The 2021 national monitoring of ITS (Higher Technical Institutes) study programmes, carried out by Indire on behalf of the Ministry of Education is now available.

The monitoring analyses the employment outcomes of students who completed their course of study at the ITS between January 1st and December 31st 2019, twelve months after graduation. The survey focused on the analysis of the 201 study paths which ended in 2019. These were provided by 83 ITS Foundations out of the 104 established by 31 December 2019 with 5,097 students and 3,761 graduates.

“Ten years after its birth, the Higher Technical Institutes system continues to demonstrate its full effectiveness in terms of employment – the Minister of Education, Patrizio Bianchi declared – However, these data tell us, that we can do more and this is the objective of the reform we are working on and which we will present shortly. It is time to abandon the experimental phase and create a national network capable of enhancing local specific characteristics. A network that would make this choice more attractive for young people and their families. ITS must be increasingly perceived as an integral part of the national tertiary education system, with their own autonomy and a stronger specific definition within the study cycle “. “Their relaunch, which is also at the heart of our National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), is a core point of the country’s strategy to overcome stagnation and low growth and raise educational levels”, the Minister concluded.

“The ITS offer an educational provision that is closely integrated within the economic and productive world, enhancing both human capital and the national and territorial production system – INDIRE’s President, Giovanni Biondi declared – As it was also showed by the monitoring, the ITS confirm, despite the pandemic, their strength in terms of employability, training and their value from a social point of view. This is possible thanks to a dynamic model characterized by organizational and didactic flexibility, by a governance network built together with companies, by the ability to intercept innovation, in particular in terms of the use of enabling technologies specific to the industry 4.0 plan, and consistent research on learning methodologies and skills acquisition for new jobs “.

What are the ITS?

The courses provided by the ITS in cutting-edge technological sectors have a duration of two or three years and refer to the following supply chains: Sustainable mobility; Energy efficiency; Innovative technologies for cultural heritage and activities – tourism; Information and communication technologies; New technologies of life; New technologies for made in Italy: agro-food system, mechanical system, fashion system, business services, home system.

Each diploma corresponds to national professional figures, to study plans defined with companies, and to skills developed in the workplace. They are placed at level 5 of the EQF (European Qualification Framework). They are designed on the basis of three-year plans prepared by regional programs and take as a reference the skills of the specific national professional figures referring to the technological areas (Decree of 7 February 2013), the recognition of the training needs of the various territories with respect to the specific production chains. They also account for the needs of scientific, technological and organizational innovation of companies. They meet certain minimum standards: compulsory internships for at least 30% of the total number of course hours, presence of no less than 50% of teachers who come from the world of work, with specific professional experience gained in the sector for at least five years (Presidential Decree of the Council of Ministers January 25, 2008).

The employment performance of ITS graduates one year after graduation

80% of ITS graduates found work one year after graduation, 92% of these are employed in an area consistent with their studies. The data is particularly significant because it refers to 2020, the year of the explosion of the pandemic crisis. Out of the 20% of the population which is unemployed or in other conditions: 11.1% did not find a job, 4.1% enrolled in a university course, 2.7% were in an extracurricular internship, and 2.4% were untraceable. The data relating to the 12-month employment rate, by technology area, generally showed a growing trend for sustainable mobility (83%) and information and communication technologies (82%). In general, for the areas of New Technologies for Made in Italy there was a slight decrease compared to the previous year, although the values ​​remained high, as in the case of the mechanical system (88%) and the fashion system (82%) where the best results were recorded.

The types of contracts

42.1% of the employed found work with a fixed-term contract or self-employed work under a subsidized regime, that is the most used type of contract in all technological areas. The only exception was for information and communication technologies, an area in which apprenticeship prevailed.

The students

They are young people, mainly males (72.6%) between the ages of 20 and 24 (42.4%) and 18-19 (38.0%), with a secondary school diploma in technical areas (59%). There is also a constant and progressive increase in the number of students with a high school diploma (21%). 10.5% of those enrolled reside in a different region than the location of the course. The most significant percentage of off-site enrolments is for the sustainable mobility technology area (17.5%).

