The value of lifelong learning and territorial mobility: the regional programs for training and professional qualification

Abstract

Starting from the analysis of the most recent data concerning the phenomenon of qualified migration of young people from Italy to the rest of the world, this work intends to deepen the topic of the value of continuous learning and mobility as an antidote to the continuous impoverishment of local communities and as a strategy to contrast new and widespread forms of inequality and social exclusion in the present time of the so called knowledge economy. Within this scenario, public policies, and in particular at regional and local level, have the task of guaranteeing concrete opportunities for citizens to access knowledge in a multicultural dimension. In this regard, this work explores the technical characteristics of programmes and initiatives promoted and implemented by Italian regions and, in particular, focuses on the Lazio Region’s “Torno Subito” programme. A complex and structured programme which, although in its beginnings, could indicate a broader perspective and question policy makers on how to put at the centre of the European agenda the core theme of a generation, from 18 to 35 years old, which today presents itself as the most exposed to the risks of marginalization and fragmentation of work and life, albeit in a potential framework of very wide opportunities.