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Incentives to support youth employment in the SEZ, more funds for textbooks and scholarships. And again: ad hoc resources for training on first aid and anti-bullying. These are just some of the measures contained in the budget that look more closely at young people. Let’s see them in detail.
Culture Value Bonus
The maneuver establishes a new cultural promotion initiative aimed at young people who obtain their high school diploma. Specifically, starting from 2027, the electronic card called “Culture Value Bonus” arrives, intended for young people who, starting from the 2026 year, obtain their upper secondary education diploma by the age of nineteenth. The Charter, which surpasses previous initiatives on the topic, is awarded in the year following graduation and represents a tool to promote access to culture. With this card (the sums loaded do not constitute taxable income and are not relevant for ISEE purposes) you will be able to purchase cultural goods and services, such as tickets for theater and cinema shows, books, subscriptions to newspapers and periodicals, including digital ones, recorded music, musical instruments, entrance tickets to museums, exhibitions and cultural events, as well as music, theatre, dance or foreign language courses. 180 million euros per year are put on the table starting from 2027.
Scholarships
Another novelty concerns the scholarships item, with an allocation of 250 million euros to increase the related fund.
Textbooks
The Ministry of the Interior’s estimate also includes a fund of 20 million euros per year starting from the year 2026, to be distributed among the municipalities for the provision of contributions to be allocated directly to families with ISEE not exceeding 30 thousand euros for the support of the costs for the purchase of school books, including digital ones, indicated in the adoption lists, intended for secondary school, provided that they have not benefited from other forms of support for the same purpose. An inter-ministerial decree must define the methods and criteria for allocating the fund.
SEZ decontribution
There is also a partial decontribution for permanent hires in the Zes Unica. The budget has allocated 154 million euros for 2026, 400 million euros for 2027 and 271 million euros for 2028 with the aim of increasing stable youth employment and promoting equal opportunities for disadvantaged female workers in the Special Economic Zone for the South. Partial exemption from the payment of social security contributions payable by private employers is financed, with the exclusion of premiums and contributions due to INAIL, for a maximum period of twenty-four months, for the hiring from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2026 of non-managerial staff with a permanent employment contract or for the transformation, in the same period of time, of the employment contract from a fixed-term to an indefinite-term one. A decree from the Minister of Labour, in agreement with the Minister of Economy, will regulate the interventions, requirements and conditions necessary to guarantee compliance with the spending limit.
