Upper secondary
Post-secondary (non-academic higher VET)

Mobility scheme: Erasmus+ VET (Inapp, ex Isfol)
Source of funds: European
Target group: IVET learners, also included in the dual system pathways (learners from technical* and professional institutes; students from vocational training); learners recent qualified and graduated (within 12 months by the graduation / qualification); apprentices.
* Regarding the Technical Institutes, even if they are not included in the VET field, also the students of these schools can take part at the Erasmus+ mobility implemented in the VET sector.

Mobility scheme: Erasmus+ School (Indire)
Source of funds: European
Target group: Students/Learners from general education and vocational education, learners from Higher Technical Education and recent graduated

Mobility scheme: Regions
Source of funds: European Social Fund (ESF) (Regional Operational programmes and National Operational programmes)
Target group: IVET learners; learners from technical and professional institutes; VET qualified and graduated

Mobility scheme: Youth Guarantee: traineeships in transnational mobility
Source of funds: Youth Employment Initiative + ESF; ANPAL; National Operational Youth Guarantee programme 2014-2020
Target group: All young people aged between 15 and 29 years with particular attention to NEET

Mobility scheme: Pathways for transversal competences and guidance (the so-called PCTO (Percorsi per le competenze trasversali e per l’orientamento) (for that part carried out abroad)
Source of funds: National (Ministry of Education)
Target group: IVET learners (vocational schools) and upper secondary general education students

Mobility scheme: Transnational mobility and internships schemes
Source of funds: ESF, Ministry of Education, National Operational Programme 2014-2020
Target group: Learners from the technical and professional institutes (technical and professional schools), upper secondary general education students, post-secondary non-academic pathways students

In Italy, the initial and continuing Vocational Education and Training (VET) system is characterised by a complex multi-stakeholder and multi-level governance.
The Italian governance of Vocational Education and Training clearly distinguishes the different roles among institutions and administrations. In the field of VET, according to the reform of Title V, the Italian Constitution entrusts different tasks to the institutions (Ministries) and the territorial administrations (Regions and Autonomous Provinces).
Based on the autonomy of educational and training institutions, Regions and Local Authorities are in charge to design the strategic goals, planning the training supply, by applying network agreements within the education and training system or even with the other socio-economic territorial realities.
In Italy, the different targets addressed by the transnational mobility supply for learning purposes are defined in relation to the different Vocational Education and Training systems and their governance. In general, the target groups involved are young people, from 14 years onwards, included in initial VET pathways or who completed the path for no more than 1 year.
Mobility supply can also be targeted to apprentices and trainees, in relation to the sources of funding.

In Italy, the initial and continuing Vocational Education and Training (VET) system is characterized by a complex multi-stakeholder and multi-level governance.
The Italian governance of Vocational Education and Training clearly distinguishes the different roles among institutions and administrations. In the field of VET, according to the reform of Title V, the Italian Constitution entrusts different tasks to the institutions (Ministries) and the territorial administrations (Regions and Autonomous Provinces).
The central level (specifically for initial VET, the Ministry of Labour, the Ministry of Education) is in charge of guiding, coordinating and guaranteeing compliance with the essential levels of performance (LEP), in order to avoid diversification and to guarantee the necessary homogeneity all over the national territory.
Regions and Autonomous Provinces with the other local bodies, but also the other actors that operate in the private dimension and the third sector, intervene in the definition of the dimensioning and programming policies of the VET pathways at territorial level, with the aim to build educational and training interventions responding to the changes that characterise the global market. Regions and local bodies, in particular, have the task of exclusive legislation in the regional VET system and of programming and allocating resources to the territories of reference.
The coordination of transnational mobility policies for learning purposes is closely connected with the specificities of the Italian VET system governance and of the different budget headings, therefore it is necessary to ensure full respect of the autonomy of the single actors.
The declination of the policies and strategies for transnational mobility for learning purposes, as well as the management of their specific actions, are subject to the beforementioned mechanisms of multi-stakeholder and multi-level governance, as well as to the general principles defined by the different sources of funding and by the management rules that characterize them.
The national governance of the VET system is identified with the policies supporting an effective coordination, within these different dimensions, for a continuing enhancement of the dialogue and confrontation between the parties for a proper functioning of the system within all its articulation.

In Italy, the initial and continuing Vocational Education and Training (VET) system is characterized by a complex multi-stakeholder and multi-level governance.
The Italian governance of Vocational Education and Training clearly distinguishes the different roles among institutions and administrations. In the field of VET, according to the reform of Title V, the Italian Constitution entrusts different tasks to the institutions (Ministries) and the territorial administrations (Regions and Autonomous Provinces).
The central level (specifically for initial VET, the Ministry of Labour, the Ministry of Education) is in charge of guiding, coordinating and guaranteeing compliance with the essential levels of performance (LEP), in order to avoid diversification and to guarantee the necessary homogeneity all over the national territory.
According to the overall framework that characterises the governance of the Italian VET system, the evaluation of the strategies implemented for mobility also refers to each area of competence.

In Italy, IVET is divided into two main strands at upper secondary level:
- Vocational schools, under the competence of the Ministry of Education;
- Vocational Education and Training centres, under the competence of Regions.
Moreover, VET pathways are available at post-secondary level:
- Higher Technical Education (non-academic VET, ITS), under the competence of the Ministry of Education;
- Higher technical education and training (IFTS), under the competence of the Regions.
For this reason, there are two different approaches in providing information and guidance on VET mobility topics.
With regards to upper secondary education, the Ministry of Education has defined Guidelines for education institutions to support them in the promotion and organisation of mobility experiences (short or long periods) for students at national level. In case of short periods, students receive credits useful for the final examinations. The long mobility is normally used by students who want to attend one school year in a foreign country. In this case, the learning experience is valid for the achievement of the education pathway. In addition, according to Law 107/2015 (La Buona Scuola) and the Guidelines adopted by the Law of the 30 December 2018, n.145, art. 1 comma 785, published by the Ministry of Education (ME) operational for schools, also the experiences linked to the Pathways for transversal competences and for guidance (the so-called PCTO) can be conducted abroad.
With regards to Vocational Training under the competence of Regions, the mobility topic is managed in different ways, for example using specific financial lines within the Regional Operational Programmes (POR) under the field of Transnational cooperation.
To get information on international learning mobility, IVET learners can utilize information provided by information and guidance services organized in schools and Vocational Training Centres.
In line with the “Guidelines on individual international learning mobility for students ” (1), arrangements for information on and promotion of international learning experiences for students are included and described in the "Plan of studies" (the so-called POF). Upper secondary schools nominate representatives and contact persons for international learning mobility and organize specific information activities for students and families as well as information/training activities for teachers involved in these learning experiences abroad. Information on international mobility is provided also during the annual "Open day" organized to promote courses and activities of schools and VET institutions.
Regarding the Erasmus+ Programme (VET sector), providers (schools and VET institutions) and the IVET learners, they can receive information and guidance during Info Days organized by the Erasmus+ Agencies and the nationwide Local Eurodesk Points, and through participating in the annual guidance Fairs promoted by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Labour and social policies (Job Orienta in Verona; OrientaSud in Napoli; Orientamenti in Genova).
IVET learners can also contact public employment centres, municipal guidance, and information centres (the so-called Informagiovani), etc. for general information on available learning mobility opportunities.
Employment services play an important role in providing information and guidance also on the following scheme:
- Transnational mobility traineeship scheme destined to young people, as one of the measures provided within the Youth Guarantee Programme.
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(1) Ministry of Education, Prot 843 - 2013

IVET in upper secondary education and VET under the competence of regions are not integrated in terms of information and guidance provision, even if they cooperate. In addition, VET policies vary across Regions.

There are no countrywide policy targets in terms of IVET mobility related information and guidance.

As regards specifically the opportunities offered through the European Social Fund, promoting international mobility in IVET is part of the Guidelines for international students’ mobility of 10/04/2013 ESF Regional Operational Programmes for the period 2014-2020.

Within the National Youth Employment Initiative (YEI –ANPAL and European Social Fund Operational Programme on Youth Guarantee), traineeship in transnational mobility is one of the measures inserted in the Agreements signed with Regions that are in charge of providing these traineeships at local level.

Within the Ministry of Education ESF 2014-2020 National Operational Programme, special projects for transnational mobility and internships in foreign countries are provided both within the PCTO in general and within Technical and Vocational schools.
Implementation is granted through special administrative guidelines issued by the Ministry of Education to schools and Regional School Offices.

