Leader: Mattia Vitiello (CNR); Other collaborator(s): Donatella Bramanti (UNICATT), Claudia MANZI (UNICATT)
Identify the KPI that foster the transmission of “know-how” between generations – especially for arts&crafts. Provide a map of existing best practices of intergenerational knowledge sharing. Simulate scenarios for the creation of new forms of entrepreneurship at older ages based and map the opportunities by group characteristics, type of production-function and by geographical characteristics. Estimate – also looking at the international experience – the impact of long-life learning.
Brief description of the activities and of the intermediate results:
Analysis of the literature on active ageing, with a focus on inequalities in the ageing process and the transfer of skills between generations. The main factors underlying the life cycle analysis that determine the most significant patterns of productive ageing were identified. The study was conducted descriptively using ISTAT's Rfl microdata and the Ministry of Labour's Sisco information on contract activations and terminations. The analysis focused on the first point of the active ageing index, i.e. the employment rate of the 55-59, 60-64, 65-69 and over 70 age groups. The labour market trends of the last ten years were outlined, taking into account both the self-employed and employees. The objectives were: (i) to map job opportunities according to socio-demographic characteristics (ii) to outline trends among different age groups (iii) to analyse trends in labour demand by sector and geographical area.
Main policy, industrial and scientific implications
First research results show that the labour market exhibits numerous inequalities both on a territorial basis and by employment sector. With regard to employment trends in the 55-64 age group, there has been a significant increase in both employment rates and absolute numbers over the last ten years. This effect is due to the increase in the number of people in the 55-64 age group and the pension reform. However, the presence of workers over 60 is mainly concentrated in the public sectors, especially health, education and social services. In the private sector the incidence is lower, so ad hoc policies are needed to encourage more workers over 55 to stay in companies. As for the self-employed, this is the main form of contract for workers over 65. Employment is concentrated in the trade and intellectual professions sectors. Overall, Italy shows improvements in the first point of the active ageing index, although employment rates are still lower than in other European countries.
Brief description of the activities and of the intermediate results:
Brief description of the activities and of the intermediate results
From June to October, activities continued by preparing the objectives and tools to initiate the field research needed to explore the topic in depth:
To this end, contacts were made with key informants to extract contextual elements. To this end, a map was drawn up of the main associations and bodies dealing directly and indirectly with the issue.
A research design was prepared with the aim of:
Finally, Work Package 3 of Spoke 6 is preparing a survey. This will allow a quantitative analysis to be combined with a properly qualitative one.
Main political, industrial and scientific implications
The aim of the research is to understand what are the working conditions for the over 60s and what are the opportunities related to the transfer of skills. To this end, it is intended to provide a set of practices and legislative recommendations to facilitate the transfer of know-how to the new generations, with the aim of safeguarding the cultural and economic heritage of small enterprises, particularly craft enterprises, in Italy.
Brief description of the activities and of the intermediate results
From October to December, activities progressed significantly with the implementation of fieldwork on the ageing workforce in Italy. In this regard, the research was divided into three phases: a semi-structured interview outline was prepared for the collection of the interviews. The structure of the interviews was differentiated for the two types of interviewees: the key informants and the workers directly involved in the transfer of skills. The research objectives were defined in the previous steps and are mainly threefold:
In addition, since September, our research group has been enriched by a new collaborator. This allowed us to broaden our scope and, specifically, to investigate a new case study for the analysis of skills transfer in Italy. We started a fieldwork in the Veneto region in the handicraft sector, specifically in the area of master craftsmen. Furthermore, our work continues with the analysis of the reasons why older workers remain in the labour market.
Finally, the work on the WP3 survey of Spoke 6 is almost finished in its main stages and will be launched in the coming months. As part of the research on the transfer of skills, the survey will include a part exclusively dedicated to this topic.
Main political, industrial and scientific implications
The main implications in terms of industrial and public policies concern the economic and entrepreneurial continuity of craft enterprises after the end of the master craftsman's working period. These in fact represent a significant part of the Italian productive economy. However, there are currently no policies aimed at the continuity of these enterprises. The risk for Italy is that the capital of knowledge and know-how will be definitively lost with the end of the working career of the owner. This would represent a serious loss in terms of GDP and Italy's international economic competitiveness. Therefore, one of the objectives of the research is to understand which instruments are appropriate to facilitate the transfer of skills. To this end, five different actions have been identified that refer to policies with a different focus: the first concerns monetary transfers to craft firms that choose to implement skills transfer; the second focuses on a network of public and private services able to provide the necessary support to firms to implement knowledge transfer; the third focuses instead on decontribution as a lever to support craftsmen who decide to transfer their skills and ways of doing things to another worker; the fourth sees instead a possible solution in the strengthening of active labour policies needed to bring employers and interested personnel together; finally, the fifth focuses on training activities and work grants as a tool to bring the younger generations closer to craft work.
Regarding the scientific contribution of the research. This is pioneering research, as the scientific literature on the subject is currently very scarce and not very thorough. The ageing of the Italian workforce is a decisive challenge for the future of the country and the Italian economy. In this context, craft work is a relevant point of reference because it is the area in which knowledge cannot be separated from work. This means that the end of the work path without an intergenerational transition can lead to the definitive dispersion of a certain know-how. At this stage of the research we begin to outline the main indicators for a meaningful understanding of the phenomenon. Furthermore, in the course of qualitative work we are mapping ‘good practices’ in Italy that can serve as an example for Italian public policies.
Dissemination Events:
Scientific Outputs: