The participants launched proceedings at this National Conference with the observation that the role of technical and professional training institutes, once the powerhouse of the postwar economic boom in Italy, has been steadily declining since the early 1970s, with enrollment numbers falling inexorably. The result is that, today, these key components of Italy’s education system are no longer capable of supporting the country’s economic development, nor of keeping pace with technological advances.
At the same time, the courses offered by technical and professional institutes have gradually lost their previously intrinsic vocational focus, such that the institutes have ended up moving closer towards the Italian senior high school (or liceo) model.
It was acknowledged that this is a complex issue to deal with, requiring not only the cultural assumptions that underlie the phenomenon to be addressed (namely, the presumed superiority of humanities studies over those in the field of science and technology), but also the low social regard in which technical and professional training is held as well as the shortfall it entails in the supply of vocational training.
It was noted that the long-awaited and recently embarked-upon reorganization of the education system has led to a rationalization of the courses and fields of study offered in the areas of both technical and professional training.
Nevertheless, it was felt that the measures introduced do not go far enough. Rather than merely seeking to revive the fortunes of this ailing sector of training, the participants stressed the need to “lay new foundations” and to work on a number of fronts simultaneously, including: raising awareness and providing necessary vocational guidance (to bring about a cultural change and restore the tarnished reputation of this area of training); improving the quality of teachers (in order to ensure an influx of innovative teaching methods); upgrading the standard of educational facilities (such as school buildings and laboratories); fostering relationships with local industry; and taking steps to ensure that training processes are evaluated effectively.