Vs_the Italian Vocational and Educational System

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THE ITALIAN VOCATIONAL AND EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM



2

SUMMARY

THE EUROPEAN CONTEXT.........................................................................................................3

NATIONAL THEMATIC FOCUS ..................................................................................................6 Fig. 1 The Education and Training System according to the 2003 ................................................7

First cycle (primary school, ‘Level I’ secondary school) ................................................................8

Second cycle (‘licei’ system and the ‘vocational education and training’ system) .........................8

School-Work Alternance ................................................................................................................10

Apprenticeship ...............................................................................................................................11

Higher Technical Education and Training (IFTS, Istruzione e Formazione Tecnica Superiore)

........................................................................................................................................................12

University System...........................................................................................................................13 Fig. 2 The University System ....................................................................................................... 13

University Degree Programme......................................................................................................14

Specialist University Degree Programme (CLS) ...........................................................................14

‘Level I’ Master’s Courses (CMU1) ..............................................................................................14

‘Level II’ Master’s Courses (CMU2).............................................................................................15

Research Doctorate Courses (CDR)..............................................................................................15

Certification, Credit System...........................................................................................................16

ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS........................................................................................17

GLOSSARY......................................................................................................................................18



3

THE EUROPEAN CONTEXT

The actions of the European Community regarding education and training, on the basis of Art. 149

and Art. 150 of the Amsterdam Treaty1, contribute to the development of vocational education and

training that aims at providing incentives to co-operation among the Member States and at

supporting and integrating their actions.

In particular, human capital understood as all the know-how, abilities and skills of the single

individuals embraced together, is considered in the most recent Community policies to be the main

resource available for progress and development, so that the enhancement of this resource is

considered to be essential with regard to the quality of life, employment, social cohesion and

competitiveness.

As a result of this policy, in recent years, the Member States and the Commission have worked

jointly, in particular to develop a strategy for ensuring lifelong learning.

A fundamental step of this process regarding educational policies is the strategy formulated in

Lisbon2 (March 2000) by which the European Union adopted the objective of making its education

and training systems a “reference point for quality on the world level by 2010” and Europe “the

favourite destination of students and researchers from the rest of the world”. To this end, the

Ministers of Education have been asked to make a general assessment of the future concrete

objectives of these systems, centred on the common concerns and priorities while respectingnational differences. On the basis of a proposal of the Commission and contributions of the Member

States, on 12 February 2003 the Education Council adopted the Report of the Commission on the

Concrete Future Objectives of the Education and Training Systems, presented in March 2001 at the

European Council in Stockholm3. This is an initial document outlining a global and coherent

approach of national policies in the sector of education and training, in the context of the European

Union, regarding three distinct objectives:

- Improving the quality and effectiveness of the education and training systems in the European

Union

- Facilitating access of all to the education and training systems

- Opening the education and training systems to the wider world

The conclusions reached at Stockholm called for the continuation of a work programme

including an evaluation of their degree of implementation in the context of the “open method of

co-ordination” providing for the identification of the shared objectives, the dissemination of best

1 Treaty of Amsterdam amending the Treaty of the European Union, the Treaties instituting the EuropeanCommunities and some related acts, O.J. C 340 of 10 November 1997, Art. 149 and Art. 150

2Extraordinary European Council of Lisbon, 23 - 24 March 2000, EU Bulletin 3-2000

3 European Council of Stockholm, 23 - 24 March 2001 , EU Bulletin 3-2001



4

practices as well as the measurement and monitoring of the progress achieved through agreed

instruments.

Establishing the 13 points implementing the 3 strategic objectives regarding various elements and

various levels of education and training - from basic skills to vocational and higher education - with

particular attention focused on the principle of lifelong learning, the European Council of

Barcelona4 (March 2002) has strengthened these ambitions. The main criteria listed below were also

identified, to be used to measure the progress made, with a comparison of the European results in

the Member States and with other Regions of the world, according to the benchmarking method:

1) Improving the quality and effectiveness of the education and training systems in the European

Union:

1.1) Improve education and training for teachers and trainers;

1.2) Develop the skills for the knowledge society;

1.3) Ensure access to ITCs for all

1.4) Increase the recruitment to scientific and technical studies;

1.5) Make the use of resources in the best way.