As far as Erasmus+ is concerned, there are no specific obligations for young people included in IVET pathways in participating in the mobility supplied by the Programme. Erasmus+ is rather considered as an opportunity strongly supported and promoted in all areas of Initial Education and Vocational Training.

The actions undertaken at national and local level, for ensuring correct information and proper personalized guidance actions, aimed at reaching all young people possibly interested in participating in a transnational mobility experience, are activated through networks and channels relating to the different contexts in which the target is placed (e.g. school, training centers, etc.) and are guaranteed also thanks to the actions foreseen by the different funding channels (e.g. Erasmus+, FSE, etc.).
The organizations and institutions in charge of managing the resources for mobility usually follow a clear guideline about the activities to undertake for promoting and informing about the opportunities provided and for guiding young people to choose the most appropriate solutions, according to the development of knowledge and skills coherent with the curriculum and with the individual occupational project.
To make these actions effective and capture the attention of young people, it is essential to make use of the expertise of these institutions as well as of social media which are the most direct mean of intercepting the greatest amount of users and conveying the messages with the most appropriate vocabulary and tool for the learners age.
A key role is performed by the National Euroguidance Center and by the Italian Erasmus+ Agencies.
The objective is to increase awareness of learning opportunities available in the European countries for IVET learners, students, trainees, apprentices, young people and adults. With regard to Euroguidance Italy, a national network of more than 50 partners, the so-called Rete Nazionale di Diffusione (RND). The role of the network is to spread in a very capillary way information and documentation for learning mobility abroad.
The National Euroguidance Centre monitors the website counter and number of prints delivered during different events. Day-to-day provision of information and guidance is monitored.

The National Euroguidance Centre monitors the website counter and number of prints delivered during different events. Day-to-day provision of information and guidance is monitored.
As far as the Erasmus+ Programme is concerned, the Annual Work Programme of the two Erasmus+ Agencies, Inapp and Indire, validated by the respective Ministries (Ministry of Education and Ministry of Labour and Social Policies), each for their own Agency, according to the specific competences and areas of action, foresees evaluation activities which also apply to the provision of information and guidance for IVET learners’ transnational mobility. In addition, the Italian Erasmus+ Agency (for VET field), located at Inapp, and the Italian Erasmus+ Agency (for school, university, and adult education fields), located at Indire, for the fields of their own competence, are subject to the ISO certification, so all the activities of information and guidance are recorded and evaluated.
In the future, the coordination strategies among the various actors will ensure an implementation in the number of users reached and greater effectiveness of the information and guidance actions required to improve the mobility experiences put in place.

Information and assistance are provided to IVET institutions and companies through information days, events, newsletters, and information desk, for example:
- Annual guidance Fairs, promoted by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies (Job Orienta in Verona; OrientaSud in Napoli; Orientamenti in Genova; etc.);
- Info days organised by the Erasmus+ Agencies (Inapp and Indire).
- National portal of the Erasmus+ Programme: www.erasmusplus.it, implemented and managed by the three National Agencies (Indire, Inapp and the Italian Erasmus+ Agency for Youth) and coordinated at technical level by Indire; its content is guaranteed by an inter-agencies editorial board. For the Programme are made available for information also specific publications and newsletters.
- Events organized by different networks (Informagiovani, Eurodesk and Europedirect), Regions, etc.

Italy provides IVET learners with information on international learning mobility. However, this provision does not comprise a systematic coverage of personalised advice, counselling and guidance for their international learning mobility. The provision is also not coordinated countrywide as IVET in secondary education and VET under the responsibility of Regions operate separately and regional policies differ. There have been actions to improve this provision, and these actions undergo some monitoring. There are no countrywide policy targets in terms of IVET mobility related information and guidance. For further progress in this area, it could be considered setting up such policy targets. Enhancing a mechanism for the provision of personalised advice, counselling and guidance to IVET learners for their international mobility should be also considered. Putting in place countrywide coordination of the provision as well as systematic policy evaluation in the area would constitute a significant step forward.

Following the transposition of the VET Recommendation, Italy intends to contribute to the achievement of the European objective so that 8% of young people enrolled in Vocational Education and Training pathways can benefit from transnational mobility for learning.
To this end, the Italian institutions and the various actors of the Vocational Education and Training system will go on promoting all the initiatives foreseen in order to allow that the greatest amount of young people attending initial VET pathways may participate to these opportunities, by providing them all the needed guarantees in order to facilitate the realization of this experience.

Furthermore, as in the past and according to national regulations, the necessary measures will be activated in order to facilitate the incoming mobility of young people from third countries and to simplify the procedures to guarantee learning mobility for children attending Vocational Education and Training courses, too.
All the strategies allowed by national and European rules leading also to a simplification of administrative procedures will be applied to mobility projects, too.

With reference to the visa issuing for young people in entrance in Italy for learning mobility projects, according to the Legislative Decree 11 May 2018, no. 71, Italy has adopted the Directive (EU) 2016/801 of the European Parliament and of the Council, of 11 May 2016, regarding the conditions for entry and residence of third-country nationals for research, study, internship, volunteering, exchange programs or educational projects and au-pair placement.
This Directive is also mentioned in the Erasmus+ Programme and Member States are asked to facilitate the incoming of Erasmus+ young people. The Italian National Agencies of the Erasmus+ Programme do not have specific competences in the field of incoming mobility since their task is to ensure the full functioning of outgoing mobility of young Italians. However, they exercise monitoring activities also for incoming mobility, using the tools made available by the European Commission.
In particular, the Erasmus+ Agency for VET with the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies had contact with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in order to identify possible simplified procedures for entry visas of non-European countries young people for Erasmus+ in the VET field.

With regard to Erasmus+, the entire Programme has been simplified at EU and National levels in terms of administrative and financial procedures and burdens. The most helpful simplification is the introduction of “scales of Units” for the design of financial contribution to be granted to IVET institutions. This tool simplifies the statement of expenditures procedures by VET Institutions.

The Italian law allows international learning mobility of students aged below 18 provided that there is a parental consent and an accompanying adult.
For example, in the case of the Erasmus+ Programme an accompanying adult is generally foreseen and financed for every 10 students aged below 18.

Social security
Incoming apprentices and IVET students from the EU benefit (through the European Health Insurance card) from the same medical care as their Italian counterparts in the country (e.g., local IVET learners).

Labour protection
Incoming learners are subject to the same labour laws as their Italian counterparts. Law 196/97, art. 18 (guidance and learning traineeship) and Regulations 142/98 establish the drafting of an insurance contract for students, both Italians and EU, involved in learning traineeship as well as a learning agreement signed by the trainee, the host and the sending organization. Guidelines of 25 May 2017 approved in State-Regions Conference contain provisions for non-curricular traineeship of Italian and EU trainees. Guidelines for non-EU trainees (approved in State-Regions Conference of 5 August 2014) contain provisions on insurance and protection. As non-curricular traineeship issues are managed at regional level, Regions have issued regional laws based on the above guidelines.

Incomplete coordination of actions. There are no plans to make the coordination complete. Each Region makes an autonomous coordination.

According to the different mobility experiences activated within the different IVET paths, specific measures can be foreseen, aimed at removing all the obstacles for the realisation of such experience.
For example, learners' mobility actions and projects promoted and financed by Italian regions, mainly through ROP ESF funding, are being developed and improved, both in quality and quantity. Also, for what concerns the monitoring of facilitating actions, each Region carries out an autonomous monitoring.

Although participation in international mobility is not a systematic requirement for IVET learners, Italy has adopted the EU benchmark according to which 8% of IVET learners will participate in international mobility, and commits to provide these mobility participants with all the necessary support to that end. 
The country has in place measures to facilitate the delivery of visas to IVET learners from third countries. The conditions for the mobility of minor IVET learners have been kept sufficiently low to avoid hampering their mobility. However, although changes seem to be under consideration, no specific measures have been taken yet to reduce the administrative burdens induced by organising mobility. In future, it could be considered checking on the ground – e.g. through users/stakeholders surveys – the existence of needs for such measures and putting them in place as appropriate. Setting up verifiable policy targets as well as systematic and complete countrywide coordination and evaluation of policies in this policy strand (and making clear what the evaluation system consists in) could also be a good step forward.

