The skill mismatch, i.e. the gap between the skills required by companies and the actual skills of available workers, is one of the most critical issues for the recovery of the Italian labour market.
Just what are the causes of this situation? Anton Hemerijck, Professor of Political Science and Sociology at the European University Institute in Florence, shares an interesting interpretation of the phenomenon.
While our education system, explains the professor, has many strengths, it has one limitation: it overestimates the importance of literary and classical education, albeit to the detriment of technical and practical training, which is strongly considered and supported in countries such as Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden.
What, then, are the possible solutions? In addition to a programme based, first and foremost, on a shift in mindset, which leads to a greater emphasis on more technical skills, Hemerijck believes that the key to overcoming the skill mismatch is to focus on lifelong learning, starting from when people first enter the world of work.
