing productivity , and leaving good last that of personnel reduction (only 6.3%). We point out the important role that professional training plays in the sample and for the three-year period analysed, a significantly positive correlation between the introduction of innovative processes and an increase in turnover and employment is demonstrated. Finally, we note a consistent recourse to hyper- and super-depreciation, to Nuova Sabatini, and to the tax credit envisaged in the Industry 4.0 Plan.
Finally, the third report presents a very recent survey which, on a sample of 500 SMEs, in a context of light and shadow but in strong movement, demonstrates that a very high share of SMEs are actually shedding their skin with significant investments in innovation, especially when the presence of a "digital native" company manager is recorded as a determining factor of advantage. In particular, this survey identifies the lack of the necessary skills as one of the major obstacles to contemporary digital transformation.
In conclusion, and in order to always summarise, the threads of the discourse made so far. TOAlso in Italy there has been a change in the manufacturing production paradigm. There is a profound heterogeneity of situations, with the presence of sectoral, dimensional, territorial and, even, cultural limits. An assessment of the complete panorama of the situation is not yet available and, perhaps, is not possible. But it seems evident that for some years now a new wind of vitality has been blowing in the world of our manufacturing. What is happening cannot be interpreted as an economic phase. And if action is not taken soon, there is no more time to recover.
The structural foundations and international position are at stake of the second European manufacturing system and, consequently, the fate of generations of young people. The industrial policy launched by the previous government has demonstrated the ability to attack some fundamental critical points of the system, albeit in a strategic vision that has not yet been completed. It would be irresponsible that the new def you do not find an adequate space of resources to guarantee continuity to the interventions recently started, expanding and refining the financial instruments that allow you to invest in the factors of change. In truth there would be much more to do. For example, and only as an indication, the actions for:
- Commit to play the game that has opened with the new European research plan in the best possible way.
- Making the most of the activation of the Competence Centers that has just started, accompanying it with the establishment of a compact and functional network of technology transfer centers which, at a sectoral/territorial level, bring companies, universities and research centers into synergy.
- Set up a substantial five-year funding program to support all life stages of innovative start-ups (pre-seed, seed, venture, expansion).
- Activate a large national innovation skills training project such as conditio sine qua non to shift the adoption of innovation towards higher qualitative and quantitative levels.
- Convene the States General of Italian manufacturing with the participation of the world of research, to set up a modern and complete industrial policy.
It would be nice if it could open a great comparison on all of this (which is, after all, the future of the country) and not having to chase after threatening announcements about improvised re-nationalisations.