Over the years, in Italy many experiments have been launched and specific strategies have been implemented, in particular in the context of mobility of the Erasmus+ Programme, aimed to the recognition of the competences and skills acquired through transnational mobility implemented in the Vocational Education and Training system.
In particular, Europass has been promoted for the recognition of the competences and skills acquired during the mobility period and, thanks to the ECVET national experts network, the potential of this instrument has been highlighted as a methodological reference framework aimed at facilitating the transfer of credits for learning outcomes from one qualification system to another or from one learning path to another (for example: transfer, between the sending and hosting organisation, of credits acquired by a young person in a formal learning path that includes a mobility part).
Since the European Recommendation on Vocational Education and Training (2020) integrates the founding principles of ECVET, by repealing the Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 June 2009, in the future, it will be useful to strengthen the role of some central systems, at national level, in order to ensure the recognition of credits and competences acquired during mobility experiences.
With the final adoption of the Guidelines for the interoperability of public bodies responsible for the National System for Competences Certification (NSCC), referred to in the Interministerial Decree of January 5, 2021, prepared in accordance with the Legislative Decree January 16, 2013, n.13, the minimum standards are defined so that the National System of Competence Certification (NSCC) may be activated and applied on the national territory. In this way, it will be possible to proceed with the activation of services for the identification, validation and certification of competences also acquired through learning mobility experiences.
Recognition of learning outcomes acquired by IVET learners involved in transnational learning mobility is promoted and supported by IVET providers and may be granted on a case-by-case basis according to the specific learning agreements between sending and hosting organisations. Specifically, VET providers can use Europass tools to well document all the competences, qualifications and experiences acquired or increased during the mobility period. In particular, they can use: the supplement to the Europass certificate which provides useful information on professional qualifications (e.g. grades, achievements, training institution) and the Europass Mobility which describes the international experiences and competences acquired during the studies, the work experiences or the voluntary activities abroad.
Through the Europass Contact Point (https://www.anpal.gov.it/europass), established at the National Agency for Active Labour Policies (ANPAL), all the tools of the update version of Europass will be further promoted. In particular, a specific action will be implemented for the use of Europass Mobility.

According to the Interministerial Decree, January 5, 2021 which adopted the Guidelines of the National System for Competences Certification provided by the Legislative Decree January 16, 2013, n.13, for learners returning from mobility experiences, all the organizations of the VET system may include the access to Identification, Validation and, eventually, Certification (IVC) paths for the competences acquired in non-formal and informal contexts. To benefit from this procedure, they must contact the institutions in charge of the IVC procedures of the reference Education and Vocational Training system.

No policy targets have been set for the recognition policy

The recognition approach in place in the country applies to:
• Credit points (partial recognition)
• Units of Learning outcome (partial recognition);
• Qualifications/diplomas/degrees (full recognition)

Recognition of learning outcomes is promoted by VET providers.
In this regard, the MIUR note 843/2013 recalls some fundamental principles such as:
1) students' study and training experiences abroad are an integral part of training and education paths;
2) the experiences abroad are included in the PTOF of the schools as procedures of legal paths provision;
3) the study or training experiences carried out abroad by Italian students (belonging to the education and training system), for periods not exceeding one school year and to be completed before the start of the new school year, are effective for their readmission to the institution of origin and are evaluated for the ballots, according to their consistency with the educational goals provided by the National Indications of the High Schools, the Guidelines of the Technical and Professional Institutes and the Agreements on Education and Vocational Training signed at the State-Regions Conference (see art. 192, paragraph 3 of Legislative Decree 16 April 1994, n. 297 and Note of the General Directorate of School Regulations prot. 2787 of 20 April 2011, Title V).
Regarding the competences acquired in non-formal and informal contexts, the recognition process takes place within the national legal framework of the "National System for Competences Certification" (Legislative Decree 13/2013) and according to what is indicated in the Guidelines for the interoperability of public bodies responsible for the National System for Competences Certification (Interministerial decree of 5th January 2021

There is no time limit set for processing recognition requests.

For the education system, the contact points for recognition are the Regional Education Offices of the Ministry of Education and the ENIC-NARIC national contact points. Visibility of these contact points is ensured through information campaigns based on events, conferences and forums on a monthly basis, and information days held in universities all over Italy.
With regard to the vocational training system within the competence of the Regions and Autonomous Provinces, information activities are provided through the Regional Offices and vocational training centres.
In general, for the IVET system (upper secondary education and Regional VET), actions for information on validation and certification of competences are foreseen within the national legal framework (Legislative Decree 13/2013 on “National System for Competences Certification”).

Each player involved in the visibility policy monitors its own activities, and actions financed with EU funds undergo financial monitoring.

Europass Mobility Document is used by IVET providers to describe skills and competences acquired during the mobility experience. The Document is used by the sending and hosting organisations.

The Europass Certificate Supplement is used by the institutions that issue qualifications at the end of the IVET pathway: education institutions, Regions and Provinces, other public authorities providing IVET. The purpose is to describe the learning outcomes acquired in terms of skills and competences and to indicate the EQF level.

ECVET tools and principles are widespread used within Erasmus+ mobility projects in the VET field. In particular, the ECVET approach is largely adopted by Erasmus+ VET beneficiaries to plan mobility experiences, with the aim of increasing quality in VET mobility and facilitating the recognition of learning outcomes achieved abroad, thus helping learners to capitalise the mobility experiences.

In 2012, Italy has completed the first Referencing Report to EQF of Italian qualifications awarded by public authorities (Ministries and Regions) and recognised at national level. The information on EQF levels of the referenced qualification is included in IVET qualifications and in Europass Certificate Supplement. Institutions that issue qualifications use EQF level to indicate the learning outcomes acquired by learners.

Italy has legally established the NQF on the 8th January 2018, via a decree, signed by the Ministry of Labour, by the then Ministry of Education, University and Research, and the Regions, and published in the Official Journal. It is a comprehensive framework and was the result of a lengthy process, involving a broad range of stakeholders; technical work and reforms for its implementation were carried out over the past decade.
After the adoption stage during which the NQF has been officially established and the roles and responsibilities between different stakeholders have been formally defined, two other important challenges are going to be finalised in order to make the NQF operational: the updating of the first National Referencing Report to EQF planned by the end of 2021 (in progress) and the establishment of the referencing procedures of all qualifications awarded at national and regional level to the NQF.

The recognition mechanism/process is monitored.
The Italian Authorities responsible for monitoring the recognition process and mechanism are the Ministry of Education (for schools), the Ministry of University and Research (for Universities) and the Regions for VET targets in IVET mobility provided at Regional level.
To foster international student mobility, the Ministry of Education allows validation of the school year, semester or trimester spent abroad through specific regulations and ministerial circulars. In particular, note n. 843 of 10.04.2013 disciplines international student mobility and highlights that study and training experiences abroad shall be considered as essential components of education and training paths.
The note requests schools to facilitate exchanges, by agreeing on a curriculum focused on single students, admitted to the following year once they come back from the exchange, without having to sit any exam, as it is expected in different cases. Moreover, families shall pre-emptively agree with the Italian school on the reintegration at the end of the school year or semester abroad. Therefore, exchange experience does not, by law, compromise admission to the following year in the Education institutions once students come back to Italy.
More generally, study or training experiences abroad by Italian students in education or training, for periods not exceeding one school year and concluded before the beginning of the new school year, are valid for re-admission in the sending institution and are evaluated for the purpose of final assessment, on the basis of their consistency with the educational objectives set out by the National guidelines for high schools (Licei), the Guidelines for Vocational and Training Institutions and the Agreements on Vocational and Educational Training approved by State-Regions. Since experiences abroad have a high educational potential – and they shall not be considered as absence during the school year – Education institutions are sensitized to foster such experiences.

Recognition of learning acquired abroad by IVET learners is possible in Italy.
The existing approach to recognition is based on Europass tools, i.e. the supplement to the Europass certificate (as it provides useful information on professional qualifications, e.g. grades, achievements, training institution), and the Europass Mobility (which describes the international experiences and competences acquired during the studies, the work experiences or the voluntary activities abroad). The approach also makes use of ECVET for credit transfer.
An Interministerial Decree of 5 January 2021 streamlined the recognition process for learners returning from mobility experiences. Still, the recognition process is not – at this stage – subject to a time limit for processing recognition requests.
On top of Europass and ECVET, other EU tools in increasing use in the country for the visibility, transfer and recognition of the learning outcomes acquired abroad by IVET learners are the NQF/EQF and the learning outcomes approach.
The recognition process is nationwide coordinated in that it is operated within the framework of a set of national laws and regulations.
Actions have been undertaken to make visible the contact points where users can get information on recognition. However, while the visibility of these contact points in general education is ensured through monthly information campaigns and information days held in universities all over Italy, there is no mention of any such systematic visibility policy for the contact points on recognition in the VET system. It is also unclear how the evaluation of the existing visibility actions is ensured.
Finally, no policy targets have been set for the recognition policy, and the evaluation of activities in this policy strand is not complete and systematic. Addressing these issues in future could allow for valuable progress to further promote international mobility in IVET.

