Italy aims to bring teachers with on-the-job experience into the school

"If we want to tighten links between school and employment, we need to bring experienced teachers into the schools, teachers who can talk about their direct and personal experience on the job, as it already happens in universities," Minister of Education Francesco Profumo said on the occasion of a meeting titled "Numbers to be changed," organized at Luiss University by Rocca Foundation and "Treelle," a non- profit association that aims to improve quality in education in all its various sectors.

Profumo added that, in this difficult moment for Italy, which is currently one of the least productive countries in Europe, and among those with the highest unemployment rate, particularly among young adults, building bridges from school to work is essential.

"Schools and universities should be able to provide students with all necessary information so they can make more targeted choices in the moment of transition from one education cycle to the next " Profumo said.

He also added that students should get clear orientation when still at school and university, before they start looking for a job, in order for them to be ready and aware by the time they complete their education.

"Students should also have the opportunity to attend training courses, and theses should be developed with joint collaboration of both, academies and enterprises." 

"All this, in order to connect school to work  early enough before students have to face the world of work," Minister of Education said.

"What is important is the participation of experienced teachers, not newly-graduated teachers," Profumo underlined, "as students need to learn from teachers' direct experience on the job. This is what is currently being experimented in universities, where 20% of teachers are people bringing, by turns, their personal on- the- job experience to students. Schools must be open to this new opportunity to fill the gap between education and employment,"  Profumo concluded,