{"id":5383,"date":"2024-11-22T09:28:39","date_gmt":"2024-11-22T08:28:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/?p=5383"},"modified":"2024-11-22T09:28:39","modified_gmt":"2024-11-22T08:28:39","slug":"not-only-universities-the-its-academy-is-here","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rivistaeco.com\/en\/2024\/11\/22\/not-only-universities-the-its-academy-is-here\/","title":{"rendered":"Not Only Universities: The ITS Academy is Here"},"content":{"rendered":"

Italy’s low number of graduates can be attributed, in part, to the long-standing absence of a vocational tertiary education pathway. Today, we have the ITS Academy, but it faces several limitations. The experiences of other European countries can offer a model for fostering its growth, ensuring an alternative to university education that is more closely aligned with the productive system.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

The benefits of education in terms of income, health, longevity, and ultimately, the ability to be informed citizens\u2014especially in times of rapid social and technological change\u2014are well-documented, but still underestimated in Italy. The percentage of Italians aged 25 to 34 with tertiary education (post-secondary education) is just over 29%, compared to a European average of about 46%. This difference is largely due to the weakness of the vocational tertiary education pathway.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Importance of Higher Technical Institutes<\/b><\/p>\n

Attempts at reform have not been lacking; indeed, they began over sixty years ago with the Ermini Commission in 1963. However, vocational tertiary education has never occupied a central position in public debate\u2014until February 2021, when Mario Draghi, in his speech requesting parliamentary confidence, mentioned it as one of his government\u2019s priorities, causing some surprise. Draghi’s words were followed by Law 99 of 2022, which established the Higher Technical Education system, centered on the ITS (Higher Technical Institutes) Academy. The law, accompanied by numerous implementing decrees, revamped the existing ITS system by renaming them as ITS Academy and introducing changes to their institutional structure and the mechanisms for defining educational offerings.<\/span><\/p>\n

The real novelty, however, lies in the significant investment provided by the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), which allocated a substantial 1.5 billion euros, far exceeding the meager state funding for ITS, which amounts to about 50 million euros per year. This funding is much greater than the regular allocation but must be used by 2026 in accordance with European funding rules.<\/span><\/p>\n

The ITS Academy System<\/b><\/p>\n

The ITS Academy primarily offers two-year vocational tertiary education programmes and is structured as a \u201cparticipation foundation,\u201d promoted jointly by vocational training operators, companies or business groups, educational institutions, and universities. Currently, the ITS Academy system consists of 146 institutes operating across twenty regions, with fewer than 30,000 total students and an average of about 200 students per institute. The educational offerings are tied to six technological areas considered strategic for the country\u2019s economic development: energy efficiency and sustainable mobility, new life technologies, new technologies for the \u201cMade in Italy\u201d sector (divided into five areas: agro-food, housing, mechanical, fashion, and business services), innovative technologies for cultural heritage and tourism, and information and communication technologies.<\/span><\/p>\n

The system suffers from the coexistence of two levels of governance: the region is responsible for accrediting the educational offerings, but the state defines the standards for educational pathways and the professional profiles of graduates. This results in inconsistent procedures, weak planning capacity, and consequently, modest visibility for potential users.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nevertheless, available data from Indire (the National Institute for Documentation, Innovation, and Educational Research) highlights the good results of the ITS Academy: an 87% employment rate one year after graduation and a dropout rate of around 20%.<\/span><\/p>\n

How can we transform this fragmented group of small institutes into a second pillar of tertiary education? How can we make it an attractive option that complements the university system, dignifies vocational education, and responds to the demand for professional skills from society and the productive system?<\/span><\/p>\n

First, we need to overcome the idea that \u201csmall is beautiful.\u201d The current small scale is the main obstacle to the ITS Academy\u2019s development in terms of relevance, attention, funding, and awareness among potential users, their families, and employers.<\/span><\/p>\n

Experiences from Other Countries<\/b><\/p>\n

In Europe, the need for a vocational education pathway emerged with the advent of mass university education in the post-war period. France and Germany initiated specific interventions in this field as early as the 1970s, while Italy did not establish ITS until 2008, later strengthened by Law 99\/2022. This delay prevented Italy from seizing the opportunities that come with an expanding educational system. Today, it necessitates quick decisions to address the challenges of demographic decline and shrinking education systems\u2014challenges that can no longer be ignored.<\/span><\/p>\n

The path to strengthening the ITS Academy is, therefore, an uphill one. But what can we do concretely to enhance the attractiveness of this educational pathway? A recent study by the Agnelli Foundation, which I curated, sought answers by comparing the experiences of major Western European nations.<\/span><\/p>\n