The different target and mission of the partners involved and their common goal are the elements for a successful mobility experience. According to the provisions of the EU Recommendation on Vocational Education and Training (2020), Italy will support all the necessary actions to encourage partnerships and networks that involve both the strategic actors of the VET system as well as those of the labour market and the third sector and the social partners, to improve planning and implementation of transnational mobility.

As regards the implementation of strategies aimed to activate specific partnerships, important for the planning and implementation of mobility projects for young people included in initial Vocational Education and Training courses, and the fundraising actions, the central and local administrations operate in a diversified way, according to the rules of the funding sources and to their role defined by the governance of the IVET system.
Specifically, regarding the Erasmus+ Programme, the National Agencies Inapp and Indire carry out a widespread action of technical assistance to favour partnerships within projects and a proper management of funding.

The experience gained over the years in the field of transnational mobility, acquired thanks to the different European funding mechanisms that contributed in promoting it and making it an extraordinary important activity in the learning pathways, has shown that the full success of this action can be reached thanks to the establishment of an effective and cohesive partnership network both at national and transnational level.

Regarding the Erasmus+ Programme, the key action 2 “Partnerships for cooperation” allows to finance projects that, in some cases and based on specific European priorities, could be also aimed to create networks and partnerships able to elaborate and share tools and methodologies finalised to enhance the mobility experiences to implement within the key action 1. Even in this case, Italy capitalizes the opportunities offered by the European level adapting them to the national needs. For example, the Erasmus+ Agencies organize “Info Days”, open to all VET organisations.
As regards the PCTO and the possibility to implement some activities included in this field also in a foreign country (transnational mobility), a National Register of the Chambers of Commerce with companies available to host students is about to be set.

The Erasmus+ Agency monitors the transnational project partnership financed at national level.
With specific regard to the Erasmus+ Programme, the National Agencies are aimed at ensuring that the activities of the national and transnational partnerships set up for the implementation of the projects are consistent with the objectives of the projects. The Erasmus+ Agencies carry out specific monitoring and evaluation activities also through on-site visits to the organisation to whom the funding is provided. Monitoring and evaluation of the quality of the work of the networks of national and transactional partners is also a fundamental element for the definition of good practices to capitalize and to reproduce.

In Italy, there are different national and European channels aimed at increasing as much as possible the amount of young people who can benefit from mobility for learning purposes. For example, there is an increasing effort in using the European Social Fund both at regional and national level. The National Operational Programme 2014-2020 (called “Per la Scuola: competenze e ambienti per l’apprendimento”) of the Ministry of Education, financed scholarships for transnational mobility and internships projects within the PCTO in general (both at upper secondary and higher non-academic VET levels).
Regarding the European funds within the ITS field, starting from 2015, entrance year in the Erasmus+ Programme, international mobility has registered an increase: the number of participants has doubled: moving from 12 to 25.
However, the largest amount of young people in the IVET system is intercepted in order to join a mobility project for learning purposes through the Erasmus+ Programme promoted by the two National Agencies, Inapp and Indire.

Regarding funding, Italy achieved a great result thanks to the implementation of learning mobility experiences mostly through the Erasmus+ Programme and the forerunner Programmes of Erasmus+.
Italy will keep on developing this experience through financial support for the new Erasmus+ 2021-2027 Programme and the promotion of its complementarity with other European funds, in particular, the ESF+.
Furthermore, as in the past, the mobility actions will be further implemented also through national funding.
Checks on the funding for young people mobility are carried out according to the rules and procedures established by both European and national funding sources.
The conclusions of auditing and monitoring activities are duly taken into account by the competent authorities in relation to each source of funding.
As regards, for example, the Erasmus+ Programme, checks are carried out by the National Agencies.
In any case, any irregularities are highlighted and, if necessary, reported.

Regarding the Erasmus+ Programme, the National Agencies are in charge of regularly providing the proper technical assistance to the organisations, through kick-off meetings, mailing services and help desks, both during the design phase, in order to ensure the correct draft of the work and financial plan, and in the management phase of approved project, in order to ensure compliance with the financial rules of the Programme, fairness in spending and achievement of the expected goals.
Besides, many mobility projects promoted by Regions include specific actions aimed at supporting tutors and other staff involved.

The quality and support provided to organizations for the mobility projects implementation is subject to monitoring and evaluation by the competent authorities.
For example, as regards the Erasmus+ Programme, the activities of the National Agencies Inapp and Indire in supporting the bodies and structures, in the mobility projects implementation, are monitored and evaluated by the respective National Authorities (Ministry of Labour and Ministry of Education). This evaluation guarantees the continuous improvement of the services provided and ensures to the Commission the conformity with the established rules.

Although the relating information presented in this fiche is very limited, Italy has in place actions to support companies and IVET institutions in the creation of partnerships and networks and in organising international mobility projects. Actions to fund IVET learners for their international learning mobility are also in place. However, although some of these support actions are subject to monitoring, systematic and complete evaluation of policies in this area is lacking. Precise and verifiable policy targets for actions in this strand are also missing, and countrywide coordination of initiatives is not complete and systematic. In future, it could be considered putting in place, for all support policies in this area, a full-fledged regular evaluation (and also make it clear what the evaluation system put in place is), including translating monitoring activities into recommendations that are actually implemented and improve the next generation of actions over time. Setting up precise and verifiable policy targets for partnerships and funding actions as well as processes for complete and systematic coordination of activities should be considered as well.

Many actions are active at local, regional and national level, aimed at promoting the mobility in initial Vocational Education and Training paths and motivating young people and families to undertake such experience.
The previous Comenius and Leonardo da Vinci Programmes (implemented as part of the Lifelong learning Programme in the period 2000-2013) and the Erasmus+ Programme 2014-2020 have contributed to building in Italy a shared culture on the benefit of mobility in education paths and initial professional training.
For this reason, nowadays, there is a greater awareness among young people on the opportunities that this experience offers, regarding both the progress in knowledge and skills coherent to the study and training path, and the personal growth in terms of autonomy, self-esteem, decision-making capacity, resilience, and active citizenship.
Different institutions are responsible for and active in fostering a mobility culture through mainstreaming mobility opportunities into all learning contexts or promoting greater social recognition of the value of learning mobility. For example, the Ministry of Education is responsible for developing the mobility culture and added value of learning mobility in all the national educational system.
Also the Ministry of Labour recognizes the strategic relevance of the mobility culture, supports and encourages the activities of the National Agency Erasmus+ for VET, in order to increase the number of mobility projects and to guarantee to take advantage from this experience, by an increasing number of young people; promotes the importance of mobility at local level in the context of vocational education and training activities in compliance with the roles and responsibilities of the Regions and Autonomous Provinces; and, contributes to build a culture on the value of mobility also thanks to the establishment of networks and relationships with social partners and all VET stakeholders.

Given the specificities of the Vocational Education and Training System, all the actors have a strategic role in assuring an improvement in knowledge and in sharing the added value given by transnational mobility; each one in relation to its sector of competence and according to its role with regards to national and European sources of funding.

As far as IVET mobility is concerned, awareness raising and mobility culture evaluation instruments are more complex, also due to the many VET organisations able to send students and staff abroad.
The evaluation process is structured within the initial education system which is nationally managed by the Ministry of Education and regional and local offices, and implemented by individual schools, VET centres and universities.
For instance, regarding the Erasmus+ Programme, the monitoring and the evaluation of data shows the growing interest in mobility for learning purposes. The National Agencies estimate the increase in awareness based on criteria that they apply as performance indicators in their work program and in their monitoring reports, e.g.:
- Huge increase in request for assistance and counselling by potential partners and promoters of mobility projects;
- Growth of the number of applications for funding;
- Growth of the number of seminars, workshops, events aimed at involving new potential partners;
- Increase of approved mobility projects and of young people participating in mobility experience abroad.

The country has not set out any policy targets in terms of motivation.

