An analysis of skill needs. Final report

The report has been carried out within the ESF Regional Operational Programme of Tuscany

This report illustrates the research path on the skill needs of the Tuscan productive system, undertaken by IRPET since 2015. The project was started following the request of the Tuscany Region, committed to enforce the reform of vocational training passed with Regional Law No. 59/2014. The rationale of the new model is to mainly support the training actions capable of creating jobs, and so reinforce both the human capital and the entrepreneurial system. What emerges is the importance of matching the training needs to the specific requirements expressed by the most dynamic economic actors. The research makes use of different instruments, such as the analysis of stock and flow data relating to the labour market and the productive system, a survey applied to a representative sample of the region’s strategic sectors, and a series of focus groups organized with the most dynamic firms by sector of activity.

The research shows how the most dynamic Tuscan firms are engaged into restructuring processes based on the quality of products and services, and on extremely fast responses to the markets’ demands. From this viewpoint, the competencies and know how of  internal personnel and external suppliers take on a key role. Therefore, training (from education at school and university to employees’ lifelong learning) becomes an inescapable issue, requiring constant and well-organized exchange among firms, institutions and training agencies.