How to save the made in Italy? – The growing difficulty in finding skilled labour is a crucial challenge for Italian craft enterprises. According to a 2024 report by Confartigianato, small businesses have had difficulty in filling 48.1% of open positions, with the craft sector experiencing a shortage of 55.2%.
At national level, the president of Confartigianato, Marco Granelli, stressed the importance of training that combines theoretical knowledge and practical skills. Granelli said: “To bridge the gap between job demand and supply, we must start from school, which must learn to teach ‘work culture’, mixing knowledge and know-how”.
The shortage of qualified personnel not only threatens the productivity of enterprises, but also puts at risk the survival of traditional crafts, pillars of Italian cultural heritage. Without targeted interventions, unique skills could be lost, impoverishing the country’s productive and cultural fabric.
To address this emergency, Confartigianato Arezzo continues to promote training courses, awareness events and specialization courses, directly involving the artisans in the role of trainers. The objective is to create a solid bridge between training and business, ensuring a generational change that preserves and enhances the excellence of Made in Italy.
It is essential that institutions support these initiatives with active labour market policies, recruitment incentives and a market-oriented education system. Only through a synergy between training, enterprises and institutions will it be possible to transform the current crisis into an opportunity for growth and innovation for the Italian craft industry.
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