Italy has actions for raising awareness about existing mobility opportunities, however it is unclear whether and how these actions touch the core topic of raising the awareness of learners about the added value of mobility. The country report suggests that the actions undertaken have developed youngsters' awareness of the mobility benefits in terms of " autonomy, self-esteem, decision-making capacity, resilience, and active citizenship", but does not document which actions exactly have aimed to highlight these benefits, how they managed to influence young people, and the evidence of increase in awarenness over time. The report also mentions actions to foster a mobility culture, but fails to provide any substantial and precise description of such actions. The existing actions are reported to be coordinated and evaluated, although not in a systematic manner. There is also no clear description of the evaluation system in place. The country has not set out any policy targets in terms of motivation. Steps for future progress in this area could include: developing actions targeted at raising the awareness of learners and their families about the added value of mobility (e.g. in terms of self-fulfilment; development of professional, linguistic, social and intercultural competencies; creativity; active citizenship; future employability; learning about working practices, problem solving, resilience, being a team player; autonomy, self-confidence, etc.), i.e. not only raising the awareness about mobility opportunities; developing a mobility culture in particular through mainstreaming mobility opportunities into all learning contexts and fostering the social recognition of the value of mobility; setting up benchmarks in the motivation policy; and making policy coordination and evaluation in this area systematic, complete and topic-specific.

The preparatory activities for mobility are a fundamental phase to make young people benefit the maximum result from this experience. The focus of these actions is strictly connected with the type of mobility carried out. In general, the preparatory actions undertaken concern:
- the linguistic and cultural skills development, both for general and professional purposes. Linguistic-vocational skills concern in particular young people who participate in a learning mobility also for work purposes (e.g., within the Erasmus+ Programme, VET field). The cultural skills are strategic for understanding the socio-cultural context where the young person is going to live.
- the strengthening of vocational knowledge, skills, and competences with regards to the working context where the young person will be placed. This kind of activity is functional to strengthen some aspects that constitute part of the study curriculum and that can help young people in the moment of placement in a foreign company for the mobility period.
In Italy, those organizations sending young people in mobility through the Erasmus+ Programme must ensure that the youngsters can access the required preparation opportunities before departure. With regard, for example, to the linguistic and intercultural competences, to Erasmus+ students and learners is given the opportunity to access a free platform designed by the European Commission (Online Linguistic Support - OLS) which allows online language learning and is specifically shaped for participants in the Erasmus+ Programme and the European Solidarity Corps (university students, Education and Vocational Training students (VET mobility), Erasmus+ volunteers, etc.). Thanks to OLS, young Italians can check the level of language knowledge that they will use during their experience abroad and then they will be allowed to access a language course through the OLS platform. The platform currently offers the above opportunity for 24 languages.
In recent years and, in particular, nowadays following the pandemic due to Covid-19, in Italy, different initiatives aimed at the development of digital tools and related skills have increased, specially focusing on the development of the so-called virtual mobility. In the second half of 2020, as part of the Erasmus+ Programme, the European Commission launched a call for projects for the use of technologies in the learning processes and, in particular, facing also the topic of virtual mobility. The projects submitted in Italy are numerous and, in the future, it will be necessary to pay more attention in this regard and, accordingly, to foresee the development of the most appropriate digital skills in order to use as much as possible technologies also for mobility.
Regarding some methodologies for linguistic learning applied in schools, the Ministry of Education has managed to improve foreign language knowledge thanks to the implementation of the CLIL-INDIRE (Content and Language Integrated Learning method).
The Content and Language Integrated Learning method (so-called CLIL) refers to situations where subjects are taught through a foreign language with dual-focused aims, namely the learning of content, and the simultaneous learning of a foreign language. This approach involves learning subjects such as history, geography or others, through an additional language. It can be very successful in enhancing the learning of languages and other subjects and developing in the youngsters a positive 'can do' attitude towards themselves as language learners (Marsh, D. 2002).
In Italy, the Ministry of Education fosters and follows the introduction of the CLIL learning method through several actions, like:
- the surveys conducted within the Eurydice network on topics that involve foreign languages and the CLIL method.
- the “GOLD” system, an archive of scholastic experiences that allowed to gather and share best practices regarding the CLIL method.
- the “eTwinning” platform that allows exchanges and virtual twinning among schools from different countries that collaborate on diverse themes, as the CLIL.
As regards to investments in language learning preparatory for transnational mobility within regional projects, they are more varied and complex, as different language learning activities are organised and monitored.
Internationalization of the curricula of the Initial VET pathways.
According to the new training policies for young people, through school to work transition experiences, from 2017 all schools and educational institutions are allowed to plan, manage and evaluate international mobility projects aimed at fostering the internationalization of the curricula of the Initial VET pathways; manly thought working experiences, PCTO and traineeships abroad. For example, schools can directly select the hosting organisations and the competences to achieve.

There is no coordination at national level on preparatory activities for the mobility of young people included in IVET pathways. This is due to the complex governance of the IVET system in Italy so that each responsible central or regional administration has a specific role, also according to the specific sources of funding.

There are no univocal criteria for evaluating preparatory actions.

The country has not set up any policy targets for the preparation policy

Students and learners can be informed about the existing preparation actions and the way to access them through the official information and communication channels that the beneficiaries of mobility projects prepare to properly inform the young people selected to participate in those experiences. In general, the direct contact with learners and students are ensured by project leaders who are responsible also for the selection and preparation of the mobility participants.

Systematic surveys on digital competences connected to mobility for learning purposes are ensured at the lower level of single projects or groups of projects and are under responsibilities of local partners and organisations.
For example, some projects have been realised in Italy, also financed by the Erasmus+ Programme (Key Action 2), aimed at studying and deepening the use of digital technology and virtual mobility. It is likely that in the future specific in-depth studies on this topic and its relationship with the experiences of mobility will be further brought forward.

Italy has taken steps to provide IVET learners with linguistic and digital preparation for mobility from the early stages of education. Steps for introducing in the IVET curriculum pedagogical methods in use abroad are in force since 2017. The existing actions are coordinated and monitored, although not in a systematic and complete manner. Actions to inform potential users on the existence of the long-term linguistic preparation actions exist, as well as actions to collect the feedback of users on the long-term digital preparation mechanisms. However, the country has not set up any policy targets for the preparation policy. Further progress in future might require to set up such targets and make policy coordination and evaluation systematic in this area. In addition, it could be considered reinforcing learners’ involvement in the effective run of the policy through making sure that (a) all potential users know about the variety of existing preparation mechanisms – not only part of them – and how to access them; (b) room is made for users to give feedback on the preparation mechanisms; and (c) the use of the mechanisms is monitored, so as to accordingly readjust and improve the said mechanisms as necessary over time.

The quality of mobility is closely connected with an adequate preparation of the mobility, with assiduous in itinere monitoring measures and with a necessary ex-post evaluation.
For the sending organisation (school or training centre) a feedback from mobility participants constitutes a fundamental moment in the process of improving the training supply and the mobility experience.
In response to the VET Recommendation, thanks to the EQAVET National Contact Point, Italy will ensure that research and enhancement of quality in the VET systems will be also translated, on a practical level, in the improvement of the mobility experiences.

A necessary and important aspect to verify the quality of the mobility experiences is represented by the ex-post check on the beneficiaries’ satisfaction (young people), in particular on the impact that this experience had on their study and, eventually, work path, as on the organisations (schools, vocational training centres, etc.) which managed that projects.
In this direction goes the experience carried out since 2017 by the Erasmus+ National Agency for VET, through a specific survey on the VET Mobility.
The study aimed at verifying the impact of mobility experiences on organisations and individuals participating in the Erasmus+ Programme (VET field), involved in the finalised projects related to 5 Calls (the last two of the Lifelong Learning Programme Leonardo da Vinci, 2012-2013 and the first three of Erasmus+ Programme, 2014-2015-2016). A specific online questionnaire was submitted through CAWI methodology to around 300 beneficiary organisations and 28.000 participants (25.612 learners and 2.957 staff). The impact of mobility projects on organisations resulted generally very positive and improvements on several aspects were registered. As for participants, the mobility experience impacted at least on two main dimensions: the cognitive one (through the development of soft and communication skills) and the socio-economic dimension (through the possibility of acquiring a greater competitiveness on the labour market, improving opportunities for job placement).
Also the impact on beneficiary organisations generally resulted very positive and improvements on several aspects were registered in terms of development of partnership networks, widening of national consortium, improvement of the international strategy and improvement of competences of the staff involved in transnational activities.
The report containing the main results of this survey is available at the following link: https://oa.Inapp.org/bitstream/handle/123456789/753/INAPP_Grisoni_Mobil….

