- 2015Approved/Agreed
- 2016Implementation
- 2017Implementation
- 2018Implementation
- 2019Implementation
- 2020Implementation
- 2021Implementation
- 2022Implementation
- 2023Implementation
- 2024Implementation
Background
Since 2015, the regulatory framework for apprenticeships in Italy has been shaped by Legislative Decree 81/2015. This framework involves coordination between the labour and education ministries, regions, and autonomous provinces. The State-regions conference defines national education and training standards, while regions and social partners handle training implementation. National and inter-sector collective labour agreements regulate details such as hiring, trial periods, contracts, salaries, and training standards. The reform supports the dual system, integrating education with the labour market.
Objectives
- integrate training and employment of young people within a dual system by reinforcing those apprenticeships linked with the education and training system, and particularly within initial vocational education and training (IVET) pathways;
- reinforce apprenticeship for higher training/education and research;
- introduce elements of flexibility to simplify the actual legislation and boost the attractiveness of apprenticeship amongst enterprises;
- set up a specific pedagogical methodology aimed at reinforcing the school-work exchange programme;
- further integrate education and training.
Description
Apprenticeship regulations were entirely reformed in 2015 (Legislative Decree No 81/2015). The State-regions conference is in charge of defining the minimum set of education and training standards valid for all regions countrywide. The Regions and autonomous provinces, together with social partners, are responsible for the training component definition and implementation. The National collective labour agreements or inter-sector agreements regulate apprenticeships in detail with the obligation to respect some general principles. The inter-sector and national collective labour agreements generally refer to all apprenticeship types regarding apprentice hiring, trial period duration, contract form, salary, company tutor, in-company training, and occupational standards. Following the reform, apprenticeship has been defined as a job contract structured in three different schemes.
Type 1 - Apprenticeship for young people aged 15 to 25 enrolled in three- or four-year school-based programmes. Type 1 leads to formal qualifications (VET diploma, upper secondary school diploma), higher technical specialisation (IFTS), and entry to vocational tertiary education. The labour ministry has the overall coordination of Type 1- apprenticeship implementation strategies, regulations and activities at national level, also through dedicated bodies. Through the type 1-apprenticeship, which is formally recognised as an instrument supporting...
Apprenticeship regulations were entirely reformed in 2015 (Legislative Decree No 81/2015). The State-regions conference is in charge of defining the minimum set of education and training standards valid for all regions countrywide. The Regions and autonomous provinces, together with social partners, are responsible for the training component definition and implementation. The National collective labour agreements or inter-sector agreements regulate apprenticeships in detail with the obligation to respect some general principles. The inter-sector and national collective labour agreements generally refer to all apprenticeship types regarding apprentice hiring, trial period duration, contract form, salary, company tutor, in-company training, and occupational standards. Following the reform, apprenticeship has been defined as a job contract structured in three different schemes.
Type 1 - Apprenticeship for young people aged 15 to 25 enrolled in three- or four-year school-based programmes. Type 1 leads to formal qualifications (VET diploma, upper secondary school diploma), higher technical specialisation (IFTS), and entry to vocational tertiary education. The labour ministry has the overall coordination of Type 1- apprenticeship implementation strategies, regulations and activities at national level, also through dedicated bodies. Through the type 1-apprenticeship, which is formally recognised as an instrument supporting integration between the education and training system and the labour market, the labour ministry underpins the development of the dual system in Italy
Type 2 - Vocational apprenticeship, for young people aged 18 to 29, which is enterprise-based. It is targeted at young people but also adult workers who have been made redundant. It has a training component, which is marginal: a maximum 120 hours in three years, to be carried out inside or outside the company. No qualification from the formal education system is awarded upon completion, but the apprentice can become a skilled worker by acquiring a contractual qualification defined and recognised by collective labour agreements.
Type 3 - Higher education and research apprenticeship, for young people aged 18-29, which leads to a university degree or fulfils requirements for carrying out research or compulsory traineeship to access liberal professions.
