“Collaborators wanted”. A writing that, with the summer season now underway, should be archived by now, and which instead stands out in many tourist clubs and hotels. It happens on Garda, the chosen destination for many visitors from Italy and abroad, as reported by the coordinator of Confesercenti Eastern Lombardy for the Lake Garda, Andrea Maggioni. “A phenomenon that in recent years, especially after Covid-19, is taking on dimensions that are difficult to manage except with a reduction in the quality of service in numerous venues”.
However, a leap in quality is also needed in the narration of the seasonal work: “Collaborating in a bar, a restaurant, a hotel or a campsite for the 2024 season – underlines Maggioni – does not mean bringing a dish to the table or being exploited, it means making a human and professional experience which will allow you to meet thousands of people, hone one or two foreign languages, enter the world of work and acquire a wealth of skills that will allow you to travel the world”.
But the problem is structural, and concerns not only the Garda. According to data recently published by Unioncamere – Ministry of Labor and Social Policies, Excelsior Information System, in May 2024 companies estimated 62.7% the difficulty in finding personnel with a qualification in the tourism, food and wine and hospitality sectors, the highest percentage among graduates.
Among the provinces, there is the one where there are the greatest difficulties in finding people who have these qualifications How, Varese, Sondrio, Monza, Milan, all above 70%. Among workers, the estimate is that it is not possible to find 54.1% of the operators and employees in catering activities that would be necessary for businesses: among the provinces, Como reaches 70%, Pavia, Mantua, Milan, Bergamo, Lecco, Cremona are above 50%.
“In Italy there are few hotel institutes compared to the rest of Europe – continues Maggioni -. If it is true that tourism is Italy’s oil, then we need to put the Hotel Institute back at the center of the education of our kids, updating the study plans and making it ever closer to the world of work. We can’t have hotel institutes like the one Gardone Rivierawho suspend laboratories for entire weeks due to lack of resources”. The operators in the sector aim at the ambitious project of putting the right person in the right place.
“Possible collaborators often show up at our businesses who are poorly motivated and have little inclination to want to work in the evenings and on weekends”, observes Maggioni. The recent renewal of the National Trade Contract has produced an increase in collaborators’ salaries for the next few years and a increase in protection. “Now it’s up to the Government to proceed with the reduction of the tax wedge on the salaries of our collaborators: the companies have already given”, concludes Maggioni.