Assuring the quality in the implementation of transnational mobility projects is an essential part in the more general framework of the quality of the Education and Vocational Training systems. The coordination of such strategy is defined starting from what is indicated in the National Plan for the Quality assurance of the education and training system (NPQ) of Italy.
The NPQ lies in the Italian context characterised by the presence of multiple institutional actors, at national and regional level, who in various ways contribute to the implementation of the system's quality assurance. Therefore, the Plan is an institutional framework which brings together and makes synergic the multiplicity of measures already existing for the quality assurance of the education and training system, to guarantee homogeneous choices and devices, assuring also the stakeholders autonomy on decisions on further developments and territorial declinations.
Starting from the mapping of the current situation, the Plan aims to reduce and prevent training failure and drop out through the continuous improvement of the training supply, the promotion of a culture of quality systems, and the implementation of procedures and tools to ensure the quality of the training provided.

In principle, the evaluation of the quality of the mobility experiences is carried out by the institutions (schools, vocational training centres, etc.) that send abroad young people included into IVET pathways. This evaluation can be done on the basis of the criteria, indicators and parameters defined within the mobility project by the partners of the network that obtained the funding (as it happens for e.g. for the Erasmus+ projects) or on the basis of criteria standardised and set by the central administrations.

In Italy, investment in the quality of transnational mobility is a strategic factor in the broader process of modernization of the education and vocational training system and to guarantee a training and educational supply of quality and flexible and coherent with users' needs and labour market expectations.
The national policy on the quality of the training supply in Italy is defined starting from what is indicated in the National Plan for the Quality assurance of the Education and Training system (NPQ).

All students and learners are mainly informed about the linguistic and intercultural preparation actions, by specific advice included in the calls for the selection of candidates for mobility projects issued by the respective promoters (e.g. Universities, schools, regional administrations, VET organisations, etc).
As concerns Erasmus+, information about the minimum language requirements and the main pathways for accessing to the linguistic preparation is available on the Agencies' websites. The Agencies also guarantee a direct information service and technical assistance to potential participant. Selected participants can also access the language/intercultural preparation ensured by OLS platform. More detailed and practical information are provided by the promoters of the single mobility projects, that generally include linguistic preparation in their projects' design.

As concerns the Erasmus+ Agencies Inapp (VET field) and Indire (school and university fields), they plan and apply feedback and data collection regarding the results of the projects carried out; moreover, many occasions are supported (e.g. fairs, conferences, seminars, meetings, etc.) during which to mobility actors (both kind of beneficiaries, as for e.g. young people and organizations) are given the opportunity to talk and present their experience.
Moreover, every year the National Agency Erasmus+ VET field promotes throughout seminars and other form of advertising a more intensive use of the "Erasmus+ platform for dissemination and exploitation of projects results" accessible from the website, useful for good practices exchange among beneficiaries and final users (learners).

The efficiency of these provisions are basically dependent from the quality of the organisations that promote and manage the mobility actions.

Any surveys on linguistic and cultural preparation are activated by the sending organisations that organise mobility projects for their learners. However, all depends also on the specificity of the project and on the funding rules that allow the implementation of the mobility.

No survey available at national level

The Ministry of Education has promoted dedicated projects within the National Operational Programme “For school: competences and environments for learning”, aimed at enhancing the linguistic competences and the school-work alternance with traineeships abroad.
With regards to the Erasmus+ Programme, within the mobility projects, it is possible to assess the improvement in the acquired language skills.

The most relevant information comes from final questionnaires filled by students at the end of their experience and generally the feedback is considered with duly attention by institutions and promoters.

It is possible to say that an impact/ assessment measurement process is in place in Italy, operating at research and methodological level, due to the experimental contributions coming from Universities and Public Research Institutes (like Inapp and Indire) and specific organisations (like those of the National Agencies Erasmus+). The results of these contributions generally provide useful advice and suggestions to policymakers and institutions about setting up a formal impact measurement process.
Some good examples can be found in surveys published in the last years by the National Agency Erasmus+ VET field (previously National Agency LLP Leonardo da Vinci) that provides in depth analysis aimed at recognising the added value of the projects financed, in the past by the Lifelong Learning Programme - Leonardo da Vinci and now by the Erasmus+ Programme, in terms of return of mobility.
Some examples are:
- Accountability and transferability of good practices (available on permanent link https://oa.Inapp.org/bitstream/handle/123456789/582/INAPP_Trani_Buone_P…).
- Transnational mobility and enterprises: the experience of Leonardo da Vinci (available on permanent link https://oa.Inapp.org/bitstream/handle/123456789/753/INAPP_Grisoni_Mobil…).
Anyway, many other relevant information is coming from the final reports collected by each project promoter and by questionnaires filled by learners at the end of their experience. In general, these feedbacks are considered with duly attention by stakeholders and responsible institutions.

no impact measurement/ assessments on these issues available at national level

Italy has actions to ensure the quality of mobility opportunities through providing learners with pre-stay linguistic preparation and collecting post-stay feedback. The monitoring processes and the provision to mobile learners of convenient and affordable transportation, accommodation and catering are left to the discretion of the sending institutions.
The existing quality actions are coordinated nationwide within the framework of the National Plan for the Quality Assurance of the Education and Training System. These actions are monitored, although not in a systematic, topic-specific focused and complete manner. Actions to make the quality mechanisms known to potential users and collect users’ feedback are in place. However, no identifiable policy targets for mobility quality are reported. Identifying – or setting up if they do not yet exist – such targets could be considered for future progress. Making systematic the procedures for stay monitoring and the provision of transportation, accommodation and catering, and the processes for the evaluation of the quality policy could certainly be a valuable step forward too.

The identification of financial support measures aimed to assure, to young people enrolled in initial Vocational Education and Training pathways, the opportunity to participate in mobility actions is a specific concern of all the actors responsible for these activities.
Considering that in many cases, mobility is implemented through specific European funding channels, the resources allocated, in most cases, are not sufficient to ensure the necessary sustenance of the young person living abroad for a certain period. For this reason, more and more frequently, families must provide for an integration fund to the "mobility grant" to assure that the stay abroad is adequate to the needs of the everyday life of the young person.
An intervention in this sense is sometimes necessary in order to avoid that the economic aspect becomes an important deterrent to the opportunity to participate in a mobility experience for young people.
In this regard, it is important to remark that poverty is a complex phenomenon, often not linked only to the lack of income but also connected with the access to opportunities and, therefore, with the opportunity to fully participate in the economic and social life of the country and, in this specific case, also to the learning opportunity. National policies in this direction are part of a more general national strategy to combat poverty that concerns, in particular, individuals belonging to weaker family and social backgrounds; to whom are addressed, at national level, measures of different nature aimed at social inclusion (e.g. citizenship income).
With regards to the measures useful to guarantee the right to study and in general to education, with the Legislative Decree 13 April 2017, n. 63, are defined the provisions to guarantee the effectiveness of the right to education through the definition of the services, in relation to personal services, with particular reference to the hardship conditions of young people and their families and to core services, as well as the strengthening of the student card.
At the moment, no specific interventions are foreseen for the mobility of young people in initial VET.
IVET students may be awarded financial assistance provided by the Ministry of Education, Regions, VET institutions or the private sector.

The grants may be targeted to:
- compensate socio-economic inequalities;
- re-motivate to study and tackle early school leaving;
- promote first inclusion in the world of work;
- develop autonomy and independence.

Funding is mainly provided at national level by the Ministry of Education, and at regional level by Regions. VET Institutions and the private sector may also contribute.

The amount of grants depends on the economic conditions of families. The "ISEE" level (a synthetic set of data that indicates the economic condition of each family) is the selection criteria. ISEE is the "Indicator of Equivalent Economic Situation of families" which must be certified by the financial authorities and presented, if requested, to demonstrate the family ability (or not) to pay and therefore access to certain social benefits and public services on favourable terms available to low-income families.

All types of financial assistance provided according to welfare or social policies in Italy have a complete portability abroad in the context of mobility projects.

The personal portability of the individual performance is guaranteed mainly by the public social and welfare system.

No countrywide coordination of portability mechanisms, and there are no plans to set up any.

The existing portability mechanisms are not monitored, and there are no plans to develop any monitoring or evaluation process.

No targets/benchmarks for the portability policy have been set.

Italy has in place financial support measures for its IVET learners. These support funds are portable abroad. However, the portability policy is not coordinated countrywide. It is also not evaluated. The country has also not set up any targets/benchmarks for its portability policy. Addressing these shortcomings could be considered in future. Further steps which could also be considered include makingsure that all potential users know about the opportunities that are offered to them in terms of portability (and how to benefit from them).
It would also be useful to make room for users to give feedback on the portability mechanism upon having experienced it and monitoring the use and practice of the said mechanism so as to readjust and improve it accordingly over time as necessary.

