Formazione, lavoro, persona

Introduction: Between Risks and Opportunities. ITS Academies and the Future of Professional Tertiary Education

Francesco Magni — 2025-07-10

Introduzione al fascicolo: Tra rischi e opportunità. Gli ITS Academy e il futuro della formazione terziaria professionalizzante.

Labour Market Returns of the Investment in Non-Academic Tertiary Education: the Role of Course Quality

Simona Lorena Comi — 2025-07-10

This paper investigates the labor market returns of non-academic tertiary education in Italy, focusing on the role of course quality within the ITS system. Using administrative data from 2013 to 2023, the study finds a strong positive correlation between course quality and employment outcomes, even when controlling for structural factors. Key quality components—such as course attractiveness, practical training, and interregional networks—emerge as significant drivers of employment rates, particularly in southern regions where labor market conditions are weaker. The findings support merit-based funding policies and suggest that investing in course quality can enhance education-to-work transitions, especially in disadvantaged areas.

ITS and Educational Innovation: Opportunities between Work-based Learning and Digital Technologies

Davide Richard Bramley — 2025-07-10

Higher Technical Institutes (ITS) represent a strategic pillar for the development of student skills, responding to the needs of a rapidly evolving job market. The following contribution explores the role of ITS as privileged places of educational innovation, focusing on the integration between alternating training and digital technologies. Through an analysis of the opportunities offered by these tools, it is highlighted how the adoption of hybrid and digitally supported methodologies can enhance training courses, encouraging experiential learning and the transfer of skills, without, however, falling within a perspective of mere job training. The article proposes a reflection on the challenges and opportunities, grasping the theoretical and empirical references through a selection of the relevant literature.

Non-academic Tertiary Education. An In-depth Pedagogical Study of Higher Technological Institutes

Paolo Bertuletti — 2025-07-10

This article aims to explore, from a pedagogical perspective, the non-academic tertiary education system in Italy, with a particular focus on the educational pathways provided by the Higher Technical Institutes (ITS Academy). After a brief overview of the regulatory framework governing the creation and evolution of ITS, the study focuses on analyzing three specific cases located in Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, and Veneto, operating respectively in the fields of tourism, sustainable logistics, and mechatronics. Through semi-structured interviews conducted with former students, professional teachers, and company tutors, the strengths and challenges of the ITS model are examined, especially regarding the crucial role of internships.

The Formativity of Work-Based Learning in ITS Academy

Valerio Massimo Marcone — 2025-07-10

The article aims to reflect on the educational value of the new professionalizing tertiary pathway in light of the new impetus given by the 4+2 experimentation. In this direction, learning, education and work will be increasingly closely connected starting from secondary school curricula. In this perspective, the educational question is related to which new functions are to be attributed to vocational training: no longer adaptation to the work society but promotion in people of the abilities towards a generative action in life and work contexts.

Non-Academic Tertiary Education: A Comparison Between Italy, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom

Virginia Capriotti — 2025-07-10

This article explores the institutional structures, models, and developmental trajectories of non-academic tertiary education in three European contexts: Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Italy. The study highlights both convergences and divergences in how these systems respond to the increasing demand for work-oriented learning, technical specialization, and improved youth employability. While Switzerland offers a consolidated dual model rooted in strong cooperation between educational institutions and the labor market, the UK is undergoing structural reforms to strengthen a historically marginalized technical sector. Italy, in turn, represents a model in transition, with Higher Technological Institutes (also known as ITS Academies) ITS Academies emerging as a promising yet fragile example of dual integration between theory and practice. Beyond institutional specificities, the article proposes a pedagogical rethinking of vocational tertiary education as a space for reflective and transformative learning. Work is reframed not simply as an outcome but as a constitutive dimension of the educational process that is capable of empowering individuals and fostering meaningful personal and social development.

Museums, ITS and Service Learning: an Integrated Model for Educational Innovation and Community Service

Valentina Berardinetti — 2025-07-10

The article analyses the educational and social potential of the synergy between Higher Technological Education (ITS Academy) and museums from the perspective of Service Learning, proposing an integrated training model that combines theoretical learning, practical experience and civic engagement. Starting from the recent reform of ITS (L. 99/2022) and the opportunities offered by the PNRR, the role of museums as interdisciplinary, innovative and experiential learning laboratories, capable of contributing to the formation of professional and social skills for students, is explored. In particular, Service Learning is presented as a pedagogical approach capable of promoting active citizenship and dialogue between education and territory, enhancing cultural heritage and responding to the real needs of society. The article integrates reference pedagogical theories - including Dewey, Vygotsky, Freire and Gardner - with practical examples and methodological reflections, offering an interdisciplinary perspective on educational innovation. It concludes with a reflection on the challenges and future prospects, emphasising how this integration can transform Higher Technological Education into a strategic pillar for the country's cultural, social and economic development.