Eighty million euros is the cost incurred in 2023 by artisan businesses in Caserta in the search for qualified personnel. The first months of 2024 confirm the trend of the previous year, so much so that artisan businesses in Campania are missing on average almost five workers out of every ten expected, with heavy repercussions on production.
For this reason, on the occasion of the celebrations for May Day, Labor Day, Confartigianato Imprese Caserta is working to launch a new ad hoc training model as soon as possible, designed to create the artisans of the future. “We imagine a certified training path, created in collaboration with companies in the sector, which follows students step by step, from apprenticeship to entry into the world of work. This model would not only guarantee practical and updated training, but also a more fluid entry into the job market, with professional figures already trained and ready to respond to the specific needs of the promoting companies”, explains Antonio D’Albore, president of Confartigianato Imprese Caserta.
The problem relating to the difficulty of finding manpower is common throughout the Italian business world. In 2023, according to Unioncamere-Anpal data, Italian companies indicate a sourcing difficulty of 45.1%, an increase of 4.6 percentage points compared to 40.5% in 2022. In artisan companies the criticality is more marked, with the share of hard-to-source revenue rising to 55.2%, 10.1 percentage points higher than the average of 45.1%. The Campania figure, for example, is equal to 49.8% with 10,200 difficult-to-find artisans out of 20,500 hires.
“This is such a significant impact that many businesses find themselves having to postpone or downsize their projects due to lack of staff. This not only slows down the growth of the business itself, but also of the local economy. Without new artisans, we risk losing not only skills and traditions, but also innovation in the sector”, continues D’Albore.
The difficulty in finding staff determines the lengthening of the time needed to find the desired professional figure. According to data referring to 2023, companies take an average of 3.3 months before being able to fill the vacant position, a time that rises to 4.8 months in the case of searching for a specialized worker (Unioncamere-Anpal, 2024). All this increases costs: in Campania, in 2023, 529 million euros were spent looking for staff, 80 in the province of Caserta alone. The causes of this emergency are multiple. First, there is a general lack of awareness about the opportunities that craftsmanship can offer in terms of career and personal growth. Furthermore, many young people see crafts as an old-fashioned sector, out of step with the times, and are not aware of how it is evolving, especially with the incorporation of new technologies and sustainable methods.
There is also a lack of specific training that directly connects schools with local artisan realities. “Precisely for this reason we are working with local authorities and schools to develop an ad hoc training model, designed to create the artisans of the future. It is a certified training course, created in collaboration with companies in the sector, which follows students step by step, from apprenticeship to entry into the world of work. This model would not only guarantee practical and updated training, but also a more fluid entry into the job market, with professional figures already trained and ready to respond. to the specific needs of the promoting companies”, concludes the president of Confartigianato Imprese Caserta.
