ROME LETTER:In Italy, 76 per cent of those under 25 feel so blocked and deprived of work opportunities that they see emigration as the only realistic option
THE OTHER day Giuliana dropped by to say hello and to give us a first-hand update on how things had worked out since she moved to London last autumn.
Like many of her generation, Giuliana (26), the daughter of good neighbours and a law graduate from La Sapienza university in Rome, had no doubt that emigration, temporary or permanent, was her only choice.
The baroness proved especially helpful to her with advice about language schools, accommodation and other matters in London, so she was keen to report back on the events of the last year. To say the least, things seem to be going swimmingly well.
She has found a job (on the make-up and sun glasses counter) with a very fashionable London store. For the first time in her life, she is totally independent, economically speaking, from her parents. Furthermore, she has found more than reasonable digs in Notting Hill while, best of all, she has formed a liaison with a handsome young admirer.
Imagine Giuliana’s astonishment then, when, at the request of her father, she returned to Rome recently to apply for an advertised position with a semi-state organisation.
This brave old world organisation cheerfully informed her that they could guarantee her work for only one year and that in the meantime, they would be paying her €300-400 a month (many times less than her London employment).
Furthermore, given that she would only be staying with them for one year, they would most probably not be offering her any meaningful training in job skills.
She pointed out that she now spoke good English, asking if this particular skill might not be put to good use in some department of the organisation, to which she was cheerfully told that “we don’t have much use for English around here”.
So then, for the pleasure of finding work at home, Giuliana was expected to give up a permanent and pensionable position, complete with open- ended contract, all for the privilege of one year’s slavery employment at Wilberforce pre-Abolition rates. Do I exaggerate? I think not.
Giuliana’s experience is nothing exceptional. The reality of the current Italian labour market is that, for the young, it truly sucks.
According to research institute Demos Coop, 76 per cent of Italians below the age of 25 feel themselves so blocked and so deprived of work opportunity in Italy that they see emigration as the only realistic option when it comes to finding work and to laying the foundation for a future career.
Speaking to a lower house of parliament committee recently, Giuseppe Rita, head of socio- economic research unit Censis, pointed out that young Italians were “threatened with extinction”.
His point was that compared to a decade ago, the 15-to-34 age group is two million fewer, partly as a result of falling birth rates and also because of growing emigration due to lack of professional opportunities.
Worse still, the number of young Italians who, rather than becoming indignados(the indignants) like their Spanish contemporaries, have basically thrown in the towel when it comes to their work.
Young Italian “Neets” (Not in Education, Employment or Training) have apparently reached 11.2 per cent as opposed to a European average of 3.4 per cent.
This apathy cannot be explained by a barren occupational landscape alone, given that in Spain, where youth unemployment touches 41 per cent (it is 27.8 per cent in Italy), only 0.5 per cent claim to have given up looking for work.
“In Italy, many young people have accepted inactivity as a possible way of life and the social security net provided by families does not help them overcome their apathy,” Censis concludes.
Another research institute, Eurispes, points out that for 20 per cent of those who do have a job, a university degree is pretty much superfluous. Eurispes says that the constant phenomenon of “over-qualified” workers creates decreasing social mobility, if not chronic social immobility.
So, basically, if you are young and Italian, your choices are to study hard in a famously disorganised but tough university system by way of preparation for either non-existent or hopelessly underpaid non-skilled jobs. In the meantime, of course, you can always emigrate.
In the meantime, it comes as no surprise to discover that 62.5 per cent of Italians believe that today’s under-25s are destined for a future in which they will be significantly less well off than their parents (Demos Coop, Osservatorio sul Capitale Sociale). In the midst of this glum social scene, too, Demos reports that the number of Italians who consider themselves “middle class” has declined from 52.7 per cent in 2006 to 42.8 per cent in 2011.
There is, however, one possible positive side to this deluge of negative statistics, claims Censis. By 2020, an estimated 8 million “older” workers will exit the labour market, leaving a serious hole to be filled by that dwindling 15-to-34 age group. It could be that there will be a few jobs on offer.
In the meantime, however, our Giuliana cannot get back to London fast enough. Emigration is not an Irish exclusive, after all.