In France and Germany, where tertiary education is provided through multiple pathways, vocational tertiary education systems are well-established. In France, alongside the more academic IUT\u2014Instituts Universitaires de Technologie\u2014promoted by universities, there is the more vocational STS\u2014Sections de Techniciens Sup\u00e9rieurs\u2014linked to secondary education. Germany has a multitude of institutions embedded in a highly varied and well-rooted system. Alongside the well-known Fachhochschule, there are Berufsakademie, Duale Hochschule, Fachschule, and other initiatives promoted by chambers of commerce and industry, with strong links to the productive system. One key to the success of the German system is that secondary education systems have differentiated pathways that channel students early into specific segments of tertiary education.<\/span><\/p>\n

Spain, on the other hand, has a tertiary education system similar to Italy\u2019s, with only one vocational pathway established in 2006, limited by secondary education. However, within a few years, Spain\u2019s “higher-level training cycles” (Ciclos Formativos de Grado Superior\u2014CFGS) have gained significant relevance, with over 500,000 students enrolled. The success of the Spanish system is based on the fact that these courses are offered within secondary schools, ensuring a structural and osmotic connection between school and vocational tertiary education. This is similar to what happens in France with the Sections de Techniciens Sup\u00e9rieurs: in both cases, offering tertiary education in schools has fostered its spread.<\/span><\/p>\n

How to Grow ITS<\/b><\/p>\n

Here is the first step: to overcome the irrelevance caused by limited numbers and fragmentation, vocational tertiary education should be offered within secondary schools. If we can fully utilise secondary school guidance, the ITS Academy can gain visibility and relevance. Moreover, sharing the administrative and physical infrastructure of high schools would significantly expand the ITS Academy system.<\/span><\/p>\n

A considerable portion of the 1.5 billion euros allocated by the PNRR to ITS Academy is earmarked for creating new facilities and laboratories. However, it is worth asking whether it would be more efficient to integrate the ITS Academy into technical and vocational high schools\u2014where many of its students come from\u2014for infrastructure and administrative support, focussing financial resources instead on teaching (e.g., increasing the number of scholarships) and improving the organisational conditions necessary for broader course availability.<\/span><\/p>\n

If we choose this path, it becomes possible to envision greater involvement of secondary school teachers alongside professionals from the productive sector. While it is certainly positive\u2014and should be maintained\u2014that most teaching hours are delivered by industry professionals, their presence should be complemented by permanent contributions from technical and vocational school teachers. This would provide greater continuity in teaching and more structured educational pathways. This solution would also provide professional and cultural benefits for secondary school teachers and administrators, with positive outcomes for both secondary schools and ITS Academy programs.<\/span><\/p>\n

The main risk of greater integration between ITS Academy and secondary schools lies in the administrative and regulatory constraints of the school system. For example, ITS Academy might be required to comply with school regulations when purchasing more complex equipment than is normally used in schools. Or the use of company professionals as teachers could be limited by administrative difficulties and resistance from the teaching staff. The Spanish case offers useful examples of finding solutions that maintain a strong, synergistic relationship with secondary schools while preserving ITS Academy\u2019s educational, organisational, and administrative autonomy.<\/span><\/p>\n

The \u201c4+2 Education\u201d Experiment<\/b><\/p>\n

One essential element for giving the ITS Academy system a chance to take off is found in the schools: the students. In this regard, the experimentation with the \u201c4+2 Education\u201d model launched by the Ministry of Education is promising. This model establishes the vocational-technical educational pathway, offering students a more practical, work-oriented alternative to traditional education. It consists of four years of secondary school followed by two years of higher technical education at ITS Academy. The model is being piloted in 176 secondary schools (technical and vocational institutes) and was formalised by a law passed in July 2024 that encourages synergy between secondary technical and vocational education and ITS Academy, with a time-saving incentive for students: reducing the training period from five to four years.<\/span><\/p>\n

Two elements are essential for the success of this initiative: first, the connection between schools and ITS Academy must be not just on paper but structural, creating real continuity between educational pathways in terms of guidance and physical and logistical integration. Second, the initiative must not fragment along regional lines, but while respecting regional competencies, it must offer a clear, national-level representation of the opportunities to continue technical and vocational secondary education with an ITS Academy pathway.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another necessary condition is the strengthening of the Fund for Higher Technical Education and, more generally, the funds for financing ITS Academy. The current state funding of just under 50 million euros, even when combined with regional funding, is nowhere near adequate to achieve significant growth. If the sector is to gain relevance, financing\u2014regardless of its source\u2014must increase substantially.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bio<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Matteo Turri is a full professor of business administration at the University of Milan. He focuses on issues related to the economic functionality of tertiary education systems, public administrations, and public enterprises.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

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