Mauro's story.
While technology is rapidly evolving, the labor market struggles to catch-up. New and emerging technologies are leading to a surge in IT-related jobs, but the talent pool is failing to keep pace. Last year, tech unemployment hit an all-time low, with the IT-sector front and center. Recruiters are now struggling to find candidates for jobs that previously didn’t exist. Fresh, out-of-school talent are also finding themselves insufficiently prepared for the work these emerging jobs require.
Such was the challenge for 22-year-old Milan resident Mauro Flamigni, who recently found a job through a program at Randstad Italy called the ITS Technologies Talent Factory. “After graduating from secondary school, I did not know whether I was suited for the job market,” he recalls After completing this two-year program, Mauro started working at one of Italy’s most innovative IT companies.
this is his story.
“It is difficult to find the right staff in Italy,” says Pablo Pellegrini, a delivery manager at SB Italia who took on Mauro as an apprentice. “Young people with traditional training are often poorly prepared for their jobs.”
After graduating, Mauro felt he was insufficiently skilled to work and went to Randstad to explore his options. Laura Bozzi, Training Specialist at Randstad Italia was there to guide him through the process. “Mauro came to Randstad for a talk. He wanted to know more about the training courses we offer. He wanted to put into practice what he had studied,” she says.
In the past few years, the Italian government has defined the so-called mismatch priority occupations. These are sectors or roles burdened by a surplus or shortage in talent. While reasons may vary, an often-cited reason is that study programs or courses cannot keep up with the rapidly evolving labor market. The ones offered by more conventional institutions such as universities and colleges do not always align with the skills demanded by the industry.
ITS technologies talent factory.
To bridge the gap between employers and young talent, Randstad founded the ITS (short for Instituti Tecnici Superiori) Technologies Talent Factory in Milan. It is a two-year postgraduate course that trains young graduates in practical technological skills. “Randstad started this foundation in response to the criticism one frequently hears in Italy about mismatching,” Bozzi explains.
Approved by the Lombardy regional government, the course offers a more practical educational path, often complementing academic curriculum of local universities. So far the results have been very promising. Of the ITS Technologies Talent Factory’s first 20 graduates, no fewer than 85% found work in the IT sector.
“Randstad advised me to take the ITS training”, says Mauro, “which I took after graduation. The training enhanced my technical capacities and prepared me for entry into the job market.”
Eventually, Bozzi found him an internship at SB Italia. It was a perfect match. “Mauro immediately attracted our attention. He seemed much more mature than his peers”, says Pellegrini.
connecting the people.
The efforts made by Randstad Italia serve our ultimate goal. By 2030, we want to touch the work lives of 500 million people worldwide. We launched the initiative in 2017 as a commitment to maximize future employment and contribute to societal economic growth. Our ultimate goal contextualizes what unites Randstad as a company.
Connecting with people is one of the drivers to achieve this ambitious goal. It means being present at all stages in a worker’s career. Much like what we’ve done with Mauro, Randstad is constantly looking to improve our candidate’s employability and provide them with the right training. In this brand-new world of technological proliferation, human interaction is still the cornerstone of Randstad’s way of working.
“This helps us because we get to know young people during their training”, says Pellegrini. “We pass our specialized knowledge on to them, and after their training we can employ those young people in our company.”
Mauro says the journey has been equally satisfying for him. After two years of studying, he went from serving as an intern to being a full-time employee. “After the apprenticeship I did during my ITS training, I started working at SB Italia. I still work there. I deal with the digitization of our processes.”
matching the mismatched.
This is where the power of initiatives like the ITS Technologies Talent Factory lie. Through these programs, Randstad is helping to bridge the gap between employers and young talent. We are matching the mismatched – connecting employers with the right talent, and vice versa.
“Thanks to the training courses at the ITS Tech Talent Factory, all students who completed this track went on to find jobs.”, Bozzi adds, emphasizing her own personal growth as part of the process. “I personally oversee and support people during their trajectory at ITS. I see it as my mission to do so.”
As for Mauro, he’s happy where he is now – not just because he enjoys his work but because he found a sense of purpose. “It is important for me to have a job as it gives me independence, so I don’t have to rely on my family, he explains I hope I can grow professionally and become more independent and self-reliant”
More than about making money, he sees the skills he has gained as a path forward:. “It is important for somebody who wants to build a future, who wants to have his own life and a family, to have a job.”