Italy is facing a significant economic challenge as an average of 220 young people leave the country daily in search of employment abroad. This exodus, which occurs even on public holidays, primarily involves graduates traveling to other European nations or North America. Data indicates that 44.2% of those departing hold university degrees, compared to only 30.1% of their peers who remain in Italy. Consequently, the nation loses an estimated €16 billion annually, representing the value of public investment in skills that ultimately generate economic value elsewhere.
The core analysis comes from the report "Le leve della crescita" (The Levers of Growth), curated by Roberto Garofoli with support from Anci and presented in Il Sole 24 Ore. The document argues that effective growth strategies cannot function as isolated monads; instead, measures for development must be integrated with social and welfare policies. The report highlights that the primary issue is not qualified emigration itself, but the negative balance sheet where high exit numbers are matched by insufficient entry figures. Currently, Italy ranks 34th out of 38 OECD countries in terms of attractiveness to foreign talent.
To address this imbalance, the report proposes establishing a steering committee at Palazzo Chigi involving various ministries and territorial bodies. Additionally, it suggests creating an Observatory on Attractiveness with institutions such as Istat, Banca d'Italia, Inapp, and Svimez to monitor specific targets and timelines similar to the PNRR model. Governance efforts must focus on consolidating research investments while rebalancing labor market incentives. Current policies heavily favor supply-side measures, such as tax breaks for returning citizens (impatriati), but fail to stimulate demand from companies through targeted decontributions in strategic sectors.
The report also points to the need for learning from existing successful models, such as Emilia-Romagna's Welcome Offices and Germany's multilingual information portal. Despite improvements driven by the PNRR, structural issues persist. Technical Institutes (Its) have doubled their enrollment and boast an 84% employment rate within a year of graduation, yet they remain far short of the minimum goal of 100,000 students needed to meet the annual demand for 120,000 qualified profiles. Furthermore, while school dropout rates have fallen to 8.2%, basic mathematical skills are lacking in 51% of high school students (60% in the South), and similar gaps exist in Italian language proficiency at the middle school level. The report concludes that education must be restored as a social elevator through better teacher selection and motivation rather than simply increasing numbers.
Sources: Il Sole 24 Ore Italia.