In Italy, the concept of "disadvantage" in VET is considered in a very broad sense as the conditions for which it may be difficult for some young people to access education and training opportunities and learning mobility, maybe of a different nature.
These conditions include for example 1) mental, physical, sensory or, other disabilities; 2) learning difficulties, school drop-outs, low qualifications, underachievement; 3) economic obstacles (e.g. low income, long-term unemployment or poverty, families with debts or financial problems); 4) cultural differences (e.g. immigrants or refugees, national minorities or financial problems). 4) cultural differences (e.g. immigrants or refugees, national or ethnic minorities, difficulties in linguistic or cultural adaptation; 5) people with chronic health problems, severe clinical or psychiatric conditions; 6) social obstacles of different kinds (e.g. victims of discrimination due to gender, age, ethnicity, religion, gender orientation, etc.); 7) young people in precarious situations (e.g. former criminals, (ex)alcohol or drug addicts, etc.); 8) geographical obstacles (e.g. people from remote or rural areas, etc.).

Any mobility project must be open to disadvantaged people and must ensure their access. Individual needs, according to the specific individual situation (tutors and carers, special busses and travel aids, medical support, etc.) are calculated and budgeted in advance during the planning phase. These costs will be borne by the project provided that they were foreseen in the budget.
Different measures in terms of funding are in place.
As a general rule, all types of grants for young people with disabilities or other specific problems formally recognized by National and/or Regional Public Authorities, and regularly provided by the Social Security System (and its Institutions like INPS) are maintained during the participation in a mobility project. Moreover, each international mobility project, organized by the Regions or any other authorized stakeholder, provides for the cost of special services (like accompaniment and support for disadvantaged and disabled people).
With specific regard to the Erasmus+ Programme, as is known, it promotes equity and inclusion, facilitating access to participants from disadvantaged backgrounds and with fewer opportunities in those cases where the “disadvantage” limits or prevents participation in transnational activities for various reasons (e.g. disability, learning difficulties, economic obstacles, cultural differences, health problems, social and also geographical obstacles). In this perspective, in Italy, the bodies active within the Programme are urged by the National Agencies, but also by the Ministries responsible for the functioning of the Programme itself, to develop transnational project initiatives which are as inclusive as possible, and which guarantee the maximum participation of disadvantaged people.
Moreover, the Erasmus+ Programme provides specific financial support to ensure that all young people can benefit from the opportunity offered by mobility.
The National Erasmus+ Agency for VET, for example, organizes annual events to promote mobility under the programme by specific bodies, organisations and, centres dealing with disadvantaged people of all kinds. Mobility experiences are therefore manifold.
Many projects, including those of Erasmus+ - Key Action 2, are funded precisely to investigate and explore the different aspects of internationalisation strategies in VET as a resource for social and educational activities aimed at disadvantaged target groups while promoting the exchange of experiences and cooperation aimed at developing new project applications designed at this type of subject.
To promote equity and inclusion, different actions are undertaken in Italy to facilitate access to study and mobility for young people from difficult socio-economic backgrounds and/or with physical and health problems. In some cases, there are specific national and European actions and measures to support young people in their mobility experiences.
As mobility contributes not only to acquire skills needed in the labour market but represents also the means of re-motivation to study, combating early school leaving, entry into the world of work, social integration, and the development of autonomy and independence, in the future, it will be necessary to expand instruments and investments to support the most vulnerable.
With the new Erasmus+ Programme 2021-2027, all necessary strategies will be implemented in the future to ensure that even young people who do not enjoy any form of "economic support" from their families can have the opportunity to get an experience abroad.

There is no countrywide coordination of the measures in place.

At the end of each mobility project, the specific financial audit bodies at national and/or regional level generally check the correct use of the additional resources eventually dedicated to disadvantaged learners' participation.

No policy targets/benchmarks have been set for the actions in support to the mobility of disadvantaged learners.

The main Italian stakeholders provide monitoring activities on this matter. For example, the Ministry of Education and the National Erasmus+ Agencies provide data on the participation of people with disabilities. Other interesting data are collected through monitoring activities, surveys and statistics regularly managed by INPS, INAIL and the Ministry of Health.
For what concerns the VET system, Regions and regional school districts have a map of the participation and of the results achieved.

Italy has in place funding measures to support the mobility of disadvantaged IVET learners. These measures are subject to financial auditing. The country has not set up any policy targets for its actions. Steps which could be considered for further progress in future include developing differentiated actions in terms of – among others – information and guidance, motivation, long-term and pre-stay preparation, and use of multipliers, in order to further support the mobility of disadvantaged IVET learners. It could also be considered setting up targets/benchmarks for this policy, along with processes for making policy coordination and evaluation in the area complete (beyond just financial auditing), systematic and topic-specific. Other possible steps could include making sure that all potential users know about the opportunities offered to them through this policy (and how to benefit from them); making room for users to give feedback on the measures upon having experienced them; and monitoring the use and practice of the said measures so as to readjust and improve them accordingly over time as necessary.

In Italy, it has been verified and experimented that it can be strategic to have an experience presented by subjects who have experienced it first hand; for this reason, the involvement in the network of partners of "multiplier" subjects, with the function of promoting and enhancing an experience, is frequently adopted.
Many actions are taken to ensure that every good practice is known and possibly, with the necessary adaptations, reproduced and disseminated. To this end, for example, it is essential the contribution of multipliers as witnesses of their own experience that is very often called for in promotional activities by schools/universities and VET projects leaders for supporting the involvement of new participants.
As regards the Erasmus+ Programme, an example could be the testimony of young Erasmus+ students at the Conference "Erasmus+ and the Future of Europe", which the National Erasmus+ Agencies Indire, Inapp and ANG organized to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Programme.
Another example brought forward by the Erasmus+ Programme is the experience launched during the period of the Covid-19 pandemic, called "A coffee with Erasmus and surroundings", promoted by the Erasmus+ National Agency Indire, in collaboration with EPALE Italia, and aimed at bringing together some of the protagonists of the initiatives promoted by the Programme over time and who have now consolidated a network of people whose stories, journeys, challenges faced and overcome, represent a small heritage to understand the value of cultivating “a mind open to change”.
Further initiatives of this kind will be promoted in the future to foster and promote the value of mobility and the ability to reach as many young people as possible.

Although there is no formally defined strategy for coordinating policies aimed at replicating mobility experiences, it is strongly advocated, on the part of central and regional administrations and all stakeholders, that mobility project organisations design specific actions aimed at ensuring both the dissemination of the experiences implemented and their valorisation to the wider public. The network of partners with whom the project is implemented also plays a strategic role with regards to this function.
Very often it can happen, but it does not always occur that way, that the coordination of initiatives is organised in a more structured way by universities and bigger mobility promoters.
Local level coordination can be found in regional projects, as well. Among, several national example, there are the pilots carried out by Regions like Veneto and Lombardia, where tutors and workers of companies are involved in job training of trainees in mobility.

IVET mobility stakeholders issue annual monitoring reports, but this specific theme is not always examined in a systematic way.

No policy targets/benchmarks have been set for the actions in the multipliers area.

Through teachers, trainers, families, young people who have participated in a mobility experience, Italy mobilises multipliers to motivate IVET learners for considering going on mobility, to exchange views and experiences with not yet mobile learners and to inspire and motivate them to become mobile. The existing actions are to some extent coordinated countrywide. However, Italy has not set up any policy targets/benchmarks for its actions in this area. Steps for progress which could be considered in future include developing ways for valuing the commitment of staff who organise mobility activities; mainstreaming mobility into the initial training and continuous professional development of staff and heads of VET institutions; setting up policy targets/benchmarks for the area and making policy coordination and evaluation in the area systematic, complete and topic-specific focused. Further steps which could also be considered include making sure that the mechanisms put in place and the opportunities thus open (and how to benefit from them) are visible to all potential users/beneficiaries; making room for users to give feedback on the said mechanisms upon having experienced them; and monitoring the use and practice of the mechanisms so as to readjust and improve them accordingly over time as necessary.

Information and guidance: Italy provides IVET learners with information on international learning mobility. However, this provision does not comprise a systematic coverage of personalised advice, counselling and guidance for their international learning mobility. The provision is also not coordinated countrywide as IVET in secondary education and VET under the responsibility of Regions operate separately and regional policies differ. There have been actions to improve this provision, and these actions undergo some monitoring. There are no countrywide policy targets in terms of IVET mobility related information and guidance. For further progress in this area, it could be considered setting up such policy targets. Enhancing a mechanism for the provision of personalised advice, counselling and guidance to IVET learners for their international mobility should be also considered. Putting in place countrywide coordination of the provision as well as systematic policy evaluation in the area would constitute a significant step forward.