The governance network with businesses

44.6% of the 2,462 ITS partners with monitored study paths are companies and business associations. 91% of the 4,043 internship venues are companies where students experience the digitalisation of company production processes. Although most of the internship venues are in small companies (37.8% for the class of employees 1-9, and 34.3% for the class of employees 10-49), the data by technological area highlight the prevalence of the class of workers 500 and over for the areas: Sustainable Mobility (25.6%), Mechanical System (17.8%).

Organizational and didactic flexibility

71% of the teachers’ network is represented by professionals from the world of work who carry out 71% of the teaching hours provided for in the courses. 41.3% of the hours of the course are carried out in internships while 27% of the hours of theory are carried out in business and research laboratories. The presence of experts from the business world guarantees the updating of the activities proposed, and of internships and laboratory activities integrated into the training courses. In particular, the laboratories (24.4% owned by ITS and 75.6% under a usage agreement) become the place of learning, the heart of the training activity, centred on the development of skills.

The ability to intercept innovation

55% of the monitored study paths used 4.0 enabling technologies, of these 84% use more than one. The most widely used enabling technologies are simulation between interconnected machines to optimize processes (Simulation 47.3%) and high management of data quantities on open systems (Cloud 46.4%). Enabling Technologies 4.0 are accredited for the training of knowledge workers. The design of ITS is renewed by creating experiential contexts in which students use technologies while also exercising soft skills such as their ability to solve problems.

Awarding

The courses awarded are 89 (44.3% of the total monitored paths). The highest ratio between awarded paths and monitored paths goes to Information and Communication Technologies with 53.8% and New Technologies for Made in Italy with 51.7% of the paths awarded, out of the total monitored paths (in particular, the mechanical system with a percentage of 78.9% of award-winning courses).

The regions with awarded courses are Veneto (18), Lombardy (17), Emilia-Romagna (10), Piedmont (9), Puglia (9), Liguria (3), Lazio (5), Friuli-Venezia Giulia (6), Umbria (3), Tuscany (4), Campania (2), Sicily (2) and Abruzzo (1). Calabria, Marche, Molise, and Sardinia haven’t won any awards.

The first classified by technological area in the 2021 monitoring

• New technologies for Made in Italy, Mechanical System: ITS for sustainable mobility – Aerospace / Mechatronics, Turin, Piedmont.
• Information and communication technologies: ITS New Technologies for Made in Italy – JobsAcademy, Bergamo, Lombardy.
• New technologies for Made in Italy, Fashion System: ITS for New Technologies for Made in Italy: Fashion System – Textile, Clothing and Fashion, Biella, Piedmont.
• Sustainable Mobility: ITS for Sustainable Mobility – G. Caboto Foundation, Latina, Lazio.
• Innovative technologies for cultural heritage and activities – Tourism: ITS for Tourism Veneto, Venice, Veneto.
• New technologies for Made in Italy, Services for companies: ITS New technologies for Made in Italy JobsAcademy, Bergamo, Lombardy.
• New technologies for Made in Italy, Agro-food system, ITS for sustainable mobility in the maritime transport and fishing sectors – Italian Academy of Mercantile Navy, Genoa, Liguria.
• New technologies for made in Italy, home system, ITS Umbria Made in Italy – Innovation, technology and development, Perugia, Umbria.
• Energy efficiency: ITS for the development of eco-sustainable energy systems, Turin, Piedmont.
• New technologies of life: ITS New technologies of life, Modena, Emilia-Romagna

Summary of the monitoring and infographics:

• ITS – National Monitoring 2021 (Summary)
• Infographic – Vocational tertiary education in Italy
• Infographic – Monitoring comparison 2015-2021
• Infographic – ITS in Italy. Study paths completed by 31 December 2019