Jobs for Immigrants (Vol. 4): Labour Market Integration in Italy

Until the mid-1990s, the share of migrants in Italy was relatively low in international comparison. With a persistent demand for foreign workers in low-skilled and low-paid jobs, the proximity of conflict areas and the enlargement of the European Union to Romania and Bulgaria in 2007, migration to Italy increased rapidly over the last 15 years. This report presents an overview of the skills and qualifications of immigrants in Italy, their key labour market outcomes in international comparison, and their evolution over time, given the highly segmented Italian labour market and its high share of informal jobs.

It analyses the framework for integration and the main integration policy instruments. Special attention is paid to funding issues and to the distribution of competences between national and sub-national actors. Finally, this report reviews the integration at school and the school-to-work transition of the children of immigrants.

Contents:

+ Acronyms and abbreviations

+ Executive summary

+ Assessment and recommendations

+ Chapter 1. Comparing the characteristics and labour market outcomes of immigrants across countries
-Labour market outcomes
-Evolution over time
-Qualification structure
-Immigrants’ skills
-References

+ Chapter 2. The framework for integration in Italy
-Italy’s evolution as an immigration country
-Evolution of the integration policy
-Key actors
-Funding issues and distribution of competences
-References

+ Chapter 3. The Italian labour market and immigrant integration outcomes
-Strong regional disparities and internal mobility
-Persistent low growth and the economic crisis
-Duality in the labour market and importance of the informal sector
-High share of self-employment
-References

+ Chapter 4. Immigrant integration policies in Italy
-Active labour market policies
-Language training
-Impact of ad hoc regularisation programmes on the integration of immigrants
-Naturalisation
-Limiting legal discrimination and developing a national anti-discrimination framework
-References

+ Chapter 5. The integration of immigrant offspring in Italy: An emerging issue
-Size and composition of the immigrant offspring population
-Integration of immigrant offspring in Italian schools
-Transition from lower to upper secondary education
-Predominance of vocational pathways among children of immigrants
-Transition from school to work
-References

+ Annex A. Regional data on immigrant populations and their children

+ Annex B. Use of CO data in the review

Website: OECD iLibrary http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/

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