The reform aimed to boost apprenticeship (the changes mainly affected the first and third type, the apprenticeships leading to formal qualifications), improve the on-the job-training component, reduce early school-leaving, and improve the transition from the education system to the job market. It also supported the development of a dual system in Italy. Dual VET includes learners enroled in three/four-year regional vocational programmes (leFP), IFTS students and apprentices. The ministerial Decree of 12 October 2015 specified the framework components for apprenticeship contracts: the duties and responsibilities of the signatory parties, the employer's requirements, the training standards, the apprentice's rights and obligations, the tasks assigned to the company and workplace tutor and to the tutor at the training institution, and skills' assessment and certification modalities. The duration of apprenticeship contracts varies from a minimum of six months to a maximum linked to the period required to achieve the qualification and tasks assigned in the contract. Simplification and flexibility have been introduced for operating apprenticeships, including through individualised training plans, and making remuneration proportional to the effective number of hours spent on the job. Financial incentives were also introduced in the form of a total social security exemption. To support recruitment of young people on a permanent contract in the same company where they were on alternance or on types 1 or 3 apprenticeship, companies are entitled to total social security exemption for the first three years.
The 2015 Jobs Act (legislative Decree No 81/2015) about the new apprenticeship system and the inter-ministerial decree of 12 October 2015 refer to the role and tasks of trainers in companies and teaching staff.
Decree 81/2015 provides that apprenticeship may be used to achieve a diploma or a qualification. Fruitful cooperation amongst companies is fundamental in this regard.
The labour ministry is carrying out specific actions to tackle all emerging critical issues which don't fully allow the implementation of Type 1 apprenticeships. Since the 2015 reform, a number of local and national level agreements have been signed in various sectors within the context of a 'dual system'.
In the academic year 2015/16 a national pilot for the support, development and reinforcement of the dual system within vocational education and training (VET) was launched, based on a State-regions agreement of 24 September 2015.
In 2016, the Legislative Decree No 81/2015 introduced the possibility -for apprentices that don't obtain their qualification or diploma by the planned date- to extend Type 1 apprenticeship for one year.
Law 145/2018 re-affirmed the financial incentives which pre-existed in law 205/2017.
The Italian budget Law No160/2019 provides total exemption from payment of social security contributions for the first 36 months of the contract for those enterprises (up to nine employees) hiring young workers with a Type 1- Apprenticeship contract. This provision was planned to enter into force in 2020 with the aim to support enterprises to hire and train young workers.
The rate of 10% is kept for any contribution after the third year. The 2019 Budget Law, only addressed type 1-apprenticeship and micro-enterprises, which made very limited use of this apprenticeship type.
In December 2019, the National Technical Body for Apprenticeship, was formed to boost coordination at national level by bringing together different stakeholders and simplifying administrative procedures to use type 1-apprenticeship.
In 2020, total exemption from payment of social security contributions for the first 36 months of the contract for those companies (up to nine employees) hiring young workers with a Type 1- Apprenticeship contract came into force pursuant to the provisions of Italian budget law.
In 2020, the labour ministry, together with education ministries, organised several meetings with an ad hoc working group called the National Technical Board, in order to support the National Technical Body for Apprenticeship for the preparation of the national repertoire of professions, to improve the application of Type 1 apprenticeship (according to Article 43 of legislative Decree No 81/2015) and to resolve critical issues (e.g to support companies, especially SMEs to implement apprenticeship regulations, to support the dissemination of apprenticeship opportunities to relevant target groups, etc) .
The meetings, attended by all the actors involved (labour ministry, regions and public administrations, social security institutions, inspectorates, economic and social partners, technical-scientific institutions such as the Italian National Institute for the Analysis of Public Policies (INAPP), the National Agency for Active Employment Policies (ANPAL) and the Association of the Regions for the European Social Fund (Tecnostruttura), focused only on Type 1 -apprenticeship within the dual system to simplify the implementation of the contract.
The National Technical Body for Apprenticeships aims to boost coordination at national level and ensure the link with decision-makers, whereas and the National Technical Board, has the key role of 'technically' supporting the National Technical Body for Apprenticeships.
