The Cross-border and National Professional Mobility section encourages the mobility of young workers who want to gain work experience in other EU countries or in other Italian regions providing them with a voucher that covers travel and accommodation costs for 6 months.

In addition, the Extra-curricular Internship Measure facilitates internships in national and cross-border mobility to promote training and professional experiences.

The EURES provide foreign citizens with information about new job opportunities and start-up funding for self-employed business.

Furthermore, the program Your first EURES job promotes professional mobility of young workers in the EU. Your first EURES job 6.0 project (YfEj) provides a range of integrated and personalised support services for young people aged 18 to 35 who are citizens and live in one of the 28 EU states, in Iceland or Norway and who aspire to gain a traineeship or apprenticeship in a foreign European country. The initiative guarantees applicants access to financial support which varies according to the type of measure and the country of destination.

The Youth Guarantee program

The Youth Guarantee program [cf. 3.6.] aims to facilitate the integration into the labour market of EU citizens or non-EU foreigners who have a residence permit, aged 15 to 29 and resident in Italy.

Besides these measures, for university students and young graduates who intend to gain an internship experience in Europe it’s possible to apply for the Youth Employment Initiative (Pon IOG) program of ANPAL [paragraph 3.6]. The Stage4eu program offers similar opportunities.

The National Civil Service in the European Union

The National Civil Service project lasts 12 months. The applicants will have the opportunity to spend 8 months abroad hosted by a European host organization. This measure also guarantees linguistic training in entities and administrations operating in the EU with the recognition of a flat-rate cost.
Moreover, university students and young graduates who intend to gain an internship experience in Europe can apply for the Youth Employment Initiative (Pon IOG) program of ANPAL [paragraph 3.6]. The Stage4eu program offers similar opportunities.

Erasmus+ and Erasmus for young entrepreneurs

Cross-border mobility is then greatly facilitated by the Erasmus+ program in the field of vocational education and training (VET), which aims to improve professional, personal and interpersonal skills and also by the Erasmus for young entrepreneurs which aims to support European citizens in acquiring the skills to start and manage a small business. New entrepreneurs exchange their know-how and business ideas with established entrepreneurs who host them.

Aspiring entrepreneurs (no age limit) who have created a business within the last 3 years or are willing to start a new business of any kind can apply for the program. The program also provides financial support to cover travel and accommodation expenses.

INAPP conducted two studies on the impact of the participation of young people in international student mobility programs, in the 2014-2020 community programming period (e.g. Erasmus Plus). The analyses are based on ISTAT Graduate Survey data. The sample is composed of individuals who graduated in 2011. The study adopted a counterfactual methodology. The results show that participation in international mobility programs increases the probability of being employed (+2%) and the probability of working abroad (+14%) in the four years after graduation. It also shows how a study experience abroad reduces the average duration of job searching of about 2.5 months. Finally, participation in international mobility programs increases wages by 9.6% compared to those who have not participated in mobility programs.

Legal framework

The different regulations of the various national social security systems of the European Union are coordinated by EU legislation, in order to guarantee the protection of the social security rights of migrant workers and the exercise of the right to free movement of European citizens.

In compliance with the obligations established by law, it is also possible to start an independent business of any kind. Furthermore, it is necessary to distinguish EU citizens, coming from one of the 28 Member States of the European Union, from non-EU citizens who come from other parts of the world.

Citizens of the European Union, non-EU citizens or non-EU foreigners

Citizens of the European Union who intend to stay in Italy are not subject to the provisions of the Consolidated Law on immigration and can carry out any type of activity, both autonomous and subordinate, applying the same provisions valid for Italian citizens. However, if they reside in Italy for a period of more than 3 months, they must register with the resident population registry (Legislative Decree 30/2007)

If they are required for study or training purposes, they must present a document certifying enrolment in a course of study and entitlement to health insurance, as well as declaring possession of economic resources for their stay.

Non-EU citizens or non-EU foreigners are required to apply the rules contained in the Consolidated Law on Immigration. The text delegates to the State the regulation of entry into Italy to carry out subordinate work or self-employment. The so-called “Flow Decree” annually establishes the entry quotas of foreign people for work-related reasons, based on the needs of the production system.

Further information and documentation on the subject are available on the migrant integration portal.

Quality assurance

Also in this case it’s possible to look at ANPAL report, specifically that regarding the results achieved by the Youth Guarantee programme between 2014 and 2022, published in May 2023. In addition to that, there is a monitoring report published every 4 months.

For what concerns the ERASMUS+ programme and the ERASMUS for Young Entrepreneurs in particular, it’s possible to read the monthly statistics published on the dedicated portal, which shows the numbers and the impact of the measure. A central role is played by the local centres that support young people facilitating their application to the programme and that are present in almost every region in Italy.

Regarding the integration of migrant workers, the government is currently following the 2021 -2027 Multiannual Agenda on Labour Integration and Social Inclusion, which identifies strategies and priorities for action in the following areas:

• Support for cooperation between actors in migrant integration policies
• Prevention of and fight against undeclared work and the phenomenon of illegal recruitment of migrants (caporalato), promotion of decent work and the culture of legality
• Socio-occupational integration of vulnerable migrants
• Enhancement of the potential of young school-age foreigners and migrant citizens in accessing the labour market
• Promotion of participation and social and labour inclusion of migrant women
• Promotion of participation, culture and sport
• Promotion of legal channels of entry