Institutional and administrative issues: Although participation in international mobility is not a systematic requirement for IVET learners, Italy has adopted the EU benchmark according to which 8% of IVET learners will participate in international mobility, and commits to provide these mobility participants with all the necessary support to that end. 
The country has in place measures to facilitate the delivery of visas to IVET learners from third countries. The conditions for the mobility of minor IVET learners have been kept sufficiently low to avoid hampering their mobility. However, although changes seem to be under consideration, no specific measures have been taken yet to reduce the administrative burdens induced by organising mobility. In future, it could be considered checking on the ground – e.g. through users/stakeholders surveys – the existence of needs for such measures and putting them in place as appropriate. Setting up verifiable policy targets as well as systematic and complete countrywide coordination and evaluation of policies in this policy strand (and making clear what the evaluation system consists in) could also be a good step forward.


Recognition: Recognition of learning acquired abroad by IVET learners is possible in Italy.
The existing approach to recognition is based on Europass tools, i.e. the supplement to the Europass certificate (as it provides useful information on professional qualifications, e.g. grades, achievements, training institution), and the Europass Mobility (which describes the international experiences and competences acquired during the studies, the work experiences or the voluntary activities abroad). The approach also makes use of ECVET for credit transfer.
An Interministerial Decree of 5 January 2021 streamlined the recognition process for learners returning from mobility experiences. Still, the recognition process is not – at this stage – subject to a time limit for processing recognition requests.
On top of Europass and ECVET, other EU tools in increasing use in the country for the visibility, transfer and recognition of the learning outcomes acquired abroad by IVET learners are the NQF/EQF and the learning outcomes approach.
The recognition process is nationwide coordinated in that it is operated within the framework of a set of national laws and regulations.
Actions have been undertaken to make visible the contact points where users can get information on recognition. However, while the visibility of these contact points in general education is ensured through monthly information campaigns and information days held in universities all over Italy, there is no mention of any such systematic visibility policy for the contact points on recognition in the VET system. It is also unclear how the evaluation of the existing visibility actions is ensured.
Finally, no policy targets have been set for the recognition policy, and the evaluation of activities in this policy strand is not complete and systematic. Addressing these issues in future could allow for valuable progress to further promote international mobility in IVET.

Partnerships and funding: Although the relating information presented in this fiche is very limited, Italy has in place actions to support companies and IVET institutions in the creation of partnerships and networks and in organising international mobility projects. Actions to fund IVET learners for their international learning mobility are also in place. However, although some of these support actions are subject to monitoring, systematic and complete evaluation of policies in this area is lacking. Precise and verifiable policy targets for actions in this strand are also missing, and countrywide coordination of initiatives is not complete and systematic. In future, it could be considered putting in place, for all support policies in this area, a full-fledged regular evaluation (and also make it clear what the evaluation system put in place is), including translating monitoring activities into recommendations that are actually implemented and improve the next generation of actions over time. Setting up precise and verifiable policy targets for partnerships and funding actions as well as processes for complete and systematic coordination of activities should be considered as well.

Motivation: Italy has actions for raising awareness about existing mobility opportunities, however it is unclear whether and how these actions touch the core topic of raising the awareness of learners about the added value of mobility. The country report suggests that the actions undertaken have developed youngsters' awareness of the mobility benefits in terms of " autonomy, self-esteem, decision-making capacity, resilience, and active citizenship", but does not document which actions exactly have aimed to highlight these benefits, how they managed to influence young people, and the evidence of increase in awarenness over time. The report also mentions actions to foster a mobility culture, but fails to provide any substantial and precise description of such actions. The existing actions are reported to be coordinated and evaluated, although not in a systematic manner. There is also no clear description of the evaluation system in place. The country has not set out any policy targets in terms of motivation. Steps for future progress in this area could include: developing actions targeted at raising the awareness of learners and their families about the added value of mobility (e.g. in terms of self-fulfilment; development of professional, linguistic, social and intercultural competencies; creativity; active citizenship; future employability; learning about working practices, problem solving, resilience, being a team player; autonomy, self-confidence, etc.), i.e. not only raising the awareness about mobility opportunities; developing a mobility culture in particular through mainstreaming mobility opportunities into all learning contexts and fostering the social recognition of the value of mobility; setting up benchmarks in the motivation policy; and making policy coordination and evaluation in this area systematic, complete and topic-specific.

Long-term preparation: Italy has taken steps to provide IVET learners with linguistic and digital preparation for mobility from the early stages of education. Steps for introducing in the IVET curriculum pedagogical methods in use abroad are in force since 2017. The existing actions are coordinated and monitored, although not in a systematic and complete manner. Actions to inform potential users on the existence of the long-term linguistic preparation actions exist, as well as actions to collect the feedback of users on the long-term digital preparation mechanisms. However, the country has not set up any policy targets for the preparation policy. Further progress in future might require to set up such targets and make policy coordination and evaluation systematic in this area. In addition, it could be considered reinforcing learners’ involvement in the effective run of the policy through making sure that (a) all potential users know about the variety of existing preparation mechanisms – not only part of them – and how to access them; (b) room is made for users to give feedback on the preparation mechanisms; and (c) the use of the mechanisms is monitored, so as to accordingly readjust and improve the said mechanisms as necessary over time.


Quality: Italy has actions to ensure the quality of mobility opportunities through providing learners with pre-stay linguistic preparation and collecting post-stay feedback. The monitoring processes and the provision to mobile learners of convenient and affordable transportation, accommodation and catering are left to the discretion of the sending institutions.
The existing quality actions are coordinated nationwide within the framework of the National Plan for the Quality Assurance of the Education and Training System. These actions are monitored, although not in a systematic, topic-specific focused and complete manner. Actions to make the quality mechanisms known to potential users and collect users’ feedback are in place. However, no identifiable policy targets for mobility quality are reported. Identifying – or setting up if they do not yet exist – such targets could be considered for future progress. Making systematic the procedures for stay monitoring and the provision of transportation, accommodation and catering, and the processes for the evaluation of the quality policy could certainly be a valuable step forward too.

Portability: Italy has in place financial support measures for its IVET learners. These support funds are portable abroad. However, the portability policy is not coordinated countrywide. It is also not evaluated. The country has also not set up any targets/benchmarks for its portability policy. Addressing these shortcomings could be considered in future. Further steps which could also be considered include makingsure that all potential users know about the opportunities that are offered to them in terms of portability (and how to benefit from them).
It would also be useful to make room for users to give feedback on the portability mechanism upon having experienced it and monitoring the use and practice of the said mechanism so as to readjust and improve it accordingly over time as necessary.

Disadvantaged learners: Italy has in place funding measures to support the mobility of disadvantaged IVET learners. These measures are subject to financial auditing. The country has not set up any policy targets for its actions. Steps which could be considered for further progress in future include developing differentiated actions in terms of – among others – information and guidance, motivation, long-term and pre-stay preparation, and use of multipliers, in order to further support the mobility of disadvantaged IVET learners. It could also be considered setting up targets/benchmarks for this policy, along with processes for making policy coordination and evaluation in the area complete (beyond just financial auditing), systematic and topic-specific. Other possible steps could include making sure that all potential users know about the opportunities offered to them through this policy (and how to benefit from them); making room for users to give feedback on the measures upon having experienced them; and monitoring the use and practice of the said measures so as to readjust and improve them accordingly over time as necessary.

Multipliers: Through teachers, trainers, families, young people who have participated in a mobility experience, Italy mobilises multipliers to motivate IVET learners for considering going on mobility, to exchange views and experiences with not yet mobile learners and to inspire and motivate them to become mobile. The existing actions are to some extent coordinated countrywide. However, Italy has not set up any policy targets/benchmarks for its actions in this area. Steps for progress which could be considered in future include developing ways for valuing the commitment of staff who organise mobility activities; mainstreaming mobility into the initial training and continuous professional development of staff and heads of VET institutions; setting up policy targets/benchmarks for the area and making policy coordination and evaluation in the area systematic, complete and topic-specific focused. Further steps which could also be considered include making sure that the mechanisms put in place and the opportunities thus open (and how to benefit from them) are visible to all potential users/beneficiaries; making room for users to give feedback on the said mechanisms upon having experienced them; and monitoring the use and practice of the mechanisms so as to readjust and improve them accordingly over time as necessary.