In 2021, the National Technical Board analysed the critical issues identified in Type 1 apprenticeship. The goal was to improve the application of Type 1 apprenticeship (ex-Article 43 of Legislative Decree No. 81/2015), by interpreting the legislation that regulates apprenticeship and by simplifying all implementation aspects. The outcome was the following:
- a document which provides interpretative clarifications of Legislative Decree no. 81 of 15 June 2015 and the Inter-ministerial Decree of 12 October 2015;
- an operation manual. The manual aims to promote understanding and the dissemination of Type 1 apprenticeship and to support both training institutions and employers, in the various phases of the provision of Type 1 apprenticeship, from the feasibility analysis to the organisation, management, and evaluation of training in the company.
In 2022 the Unified Conference, which was established in 1997, and is part of the multi-governance Italian system, and more specifically an 'institution' that promotes cooperation between the State and Regions and autonomous provinces, approved guidelines for regulating activities relevant to the 'Dual system', under Mission 5-Component 1-Investment 1.4 of the Italian Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR). More specifically, the guidelines identify potential learners, training providers and administrative actors that are eligible to implement these measures, planning and funding criteria.
On 6 June 2022, the labour ministry issued Circular No. 12 which provided clarifications on the current regulations concerning apprenticeship type 1, including the publication of a manual for employers intending to hire apprentices.
The circular was drawn up following intensive discussions with the education ministry MIM, the Regions, the social partners, National Institute of Social Security (INPS), the National Institute for Insurance against Accidents at Work (INAIL), the National Labor Inspectorate (INL) and the National Agency for Active Employment Policies (ANPAL). It specifies that, apprenticeship type 1 ends when the results of the final examination of the apprentice are published, at which point he/she may opt for:
- a continuation, with an open-ended contract;
- an extension of the apprenticeship type 1 contract;
- a conversion of the apprenticeship type 1 contract into a vocational apprenticeship;
- a termination of the contract.
Clarifications are also provided about the training plan, the validation and certification of competences and on health and safety at the workplace.
In July 2023, the Decree-Law No. 48 of 4 May 2023, with amendments, known as the 'Labour Decree' was converted into Law No. 85 of 3 July 2023. The law contains urgent measures for social inclusion and access to the labour market and several regulatory changes regarding apprenticeships have been introduced. Specifically, those who employ recipients of the Inclusion Allowance, including through apprenticeship contracts, are granted an incentive for each worker up to a maximum of €8 000 per year for a period not exceeding 12 months. Additionally, an incentive equal to 60% of the gross monthly salary subject to social security contributions is provided to employers who between June and December 2023 hired young people under 30 years of age with professional apprenticeship contracts, who were neither working nor studying and were registered in the National Operational Programme 'Youth Employment Initiative'. Finally, the regulation removes the percentage limits for hiring with apprenticeship contracts.
In December 2023, the interministerial decree implementing Decree-Law 44/2023, converted into Law 74/2023, was signed. The law established the criteria and procedures by which administrations can recruit, until 31 December 2026, young graduates selected through competitive procedures announced by the same administrations based on their territorial needs and scope, with fixed-term apprenticeship contracts lasting a maximum of 36 months. The recruitment notices must be published on the recruitment portal of the Department of Public Administration. To implement this regulation, also in December 2023, on the proposal of the Minister for Public Administration, in agreement with the Minister of University and Research, a degree was adopted, establishing the criteria and procedures by which public administrations can recruit young graduates.
Under the new rules, administrations interested in hiring young graduates through apprenticeships can exercise this option within the limit of 10% of the recruitable positions (except for municipalities, unions of municipalities, provinces, and metropolitan cities, for which the limit rises to 20%). The administrations establish the admission requirements through specific notices and candidates have to pass competitive exams, which - include a written test, which may also have a theoretical-practical content, and an oral test to verify the possession of the set of knowledge and logical-technical, behavioural, and attitudinal skills, as well as the knowledge of at least one foreign language.
