Confindustria Lombardia Young Entrepreneurs Regional Committee meets Regional Minister Valentina Aprea

Milan, 3 July 2017 – The challenges of the transition to Industry 4.0, the changing labour market, and the opportunities offered by digitalisation were the key themes at a meeting between the Confindustria Lombardia Young Entrepreneurs Regional Committee and Valentina Aprea, the Lombardy Region’s Minister for Education, Training and Labour, held at the Confindustria Lombardia headquarters. Drawing on their recent experience in education, the young Lombard entrepreneurs identified work-study programmes, career guidance, placement, and self-employment as the four priorities Lombardy must pursue to build a competitive regional human capital capable of meeting the challenges facing the Lombard system.

For the President of the Confindustria Lombardia Young Entrepreneurs, Federico Ghidini, “the activities of the Young Entrepreneurs – such as the regional Management Game – which complement the ‘senior’ Confindustria Lombardia projects, aim to act as a bridge between the world of work, young people, and policymakers, circulating needs, passions, and skills. The Young Entrepreneurs, also thanks to projects active across all Lombard territories, represent a hub for synthesis, using a common and cross-cutting language, rooted in a passion for entrepreneurship and always placing human capital at the centre,” concluded Ghidini.

The meeting with Minister Valentina Aprea, introduced by data from a World Economic Forum study suggesting that the evolution of work over the next five years will be driven primarily by technological (Industry 4.0) and socio-economic demographic factors, focused on the alliance between educational institutions and the production sector. It also highlighted the importance of the dual system, based on the integration of education and the workplace, as a “win-win” model. The continuous evolution of skills required by the labour market means that future skills cannot be learned in the classroom alone; one must learn by doing. The Lombardy training system, thanks to a strong alliance and ongoing synergies between all stakeholders, is a model that has already embarked on this path.

As Minister Aprea stated, “Since 2013, I have been clear about the need to strengthen the link between schools and the world of work, to invest in Higher Technical Education (ITS), and to introduce digital learning in Lombard schools and universities to foster and develop new organisational models enabled by technology. Regional policies for work-study programmes, training apprenticeships, and the ‘Generazione Web’ initiative have been planned and funded with this in mind. I expect young Lombard industrialists to continue nurturing young talent to drive innovation in production and services within their companies, and to support generational renewal.”

Attachments

• PR_GILombardia-Minister Aprea_3July2017.pdf