According to estimates by the “CENSIS” research institute, 1.9 million workers will retire in Italy by 2030, of whom around 6 per cent will be in the fashion and accessories industry. In the same timeframe, it is estimated that the demographic crisis will lead to 1.3 million fewer students.
To prevent the worsening of the difficulties that entrepreneurs already face in finding operators with the right skills in the labour market, Confindustria Moda, the federation that brings together the seven Italian Fashion and Accessory associations, and CNOS-FAP, have announced the signing of a three-year partnership agreement - from 2023 to 2026, with the possibility of renewal - to promote vocational training in the Fashion and Accessory industry in Italy and worldwide.
The aim of this cooperation is to promote youth employment in the sector by providing high-quality vocational training, especially for girls and young people in Italy, including from other countries.
Specific goals include attracting young people to vocational training, enhancing the skills of students and trainers in the fashion and accessory sector, and developing training paths dedicated to this sector in various Italian regions.
The project also envisages international exchange through the Salesian Don Bosco Tech network to facilitate the employment of young foreigners in the fashion and accessories sector, trained in their countries of origin in Salesian schools. A Coordination Committee made up of representatives of Confindustria Moda and CNOS-FAP will lead this collaboration.
“For us, this agreement represents the opening of a new front for our Salesian mission” commented Fr Giuliano Giacomazzi, Director General of the CNOS-FAP Federation. With it, a strategic collaboration begins with the world of Fashion and Accessories, which is part of the process of enhancing the value of Made in Italy. The hope is to offer girls and boys a training and educational accompaniment that promises particularly promising job opportunities and open to innovation, according to the rich tradition of Don Bosco and the Salesians, in a common vision shared with Confindustria Moda, to whom we express all our gratitude.”
"We are proud to sign this agreement with an organisation that is daily committed to supporting the integration into society of young people from all over the world like CNOS-FAP” commented Ercole Botto Poala, President of Confindustria Moda. “The challenge of training”, he continued, “is particularly felt today in the Fashion and Accessory industry, a key driver of the Italian economy, due to the ever-increasing difficulty in finding professionals with the necessary skills in the market. With this collaboration we are taking an important step forward to help companies in their daily challenges, while also contributing to the noble mission of the Salesians to promote fair integration.”
The agreement is promoted by the Confindustria Moda Education Committee which has been engaged for years in contacting the mismatch between the demand for skills of companies and supply from the education system. The successes achieved over the years by the Education Committee, chaired by Paolo Bastianello, are further confirmation of the results that the sector can achieve by working as a system.