2) Facilitating access of all to education and training systems:

2.1) An open learning environment;

2.2) Make learning more attractive;

2.3) Support active citizenship, equal opportunities and social cohesion,

3) Opening education and training systems to the wider world:

3.1) Strengthen links with the world of work and research and with society at large;

3.2) Develop the business spirit;

3.3) Improve the learning of foreign languages;

3.4) Increase mobility and exchange;

3.5) Strengthen European co-operation

As a contribution to the attainment of the above objectives, on 30 November 2002, the Ministers

of Education representing 31 European countries (Member States, candidate countries and

EEA countries) have adopted the Copenhagen Declaration5 designed to promote the European

co-operation on vocational education and training. The Declaration assigns the task of

implementing concrete actions regarding transparency, recognition and quality in vocational

education and training.

4 European Council of Barcelona, 15 - 16 March 2002, EU Bulletin 3-20025 European Commission, Declaration of the European Ministers of Vocational Education and Training, and

European Commission, convened in Copenhagen on 29 and 30 November 2002, on exchanged European co-

operation in vocational education and training, Copenhagen, 2002



5

The momentum attributed to co-operation on the education policy is also linked to the preparation

for European enlargement. The candidate countries (and those in the European Economic Area) are

already participating in the “Leonardo” and “Socrates” Programmes and in the process of

convergence towards a European area for higher education (“Bologna Process”), as well as in

pursuing the objectives of the Copenhagen Declaration. Their involvement in the implementation of

the “Detailed Work Programme on Future Objectives of Education and Training Systems” was a

priority on the agenda of the Ministers’ meeting in Bratislava (June 2002).

More recently European policies have been oriented towards the setting-up of a Community

programme specifically aimed at supporting the use of new technologies in the sectors of education

and training (e-learning). All this responds to the need to update the European education and

training systems to the new requirements of a knowledge-based society, improving the quality and

accessibility of these systems. With “e-Learning”, the use of ITCs would take on a much broader

and extensive meaning, as an instrument essential for the modernisation of education and training

systems in the context of lifelong learning.

These innovations are more clearly defining the features of the common policy on education.

Each Member State remains responsible for the contents and organisation of its education and

training systems, while the EU can offer the following:

− Multinational partnerships for education, training and young people;

− Programmes for the exchange and opportunity of learning abroad;

− Innovative projects of teaching and learning;

− Networks of professional profiles in the academic and vocational field;

− A reference framework to face common problems, such as new technologies in education and

the international recognition of qualifications;

− A platform to create consensus, make comparisons and comparative analyses as well as

formulate policies.

This European dimension is based on the close co-operation with Member States. It is open to

anyone interested in education - by single classes of schools, teachers, parents and students, as well

as principals, university rectors, professional organisations, experts and government ministers - and

training in all its forms and for all ages.

The Directorate-General for Education and Culture has the task of contributing to preserve the best

of the various European educational experiments, using them to raise standards, remove obstacles to

learning opportunities and respond to the training needs of the 21st century.



6

NATIONAL THEMATIC FOCUS

In the past decade, the structure of the education and training system has undergone profound

transformations in its nature and functions. In particular, also following the policy of

decentralisation included in the Constitution with Constitutional Law. No. 3 of 2001, the State is no

longer the sole actor of the system, enhancing the value of the autonomy of Local Authorities

(Municipalities, Provinces, Metropolitan Areas, Regions) and schools. In the new institutional

configuration, the State performs three functions in particular:

- Overall governance of the national education system;

- Control of the overall quality of the education and training system;

- Intervention with measures to ensure fair treatment (financial and/or technical).

There is particular focus on the programming and management co-ordination role of the local

authorities. According to legislation, with particular regard to Art. 117 of the amended Constitution,

the State and Regional Authorities on the one hand, and the Regional Authorities, Local Authorities

and schools on the other, shall collaborate to develop a training policy coherent with specific local

requirements. This training policy shall be both unitary and co-ordinated with national training

policies. The schools, following national guidelines, are called upon through design, creativity and

autonomy to shape increasingly tailor-made and specific forms of learning for the different needs of

each student.

Furthermore, the more recent legislative reforms, in coherence with Community principles and

guidelines in education and training, are aimed at promoting and guaranteeing lifelong learning,

equal opportunities, the development of knowledge and the full development of the individual.