The Draft Law 1532-bis (commonly known as the Labour Draft Law) - currently under review by the competent Senate Committee (https://www.senato.it/leg/19/BGT/Schede/Ddliter/57744.htm) concerning training and employment, with specific reference to apprenticeship, in Article 18 envisions a single dual apprenticeship contract. This aims to introduce a"supply chain" apprenticeship, capable of fostering the development of continuous training and employment pathways to meet the needs of businesses and young people. What is currently envisaged is already possible by concluding one contract and then entering into a new one. Article 18 simplifies this process by avoiding the succession of two different contracts. An innovation is the possibility, at the end of a first-level apprenticeship, to transform the contract into an advanced training and research apprenticeship (or third level), should the apprentice wish to continue their studies at a tertiary level without giving up the integration of training and work in apprenticeship. In this sense, the"supply chain" apprenticeship benefits those who, at the end of secondary education, are already engaged in an apprenticeship and wish to continue studying without giving up their job (and salary) at the company where they were hired and trained. Similarly, the company can offer its employee an important (and legally recognised) study programme, maintaining employment continuity.
Also in the Labour Draft Law, Article 15 aims to ensure greater flexibility for Regions and Autonomous Provinces in the use of resources made available annually by the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies to finance training activities related to apprenticeship pathways. The resources currently amount to 15 million, provided by the Social Fund for Employment and Training (FSOF) and are intended solely for professional apprenticeships.
Bodies responsible
- Ministry of Labour and Social Policies
- Regions and autonomous provinces
- Ministry of Education and Merit
- Ministry of Education (until 2022)
- Ministry of Universities and Research
- Ministry of Education, Universities and Research (until 2019)
Target groups
Learners
- Learners in upper secondary, including apprentices
- Young people (15-29 years old)
Education professionals
- Teachers
- Trainers
Entities providing VET
- Companies
- Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
- VET providers (all kinds)
Thematic categories
Governance of VET and lifelong learning
This thematic category looks at existing legal frameworks providing for strategic, operational – including quality assurance – and financing arrangements for VET and lifelong learning (LLL). It examines how VET and LLL-related policies are placed in broad national socioeconomic contexts and coordinate with other strategies and policies, such as economic, social and employment, growth and innovation, recovery and resilience.
This thematic category covers partnerships and collaboration networks of VET stakeholders – especially the social partners – to shape and implement VET in a country, including looking at how their roles and responsibilities for VET at national, regional and local levels are shared and distributed, ensuring an appropriate degree of autonomy for VET providers to adapt their offer.
The thematic category also includes efforts to create national, regional and sectoral skills intelligence systems (skills anticipation and graduate tracking) and using skills intelligence for making decisions about VET and LLL on quality, inclusiveness and flexibility.
This thematic sub-category refers to the ways VET is funded at the system level. Policies include optimisation of VET provider funding that allows them to adapt their offer to changing skill needs, green and digital transitions, the social agenda and economic cycles, e.g. increasing the funding for VET or for specific programmes. They can also concern changing the mechanism of how the funding is allocated to VET schools (per capita vs based on achievement or other criteria). Using EU funds and financial instruments for development of VET and skills also falls into this sub-category.
This thematic sub-category refers both to formal mechanisms of stakeholder engagement in VET governance and to informal cooperation among stakeholders, which motivate shared responsibility for quality VET. Formal engagement is usually based on legally established institutional procedures that clearly define the role and responsibilities for relevant stakeholders in designing, implementing and improving VET. It also refers to establishing and increasing the degree of autonomy of VET providers for agile and flexible VET provision.
In terms of informal cooperation, the sub-category covers targeted actions by different stakeholders to promote or implement VET. This cooperation often leads to creating sustainable partnerships and making commitments for targeted actions, in line with the national context and regulation, e.g. national alliances for apprenticeships, pacts for youth or partnerships between schools and employers. It can also include initiatives and projects run by the social partners or sectoral organisations or networks of voluntary experts and executives, retired or on sabbatical, to support their peers in the fields of VET and apprenticeships, as part of the EAfA.
