Italy and Piemonte Region are characterized by a very high unemployment rate among young people. In spite of this, the enterprises often find it difficult to find highly specialized workers. Another problem in Italy is the poor offer of non university third level education.
Superior Technical Institute for Information and Communication Technologies is a high technical institute whose aim is to train highly specialized technicians in a sector that is strategical for the piedmontese economic development.
This institute is managed by a foundation that is constituted by public administrations (among them Città Metropolitana di Torino), the Politecnico di Torino, Piazza dei Mestieri (private vocational training centre), a second level high school, a bank foundation, and some private enterprises. Its courses are dedicated to students that have already a high school diploma, they last two years and are free of charge for the participants. It releases a Superior Technical Diploma that is recognized both at national and international level. It is characterized by a strong collaboration with the enterprises: at least 30% of the lessons take place in the enterprises premises and 75% of the teachers are from the enterprises. All the courses include an internship of 540 hours at least. The intern period may be made abroad with Erasmus+ programme. The final examination gives you a EQF (European Qualification Framework) fifth level diploma.
Torino’s Superior Technical Institute for Information and Communication Technologies has now 170 student in the following specializations:
- Visual and interaction design
- Web and mobile development
- Beckend and integrated services
The courses are designed every year on the basis of an analysis of the educational and employment needs of the territory, with the collaboration of education institutions and enterprises.
Superior Technical Institute for Information and Communication Technologies is financed by Piemonte Region with European funds (ESF) and national funds. The cost for every course is 288.000 Euro and other 80.000 Euro are necessary for the needs analysis and for structural investments.
The most important indicator of the success reached by Superior Technical Institute for Information and Communication Technologies is done by the employment rate after diploma. 83% of qualified people have got a job after 12 months in a sector that is coherent with their studies. About 50% of the student get a job in the enterprise where they did their internship and 10% get a job during the internship period. 15% do their internship with Erasmus+ programme and 60% of them receive a job proposal abroad.
The practice has encountered some difficulties in the integration with the university. There are also some cultural difficulties: students are often people that leave the university, there is not enough information to let people choose this kind of courses immediately after high school diploma.
Information and Communication Technologies are one of the sectors of smart specialisation strategy in Città Metropolitana di Torino, as well as in other European regions. It is a fundamental factor to increase the competitiveness of the territories in advanced countries. The Superior Technical Institute model permits a more effective transmission of knowledge thanks to the collaboration among the different institutions.