The Italian education and training system, as reformed by the recent Law No. 53 of 2003, ensures

each individual the right to education and training for twelve years, or at least until the students

obtain an educational qualification by the age of 18.

Considering these assumptions, the education and training system has the following structure.6

6 The outline is based on the one drawn up by the Ministry of Education, University and Research

(<www.education.it>)



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H i g h e r e d u c a t i o n a n d t r a i n i n g

S e c o n d

c y c l e

F i r s t c y c l e

Fig. 1 The Education and Training System according to the 2003

Specialist University Degree

(2 years)

• Vocational

training

• Apprenticeship

• Alternance

State exam

IFTS

« Licei »(5 years)

Forth year

« Integrating fifth year »

Vocational education and training

system

University Degree

State exam

Level I Secondary School

Primary School

Nursery School

U

N

I

V

E

R

S

IT

Y



8

The system consists of two cycles and higher training

1. The first cycle includes primary school and secondary school;

2. The second cycle includes the licei (lycée) system and the ‘vocational education and

training’ system.

First cycle (primary school, ‘Level I’ secondary school)

The first cycle of education consists of primary school, with a five-year duration, and ‘Level I’

secondary school, with a three-year duration. Primary school promotes the development of the

personality while respecting individual diversity, and has the purpose of ensuring the acquisition

and development of basic knowledge and abilities, the learning of means of expression and literacy

in at least one foreign language of the European Union besides Italian. It organises and increases,

also through the use of ITs, the knowledge and abilities corresponding to the attitudes and vocations

of students. Once primary school is completed, there is no final exam, as there was in the previous

system7.

The ‘Level 1’ secondary school has a three-year duration divided into a 2-year period and a third

year that completes the study pathway and ensures a link with the second cycle. From the first year,

a second European foreign language is studied, with further study of the use of ITs. The first cycle

of studies is wholly compulsory and ends at the age of 13.5 or 14 (according to the starting age)with the completion of the ‘Level 1’ secondary school pathway. At the end of the this cycle, there is

a State exam, which when passed entitles to access to the ‘licei’ (lycée) system or to the ‘vocational

education and training’ system.

Second cycle (‘licei’ system and the ‘vocational education and training’ system)

This consists of the ‘licei’ system and the ‘vocational education and training’ system. The students

can choose between two channels:

The ‘upper secondary school’ system has the following streams, each of which has a duration of 5

years:

- Artistic

- Classical

- Economic

- Linguistic

- Musical

7Cf. Law No. 53 of 28 March 2003, Art. 2, Para. 1



9

- Scientific

- Technological

- Humanities

Each ‘licei’ stream has two 2-year periods and a fifth year dedicated to in-depth studies; they end

with a State exam, which after passing it leads to the award of an Upper Secondary School-Leaving

Certificate allowing access to university, advanced artistic, musical and dance training and Higher

Technical Education and Training ( IFTS).

The vocational education and training system, alternative to the ‘licei’ system, has a duration of at

least 4 years. The certificates and qualifications obtained at the end of the four years allow students

to take the State exam, and is also valid for access to universities and advanced artistic, musical and

dance training after the attendance of a special annual course, while according to the rules the State

exam can also be taken without this attendance. At the end of the third year, the students obtain the

first qualification ‘spendable’ in the world of work and recognised at the European level.

The law entitles students to switch stream within the ‘licei’ system, and to move from the ‘licei’

system to the ‘vocational education and training’ system and vice versa, through specific

educational courses aimed at the acquisition of a preparation suited to the new choice. Attendance

with positive results of any segment of the second cycle leads to the acquisition of certified credits

that can be used in transfers between the various pathways.

In the second cycle, practical work, training experience and study periods in Italy or abroad are

recognised with a specific skill certification awarded by schools and training organisations.



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School-Work Alternance

Students who have reached the age of 15 in the cycle of the right-duty to education and training for

at least 12 years8, can choose to undertake the entire training from the ages of 15 to 18 through

school-work alternance. School-work alternance is a system for undertaking training of the second

cycle, both in the ‘licei’ system and in the ‘vocational education and training’ system, to ensure that

young people, besides basic knowledge, also acquire skills ‘spendable’ in the labour market.