Modernising VET offer and delivery
This thematic category looks at what and how individuals learn, how learning content and learning outcomes in initial and continuing VET are defined, adapted and updated. First and foremost, it examines how VET standards, curricula, programmes and training courses are updated and modernised or new ones created. Updated and renewed VET content ensures that learners acquire a balanced mix of competences that address modern demands, and are more closely aligned with the realities of the labour market, including key competences, digital competences and skills for green transition and sustainability, both sector-specific and across sectors. Using learning outcomes as a basis is important to facilitate this modernisation, including modularisation of VET programmes. Updating and developing teaching and learning materials to support the above is also part of the category.
The thematic category continues to focus on strengthening high-quality and inclusive apprenticeships and work-based learning in real-life work environments and in line with the European framework for quality and effective apprenticeships. It looks at expanding apprenticeship to continuing vocational training and at developing VET programmes at EQF levels 5-8 for better permeability and lifelong learning and to support the need for higher vocational skills.
This thematic category also focuses on VET delivery through a mix of open, digital and participative learning environments, including workplaces conducive to learning, which are flexible, more adaptable to the ways individuals learn, and provide more access and outreach to various groups of learners, diversifying modes of learning and exploiting the potential of digital learning solutions and blended learning to complement face-to-face learning.
Centres of vocational excellence that connect VET to innovation and skill ecosystems and facilitate stronger cooperation with business and research also fall into this category.
This thematic sub-category covers all developments related to work-based learning (WBL) elements in VET programmes and apprenticeships which continue to be important in the policy agenda. It includes measures to stabilise the offer of apprenticeships, the implementation of the European framework for quality and effective apprenticeships, and using the EU on-demand support services and policy learning initiatives among the Member States. It also covers further expansion of apprenticeships and WBL to continuing VET (CVET), for transition to work and inclusion of vulnerable groups, and for improving citizens’ qualification levels.
Supporting lifelong learning culture and increasing participation
Lifelong learning refers to all learning (formal, non-formal or informal) taking place at all stages in life and resulting in an improvement or update in knowledge, skills, competences and attitudes or in participation in society from a personal, civic, cultural, social or employment-related perspective (Erasmus+, Glossary of terms, https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/programme-guide/part-d/glossary-common-terms). A systemic approach to CVET is crucial to ensure adaptability to evolving demands.
This broad thematic category looks at ways of creating opportunities and ensuring access to re-skilling and upskilling pathways, allowing individuals to progress smoothly in their learning throughout their lives with better permeability between general and vocational education and training, and better integration and compatibility between initial and continuing VET and with higher education. Individuals should be supported in acquiring and updating their skills and competences and navigating easily through education and training systems. Strategies and campaigns that promote VET and LLL as an attractive and high-quality pathway, providing quality lifelong guidance and tailored support to design learning and career paths, and various incentives (financial and non-financial) to attract and support participation in VET and LLL fall into this thematic category as well.
This thematic category also includes many initiatives on making VET inclusive and ensuring equal education and training opportunities for various groups of learners, regardless of their personal and economic background and place of residence – especially those at risk of disadvantage or exclusion, such as persons with disabilities, the low-skilled and low-qualified, minorities, migrants, refugees and others.
This thematic sub-category refers to all kinds of incentives that encourage learners to take part in VET and lifelong learning; VET providers to improve, broaden and update their offer; companies to provide places for apprenticeship and work-based learning, and to stimulate and support learning of their employees. It also includes measures addressing specific challenges of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) willing to create work-based learning opportunities in different sectors. Incentives can be financial (e.g. grants, allowances, tax incentives, levy/grant mechanisms, vouchers, training credits, individual learning accounts) and non-financial (e.g. information/advice on funding opportunities, technical support, mentoring).
European priorities in VET
VET Recommendation
- VET agile in adapting to labour market challenges
Osnabrück Declaration
- Resilience and excellence through quality, inclusive and flexible VET
Subsystem
Further reading
Country
Type of development
Cedefop, & ReferNet. (2025). The regulatory framework for apprenticeship: Italy. In Cedefop, & ReferNet. (2025). Timeline of VET policies in Europe (2024 update) [Online tool].
https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/tools/timeline-vet-policies-europe/search/28313