In Italy the most vulnerable groups – typically adults with low qualifications and low skill levels – are less likely to participate in education and training.

The XIX Report on Continuing Education, presented at the end of November 2020, highlights that in Italy, more than in most other European countries, the most vulnerable groups – typically adults with low qualifications and low skill levels – are less likely to participate in education and training.

According to the latest available data, in 2017, approximately two million and 600 thousand individuals between the ages of 25 and 64 (7.9 per cent of the reference population) participated in education and training activities in Italy.

More than half took part in professional training courses, mostly corporate training and to a lesser extent organized as part of the courses organized by regional training bodies.

Professional reasons prevail among the reasons for participation. Participation in non-formal activities increases as the level of education increases: the share of participants is more than double among graduates compared to high school graduates and is six times higher than those with a qualification lower than high school degree.

High-skilled workers have a participation rate of 14.1%. The others show much lower values: 5.3% medium-skilled, 2.8% medium low-skilled, 1.8% low-skilled.

Workers over 50 who participate in training activities are mainly high skilled, while the participation of low skilled workers is minimal.

There are no information or statistics about the number of disadvantaged persons who attended adult learning.

A certain number of courses are organized at regional level thanks to the resources of the European Social Fund and are aimed at long-term unemployed, former drug addicts, prisoners, former prostitutes, etc., but the Regions do not provide disaggregated data according to the recipients of the training activities.

There are also many NGOs that organize courses for disadvantaged people, which are financed with their own resources or with resources made available by Municipalities, Foundations or EU grants (e.g. Erasmus+). These non-formal training activities, however, are not included in the official statistics and their exact size is not known, either in terms of quantity or of recipients.

If you want to know more about inclusion of adult learners belonging to vulnerable groups in Italy, please download the Report on Inclusion in Adult Learning Organisations in Italy prepared by the Italian partner of the CONSIDER project and available at https://www.eurocultura.it/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/CONSIDER-National-report-IT-1.pdf .

Article by EUROCULTURA.

To learn more about the CONSIDER project or if you would like to know how to participate in the project activities or have access to the resources produced, you can do so by contacting Alexandros Koukovinis through the email alexandros.koukovinis@inova.business or Cláudia Dias through the email claudia.dias@inova.business