The alternating pathways are designed, implemented, assessed and evaluated under the

responsibility of the school or training organisation, on the basis of special agreements with

enterprises, the respective trade associations, Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Crafts and

Agriculture and with public and private bodies. The structure of alternance is based on and assumes

the opportunity of alternating between periods of school and work. The alternating learning has

scopes such as implementing flexible and equivalent learning methods from the cultural and

educational point of view, systematically linking classroom training with practical experience, and

fostering the guidance of young people in order to improve personal vocations, interests, and

individual learning styles. Furthermore, there is an attempt to correlate training supply with the

cultural, social and economic development of the area.

The first indispensable condition for implementing the initiatives lies in the module-based

organisation of the activities involving alternance between theoretical and technical-practicaltraining. According to this system, the in-itinere evaluation accompanying the implementation of all

the activities allows the schools, universities or employers to assess the real abilities and skills

learnt by the students, so that during a subsequent module any skills not acquired or needing

support can be inserted in the curriculum with more specifically technical and vocational aspects

deriving from contact with the enterprise system. The students can furthermore undertake practical

work in Italy or abroad. These activities are then recognised with specific skill certification awarded

by the schools and training organisations. These organisations, upon request by the students, can

ensure the attendance of integrated courses at vocational training and education schools with the

syllabus designed in agreement between the two systems.

8Law No. 53 of 28 March 2003, Art. 4



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Apprenticeship

Apprenticeship is a mixed contract. Besides the actual employment, the enterprise must provide the

young people with the training necessary for them to become skilled workers. Apprenticeship is

thus the most valid instrument for young people who do not intend to pursue the traditional

pathways of higher education, thus fostering the encounter between training and employment.

Our system recognised two contract systems involving training: the apprenticeship contract and the

work/training contract. The apprenticeship contract is governed by Articles 2130-2134 of the Civil

Code and, recently, by Laws No. 196 of 24 June 1997 and No. 263 of 2 August 1999. The “Biagi

Law” (Law No. 30 dated 14 February 2003) and Legislative Decree 267 of 10 September 2003 call

for a change in the apprenticeship contract, which from a single contract will fall into three possible

categories:

- Apprenticeship contract for exercising the right-duty of education and training: all young

people and adolescents who have reached the age of 15 can be engaged in all sectors of

activity. It has a duration not exceeding three years and is aimed at obtaining a vocational

qualification. The duration of the contract is determined on the basis of the qualification to be

attained, the educational qualification, the vocational and training credits acquired as well as

the balance of skills conducted by the Public Employment Services, or by accredited privateorganisations through the assessment of training credits as set forth in Law No. 53 of 28

March 2003. The registration of the qualification attained is certified in the training booklet.

- Occupationally-based apprenticeship contract: persons aged between 18 and 29 can be

engaged in all sectors of activity. This contract is aimed at obtaining a vocational qualification

through on-the-job training and the acquisition of basic, transversal and technical-vocational

skills. The recognition of the results attained is certified in the training booklet.

- Apprenticeship contract for acquiring a diploma leading to a secondary or university

qualification: under this contract, persons aged between 18 and 29 can be engaged in all

sectors of activity for achieving secondary, university, advanced training or advanced

technical specialisation educational qualifications. The apprentices must be aged between 18

and 29.



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Higher Technical Education and Training ( IFTS, Istruzione e Formazione Tecnica Superiore)

As stated in the implementation regulation of Art. 69 of Law No. 144/1999, the system of Higher

Technical Education and Training introduced in Italy in 1999 is divided into “pathways” with the

objective of ensuring that young people and adults, employed or not employed, attain a high

cultural level and in-depth technical and vocational training. The demand for highly skilled

professional profiles comes from the world of work, both public and private, increasingly affected

by technological innovations and the internationalisation of markets. The IFTS system also

responds to the need to comply with European levels which (up to 1998) involved much more

participation in higher training than in Italy.

The pathways are designed and managed by at least four actors:

- Schools

- VT organisations

- Universities

- Enterprises

These actors are organised according to national standards by each Regional Authority, on the basis

of local needs. Access to IFTS requires the attainment of an upper secondary school-leaving

certificate. If this certificate is lacking, the skills acquired in previous pathways of education,

training and work after completion of compulsory education, must be accredited.

The minimum duration of the pathways is two semesters and a maximum of four, for a total of at

least 1,200 hours and not more than 2,400. For employed workers, this total set of hours can be

distributed over a longer period of time.

