Renowned for its historical legacy, Italy is also home to some of the world’s most skilled immigrants. Still, the nation’s reluctance to utilize the abilities of immigrants with university-level education is causing concern.
According to Eurostat, Italy has the second-worst rate in the European Union for over-qualified workers from non-EU nations, with 67% of them stuck in low- or medium-skilled jobs.
The country’s aging and rapidly shrinking population and its chronically stagnant economy necessitate the integration of qualified immigrants into the workforce.
However, Italy has struggled to fill the growing skilled labor gaps, with only 1,000 work permits allotted to high-skilled employees with qualifications from their home nations.
An experienced high school mathematics teacher from the Philippines, Marilyn Nabor, is one of many highly skilled immigrants who have failed to find a professional job in Italy, Reuters reported.
Nabor left her home country 14 years ago, hoping to improve her craft in the land of Galileo and Fibonacci. However, she now works as a housekeeper in Rome, counting cobwebs and crockery, with no hope of returning to her former calling.
Nabor’s plight is due to Italy’s refusal to accept foreign diplomas or curricula, as well as a strict work-permit quota and high citizenship criteria.
A 26-year-old migrant from India who obtained a master’s degree in mechanical engineering at Turin’s Polytechnic University, Abhishek, faced a similar dilemma.
Despite his degree, Abhishek was rejected for multiple positions due to his inadequate Italian language skills. He eventually found work as an engineer in the Netherlands, where English is commonly used.
The Italian economy has barely grown since the turn of the century, and its labor productivity has only risen by 0.4% per year, far below the EU average.
For years, Italian governments have failed to harness the abilities of immigrants and integrate them into the workforce, viewing their arrival as a source of alarm.
The arrival of right-wing Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, has brought about a state of emergency on immigration, and asylum rules have been tightened.
While Meloni acknowledges that more channels for legal migration are required, she has emphasized the need to involve more women in the labor market and increase the birth rate.
Many economists believe that migrants could alleviate Italy’s shrinking population and workforce, as well as its fragile public finances.
The Bank of Italy asserts that a 33% increase in migration could lower Rome’s massive debt as a percentage of GDP by more than 30 percentage points by 2070.
However, Italy’s citizenship process is lengthier and more difficult than most Western European countries, requiring a minimum age of 18 and ten years of legal residency before applying.
Even after securing citizenship, immigrants face the challenge of having their qualifications accepted by employers.
Tags: Italy
