Skills and occupational needs: the Occupational Information System in Italy Giovanni Castiglioni Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore - Milano InGRID Expert workshop ‘New skills new jobs: Tools for harmonising the measurement of occupations’ February AIAS, Amsterdam, the Netherlands Venue: De Burcht, Henri Polaklaan 9, Amsterdam

Aim Illustration of the approaches and research techniques that have been adopted in the Italian context on the side of labour demand (Excelsior survey conducted by the Italian Union of the Chambers of Commerce – Unioncamere) and on the side of labour supply (the Occupational Information System promoted by Isfol and Istat).

The main initiatives for occupational needs analysis and labour market forecasting adopted in Italy [1] First phase ( ) From 1993 and then through the Pact on Labour on 1996, ad hoc surveys were conducted in order to detect the skills needed for a great number of initiatives. Towards the end of the nineties, the Ministry of Labour financed surveys that were carried out by the social partners organised in bilateral bodies.

Second phase ( onwards) Approximately ten years ago, in order to implement the surveys on vocational and training needs, the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies instructed Isfol to arrange for national long-term observation of occupational needs. All the information is now available at the website ‘Occupations, employment and labour market needs’ which hosts data on labour market information and surveys carried out by various institutes. The main initiatives for occupational needs analysis and labour market forecasting adopted in Italy [2]

Occupational Information System Regional experiences Regional experiences Ministry of Education, University and Research Informative System Excelsior Professional associations Istat Isfol Inail Ministry of labour and Social policies The structure of the Occupational Information System

The website [1] A general user that visits the website can receive information about: The position of each Occupational Unit (UP) in the Italian Classification of Occupations 2011 (CP-2011) [Istat]; Forecasts of trends in the economy and the employment sector in the coming years and medium-term forecasts at the national and regional level [Isfol]; Data on accidents and occupational diseases [Inail]

Forecasts on labour market trends and needs of enterprises concerning the characteristics of the labour demand [Excelsior]; Information related to occupations that belong to professional associations; Results of the job research procedures between workers and companies available on the public web portal [Ministry of Labour and Social Policies]; Information about education and career opportunities [Ministry of Education]; Information about vocational training [Regions and Provinces]. The website [2]

The aim of the system ‘Occupations, employment, labour market needs’ The goal is to support the actions undertaken by labour market actors in order to prevent skill mismatches, based on: A detailed classification of occupations; A taxonomy that describes individual occupations through various dimensions (knowledge, skills, work conditions, work activities); The opportunity to make occupations ‘mutually comparable’ using variables and descriptors; The increasing propensity towards employment predictions concerning the occupations, both from a qualitative and quantitative point of view.

Employment projections

Medium-term forecast studies/Employment projections (Isfol) [1] Employment by occupation and medium-term forecasts at the national and regional level Quantitative forecast studies of mid-term recruitment needs (5 years) are conducted at both national and regional level using a model based on the E3ME Model (Energy-Environment-Economy Model of Europe). Forecasting trends on economical and sectoral occupation of next years Studies and research are conducted in order to anticipate medium- term sector skills needs using scenario-based methodologies.

Medium-term forecast studies/Employment projections (Isfol) [2] Permanent audit of occupational needs It has been designed as an annual survey. The first one was conducted in The sample includes enterprises selected by size, sector and geographic area. The survey aims to collect information about the workforce’s skills and knowledge needs.

Italian Sample Survey of Occupations (Istat) The conceptual model of reference for the survey and questionnaires is based on U.S. Occupational Information Network O*Net ( Sample: The survey provides a mixed strategy for the selection of the sample. The procedures for extracting the names of the workers to be interviewed, in fact, vary depending on the work context. In particular, three different types can be identified: - Enterprises (occupations/workers in enterprises); - Institutions (occupations/workers in institutions); - Self-employers. The survey questionnaire, structured in 10 sections, was conducted with a sample of 20 workers for each of the 800 units, for a total of approximately interviews. Methods: CAPI - Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing.

Forecasting of labour market demand needs: the Excelsior survey The Excelsior survey is conducted by the Italian Union of the Chambers of Commerce (Unioncamere) and funded by the Ministry of Labour (through the European Social Fund). The survey investigates the number of employees that the enterprises plan to recruit during the year (Annual survey) and for next three months (Quarterly survey). Sample: private enterprises operating in Italy that corresponding to about 8% of the total Italian enterprises having at least one employee private enterprises for quarterly survey. Methods: - For enterprises with up to 250 employees, is based on telephone interviews (following the CATI methodology); -For enterprises with more than 250 employees, is based on face-to-face interviews of the questionnaire.

Italian context offers a panorama of methodologies which differ in approach and methods (quantitative and qualitative). Italian system has presented some weaknesses such as the lack of a strategic background, the absence of a ‘strong’ role in directing, the difficulty of establishing a connection between the qualitative observation of skills requirements and quantitative analysis. Local initiatives measures aim to be integrated with the central system ‘Occupations, employment, labour market needs’. More efforts are required to bring the system to the heterogeneity of the several initiatives in order to put together national and regional strategies and programmes. Conclusions

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