Each semester is divided into hours of theoretical, practical and workshop-based activity. Practical

work and training experience in enterprise are compulsory at least for 30% of the duration of the

overall hours of the courses and can also be undertaken abroad.

No fewer than 50% of the teachers of IFTS courses come from the world of work with a specific

professional experience acquired in the sector for at least 5 years.

Each training experience is certified in credits that can be used in the context of further training or

work pathways anywhere in the country. The Regional Authorities and the Autonomous Provincial

Authorities award the certificate of higher technical specialisation, following the final assessment

conducted by examination boards composed of representatives of schools, universities, VT

organisations and experts of the world of work.



13

The database on the Higher Technical Education and Training system is located at the National

Institute for Documentation of Educational Innovation and Research ( INDIRE ).

University System

Fig. 2 The University System

The Italian universities provide for the following ‘Level I’ and Level II’ courses for:

- University Degree

- Specialist University Degree

- University Master

- Research Doctorate

The grades for individual exams are expressed in 30/30, those for the final degree exam are

expressed in 110/110. For each course of three study cycles, a certain number of university training

RESEARCH

DOCTORATE

LEVEL I MASTER’S

COURSES

UNIVERSITY

DEGREE

(3 YEARS)

LEVEL II

MASTER’S

COURSES

SPECIALIST

UNIVERSITY

DEGREE



14

credits (CFU ) are assigned. The average ‘amount’ of learning work carried out in one year by a

full-time student enrolled in university studies is conventionally set at 60 credits.

While the CFU s measure the achievement of the training goal, the grades measure the profit. The

CFU s are thus quite independent from the grade achieved and are acquired with the passing of the

exam, whatever the grade.

With the certificate acquired at the end of the ‘lycée’ channel, students can sign up for any

university-degree programme, and the university staff will check the curriculum. If any training

debits are ascertained, the student must recover them in the first year with specific integration

activities organised by the university.

University Degree Programme

University-degree programme (CL) lasts three years and has the purpose of ensuring that students

acquire an adequate mastery of general scientific contents and methods, as well as specific

vocational know-how. In order to attain the degree, the student must acquire at least 180 credits. To

enter the first cycle, the upper secondary school-leaving certificate is an indispensable requisite.

Admission is sometimes subordinated to the assessment of other conditions. For the attainment of a

degree of any type, the study of at least one European foreign language is compulsory.

Specialist University Degree Programme (CLS)

Access is gained to the specialist university-degree programme with an ordinary degree certification

or comparable foreign educational qualification; the duration is 2 years and the Specialist

University Degree is awarded to those who have gained at least 300 credits, including those

provided with a degree (max 180) and who have written an original dissertation.

The aim of the specialist university-degree programme is to provide the students with advanced

training to undertake a highly qualified job in specific sectors.

‘Level I’ Master’s Courses (CMU1)

The ‘ Level I’ Master’s programmes are courses either of scientific advanced training or of

continuing and lifelong training.

For access to these courses, a degree certificate or a comparable foreign educational qualification is

required; admission is sometimes subordinated to further requisites. The duration is at least 1 year.

For attaining the ‘ Level I’ Master diploma, at least 60 credits are required.



15

‘Level II’ Master’s Courses (CMU2)

For access to the ‘ Level II’ Master’s programmes a Specialist University Degree or a comparable

foreign educational qualification is required, and sometimes admission can be subordinated to

further requisites. The minimum duration is one year. For attaining the ‘ Level II’ Master diploma, at

least 60 credits are required.

Research Doctorate Courses (CDR)

For access to these courses, a Specialist University Degree or a comparable foreign educational

qualification and the passing of an exam are necessarily required. The duration of a Research

Doctorate course is 3 years, at the end of which the Research Doctorate is conferred to the student,

after presentation of an original dissertation. The aim of the Research Doctorate course is the

acquisition of a correct method of scientific research or a very high level of expertise.



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Certification, Credit System9

In Europe and Italy, the system of certification of skills and training credits plays a highly important

role, since it enables the mobility of workers and students in the context of the integration of

different training systems, and provides communication and the guarantee of transparency among

institutions, individuals and the labour market. The ‘Skill’ can be defined as a set of knowledge,

abilities and attitudes allowing an individual to obtain results useful for adaptation in the contexts

that are significant for that individual and emerging as the ability to face up to and master problems

through the use of cognitive and social abilities. Skills should likewise be structurally able to

transfer their impact to various fields, thus dynamically producing a ‘spiral’ of other knowledge and

skills.

