In times when the lack of work, especially for young people, is at the center of the concerns of economists and politicians, it happens (and not infrequently) to come across a real different country, where the problem is not so much employment opportunities, as much as the absence of a meeting between supply and demand, between the needs of businesses and the skills of candidates. More than work, in many cases, there is a lack of adequate training. More than English, Italian, written and oral, is scarce.
This is what the Reggio Emilia Chamber of Commerce reveals, in the light of a survey according to which 30% of Reggio entrepreneurs find it difficult to find the necessary professional figures. The analysis is a cross-section of a national survey of the Excelsior information system on the recruitment forecasts of private companies with employees in industry and services, carried out by Unioncamere-ANPAL with the collaboration of the Chambers of Commerce.
Businesses are increasing, the people of Reggio explain, but they are struggling to fill the posts. The problem is not just Reggio Emilia, it concerns the entire region (24,4% of businesses) and the whole country (21,5%). However, in the rich Emilian province, where the economy is booming, the question weighs more.
The fact is that not only are there a shortage of candidates, but those who do exist are not prepared to fit into a constantly changing world of work and industry. 37% of companies say that the biggest problem is "inadequate preparation". For 28,3% there is a lack of potential workers "with personal characteristics suited to the profession offered".
For 34,7% of the interviewees, "very specific figures and new professions, required by the changes induced by globalization and introduced in the organization of production processes and work," are absent. In short, the problem of work arises, in part, from training that is not suitable for the market.
But what characteristics should the ideal candidate have? He should be able to do more things. There is a "growing demand for transversal skills, i.e. those skills that bring together personal qualities, attitude in the workplace and knowledge in the field of interpersonal relationships". Among the "soft skills", which is the English way of defining these various skills, the one most in demand (95,7% of the total) is flexibility, i.e. the ability to adapt, followed by the ability to work in a team (85,9% of the total). %) and from that of working independently (76,8%). Even the ability to solve problems (70,9%) has its own specific weight.
Another element that catches the eye, in the light of all the university courses in English that are flourishing, is the need of entrepreneurs (62,3% of the interviewees) to deal with someone who speaks Italian well and knows also write it. 54,3% are looking for employees who are aware of the technological changes taking place and in the same percentage there are those who would like employees with digital skills. For 32,3% of Reggio entrepreneurs, it should be able to manage innovative solutions by applying "4.0" technologies. 47,8% limit themselves to asking for people capable of using mathematical and IT languages and methods.
