Skilled, educated and washing dishes: How Italy squanders migrant talent
Marilyn Nabor, a seasoned mathematics teacher at a high school in the Philippines, moved to Italy 14 years ago with high intention of perfecting her craft in the country of Galileo and Fibonacci.
She has given up on pursuing her former career and now works as a housekeeper in Rome, counting crockery and cobwebs. She is 49 years old. This nation doesn’t perceive our certificate or educational program from the Philippines,” she said. ” I can’t find work for professionals.”
Abhishek, a 26-year-old Indian immigrant who earned a master’s degree in mechanical engineering at Turin’s Polytechnic University last year, was unsuccessful in earning qualifications in Italy. italy vs argentina
Abhishek, who declined to provide his name, claimed that his basic Italian was deemed insufficient and that he had been turned down for a number of jobs. He is currently employed as an engineer in the Netherlands, where he can communicate fluently in English.
These stories highlight an uncomfortable reality: it is very difficult for foreign workers, no matter how qualified they are, to find job opportunities in Italy due to various factors, such as a limited number of work permits and stringent requirements for citizenship.
In contrast to a large portion of the West, migrants rarely work in skilled occupations like teaching, engineering, or medicine, which raises concerns for a nation with a stagnant economy and a rapidly aging population. italy milan
Last month the European Union’s statistics agency Eurostat said just over 67% of non-EU workers in Italy are overqualified, meaning they are stuck in medium or skill levels jobs despite having university-level education. italy time
That compared with an EU normal of about 40%. Only Greece did worse in the 27-member bloc, while France and Germany were between 30-35 percent. skilled india
Italy, which is likewise battling with a departure of gifted nationals to more grounded economies, needs qualified settlers to fill developing talented work deficiencies, italy venice numerous financial specialists say. Despite being the global lingua franca, English is not widely used in the workplace like it is in much of northern Europe.
The majority of the country’s 5 million foreign residents are either unemployed or working low-skilled jobs as domestic workers, construction workers, hotel and restaurant workers, or small shopkeepers.
DECADES-LONG STAGNATION
Italian GDP has barely grown since the start of the century, after change for expansion, and its labour productivity rose by just 0.4% each year between 1995 – 2021, less than a third of the EU average, Eurostat data shows.
According to Filippo Barbera, a sociology professor at Turin University, Italian governments have instead treated migrants’ arrival as cause for alarm for decades instead of utilizing their skills and integrating them into the workforce.
Following a sharp rise in migration across the Mediterranean, the right-wing government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni declared a “state of emergency” on immigration this month.
Meloni, who implemented more rigorous asylum regulations after assuming office half a year ago, has also stated her intention to enhance avenues for lawful migration, but so far, no tangible actions have been carried out.
The ministry of labor and the office of the prime minister both declined to comment for this article.
Meloni denies that increasing the number of migrant workers is the solution to Italy’s economic woes.
Last week, she told journalists, “These are the priorities. We should focus on increasing women’s participation in the workforce and boosting the birth rate before discussing immigration.”
According to government data, 83,000 non-EU migrants will receive work permits in 2023, which is less than a third of the 277,000 who applied. italy time now
Only 1,000 spots will be available for high-skilled workers with qualifications in their countries of origin, and more than half of the permits will be given out for temporary, seasonal jobs. The majority of the remaining permits will be given out for unskilled work, such as factory labor.
A lot of immigrants who come to Italy are disappointed to discover that it’s a complicated and lengthy process to get their qualifications, recognized by employers. Several professional organizations in Italy have stringent requirements for membership, including Italian citizenship and specific academic qualifications, work experience, or entrance exams.
For instance, Gustavo Garcia, a 39-year-old sociologist from Venezuela, has been in Italy for four years and has worked various jobs, including food delivery, house painting, and gardening.
His master’s degree in sociology, which he had earned in Venezuela over the course of five years, was reduced to a basic three-year Italian degree, so he is now resuming his studies at Padua University to make up for lost time.
“I’m compelled to re-try a graduate degree since I believe that should do a doctorate,” he said. ” The bureaucracy in Italy is extremely complicated and difficult to comprehend.
ITALIAN BIRTHS AT HISTORIC LOW
According to the Bank of Italy and a lot of economists, migrants could help the country’s fragile public finances as well as buffer the country’s shrinking population and workforce. Births last year were the fewest since the country’s unification in 1861.
The Bank of Italy and a lot of economists say that migrants could protect the country’s shrinking workforce and population while also bolstering its fragile public finances. Since the nation’s unification in 1861, there were fewer births this year than ever before.
At the end of last year, Rome’s debt-to-GDP ratio was 144%, second highest in the euro zone behind Greece’s.
The path to citizenship for non-EU migrants who are determined to build a life in Italy is longer and more difficult than in most Western European countries. Before they can apply, non-EU migrants must be at least 18 years old and have been a legal resident of the country for ten years.
Oussama is a 32-year-old Moroccan who migrated to Italy as a teenager. He recently obtained Italian citizenship and completed his master’s degree in chemical engineering from Turin last year. However, even with these accomplishments, his story doesn’t have a happy ending.
Despite his qualifications, Oussama has struggled to find a job and has spent six months facing job rejections and doing menial work.
I took on a variety of jobs. Oussama, who is married with two children and is currently completing an internship with a company that designs health and safety systems for the workplace, stated, “I would not mind doing it again to feed my family. I worked at the market and handed out advertising.”
Barbera at Turin College said the absence of travelers in gifted callings has become dug in and difficult to switch.
“Travelers in Italy have essentially no admittance to the working class,” he said. ” It partially benefits itself. Individuals are accustomed to seeing them in modest positions so it becomes seen as their normal spot.”