The process of certification, as set forth in Decree No. 174 of 31/05/200110 defines certification as

the process through which an organisation with institutional legitimacy confirms the existence or

the attainment of certain “objects in the training sector”, which can regard: the outcome of

individual participation in a certain training pathway; the type and the level of skills in any case

acquired through a certain training pathway and/or through the individual’s own personal,

professional and training experience; the quality of a training output (teaching material, training

course); the quality of the training process; the quality of the characteristics of a training-providing

facility; and the skills of the personnel working in the training system.

The function of certifying skills is undertaken by the Regional Authorities that, in the context of

their legal and regulatory autonomy, govern the implementation procedures, taking into account the

minimum standards set at the national level. The skills are registered in the individual training

booklet and form credits that can be recognised and ‘spendable’ at the national and European level.

9 See spec. Certification10

Legislative Decree No. 174 of 31/5/2001 Certification of Skills in the Vocational Training System



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ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS

CGIL Confederazione generale italiana del lavoro

General Confederation of Italian WorkersCIPE Comitato interministeriale per la programmazione economica

Joint Ministerial Committee for Economic PlanningCOL Centro di orientamento al lavoro

Work guidance centre

CPI Centro per l’impiegoEmployment centre

CSF Community Support Framework CTP Centro territoriale permanente

Permanent regional centre

ECTS European Community course credit transfer systemESF European Social Fund

Eurostat Statistical Office of the European CommunitiesFaDol Formazione a distanza on-lineOn-line distance training

GDP Gross domestic productICT Information and communication technologies

IFTS Istruzione e formazione tecnica superioreHigher technical education and training

INPS Istituto nazionale della previdenza sociale

National social security instituteISCED International standard classification of education

ISEF Istituto universitario di scienze motorie

University institute of motor sciencesISFOL Istituto per lo sviluppo della formazione professionale dei lavoratori

Institute for the development of workers. vocational trainingISTAT Istituto nazionale di statistica

Italian Statistical OfficeMIUR Ministero dell’ Istruzione, dell’Università e della Ricerca

Ministry of Education, Universities and Research

MLPS Ministero del Lavoro e delle Politiche SocialiMinistry of Labour and Social Policy

MURST Ministero dell’Università e della Ricerca Scientifica e Tecnologica (mergedwith the former Ministry of Education in 2000 to become the MIUR)

Ministry of Universities and Scientific and Technological ResearchNAP National action planSISS Scuole universitarie di specializzazione per l’insegnamento superiore

Postgraduate Teacher Training College



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GLOSSARY

Apprendistato (Apprenticeship): a type of employment contract (one of the “mixed” contracts; see

below). Under the contract, employers call on the work of apprentices, but at the same time are

responsible for passing on the concepts and techniques that apprentices need to become skilled

workers. Apprentices must attend training schemes (of a minimum of 240 hours per year under the

age of 18 and 120 hours per year thereafter) provided by services outside the workplace.

Apprenticeship is part of the vocational training system.

Azioni di sistema (Systems actions): actions promoted by the ESF to develop and improve

vocational education and training systems.

Certificato di qualifica professionale (Vocational qualification certificate): certification awarded

by Regions. It is awarded at the end of vocational training schemes, certifies that the competences

required for a trade have been acquired and makes it possible to practise a specific trade. It is

awarded after passing a final examination.

Certificato di specializzazione (Specialisation certificate): certification awarded by the Regions. It

is awarded at the end of vocational training schemes for people already possessing a certificato di

qualifica professionale (vocational qualification, see above). It is awarded after passing a final

examination.

Competenze di base (Basic competences): are competences widely felt to be new “citizens rights”

in the labour market and society. They include competences common to all education and

vocational training pathways and are designed both to supplement people’s training as individuals

and as citizens and to qualify them to carry on an occupation.

Competenze tecnico-professionali (Technical and vocational skills): are those skills needed for the

efficient performance of specific occupations in the various sectors and industries.

Competenze trasversali (Transversal skills): are those individual practices and functions which

come into play when people have to interact with organisational environments and which are

essential in achieving professional conduct where “knowledge” is transformed into the effective

performance of work.

Contratto «a causa mista» (‘Mixed’ contract): the term used to define those employment contracts

under which employers have to provide workers, in return for the work that they provide, with both

pay and appropriate occupational training, which may include attendance of particular training

schemes.



19

Contratto di formazione e lavoro (Work/training contract): type of employment contract (one of the

.mixed. contracts; see above). Under this contract, employers have to provide young people not only

with pay but with appropriate vocational training in return for the work that they provide.

Corsi post-qualifica (Post-qualification courses): training for people who have already obtained a

diploma di qualifica professionale (vocational qualification) in which they can work towards the

diploma di maturità professionale (upper secondary certificate in vocational studies) needed for

university entrance, regional specialisation courses and other postsecondary options.

Credito formativo (Training credit): value attached to the competences acquired by attending a

training segment (for instance a teaching module) or from individual experience (for instance work

or voluntary work) that may be recognised for entry into a subsequent education or training

pathway. The institution which the person is entering recognises the training credit, taking account

of the features of the new pathway (for instance academic credits are recognised by universities

nationally and/or between the universities of countries taking part in the European ECTS

programme; training credits acquired in vocational training may be recognised in the case of people

wishing to return to school pathways).

Diploma di maturità professionale (Upper secondary certificate in vocational studies): qualification

awarded to people who have successfully passed a two-year post-qualification course at istituti

professionali di Stato (State-run vocational schools). It can be used to enter the working world or to

continue education at a post-secondary level.

Diploma di qualifica professionale (Vocational qualification diploma): qualification awarded to

people who have successfully passed the three-year course run by istituti professionali di Stato. It

can be used to enter the working world or to continue secondary education.

Diritto-dovere all’istruzione e alla formazione professionale (Right/duty to participate in

education and vocational training): introduced in Italy by Law 53/03, it is compulsory for young

people, subject to legal consequences, to attend education and vocational training for at least 12

years (which can be completed with the vocational qualification). It replaces the previous

distinction between compulsory education, subject to legal consequences, in the school system to

the age of 15 and compulsory training to the age of 18, not subject to legal consequences.

Fondi interprofessionali (Multi-sectoral funds): financed by a contribution of 0.30% of the wage

bill paid by employers, these funds support company, sectoral and regional training plans,

supplementing the regional authorities. work in the continuing training system. Set up by Law

388/00, the multi-sectoral funds are managed by the social partners and supervised by the Ministry

of Labour and Social Policy.



Fondo sociale europeo - FSE (European Social Fund - ESF): set up in 1960, this is the European

Union’s main instrument of social policy. It provides financial assistance for vocational training

programmes and for job creation. The ESF also promotes equal opportunities, helping workers to

adapt to changes in industry and production systems.

Formazione professionale (Vocational training): provides the basic knowledge and occupational

skills needed to work in skilled occupations. Courses are run and managed by public and private

facilities which are approved by the Regions to carry on this work.

Apprenticeship is also part of the vocational training system.

Formazione professionale di base (o di I livello) (Initial – or level I – vocational training): training

generally targeted at young people leaving lower secondary education and designed to help them to

gain a foothold in the labour market.

Formazione professionale di II livello (Level II vocational training): training for people who have

already acquired a medium-to-high-level qualification (for instance, vocational qualification

certificates, upper secondary certificates, laurea) to help them to find work immediately in a

particular labour market.

Istruzione e formazione tecnica superiore - IFTS (Higher technical education and training -

IFTS): training for people who have acquired an upper secondary certificate or who possess

certifiable competences acquired from previous education, training and work experience. It is

designed to prepare senior technicians in order to meet the demand for skills from the public and

private working worlds.

Istruzione professionale (Vocational education): provides the occupational competences needed to

enter the working world in the form of the basic competences needed to continue on to secondary or

university education or to enter civil society. It is currently administered by the MIUR. Following

the reform of the Constitution, it will be transferred to the Regions.

Libretto formativo (Training record): used to document the competences that people acquire over

time.

Piano d’azione nazionale (National Action Plan - NAP): document setting out the action priorities

for the development of employment in Italy.

Unità capitalizzabile (Credit unit): set of independently significant (consistent) competences

identifiable as the outcome expected at the end of a training segment.

Documents

Vs_the Italian Vocational and Educational System