Italy is facing a dilemma. Even in rich, industrialized regions like Varese in the north of the country, there is a shortage of skilled workers. To stem this decline, the local Chamber of Commerce has started offering bonuses of 6 euros. – around R$ 40 thousand – to those who move to the province with a formal employment contract.
The funds will be distributed over three years and are intended to attract new residents of working age. “It’s an experiment, a test,” said Mauro Vitiello, president of the organization. “We are concerned about the health of our companies and our territory.”
Varese It is part of one of the most productive areas in Italy, with a strong presence of industries such as AgustaWestland (aeronautics), Whirlpool (household appliances), as well as companies in the metallurgical, chemical and innovation sectors. However, it loses talent to neighboring countries with higher salaries, such as Switzerland and Germany.
According to Vitiello, even with two university centers and technical training with an employability rate of 94%, “out of every 10 young people who graduate here, four leave.”
Demographic gray zone
The case of Varese is not isolated. Italy is entering a grey zone, marked by an aging population, low birth rates and a loss of skilled labor. The phenomenon is already affecting everything from villages in the interior of Calabria to production centers in the industrialized north.
Experts say the country is paying the price for political choices that ignore the urgency of population renewal. The government led by Giorgia Meloni, with Antonio Tajani (Foreign Affairs) and Matteo Salvini (Infrastructure), has adopted a restrictive line in recent years both towards foreigners and towards people of Italian descent interested in returning.
In official speeches, the focus is on containing irregular immigration, but the measures have also ended up making access to citizenship by right more difficult — especially for descendants outside Europe — and restricting work visas and integration programs.
Meanwhile, companies are facing real difficulties in filling vacancies in areas such as technology, engineering, logistics and essential services. The offer of bonuses by wealthy regions is a direct reflection of this misalignment.
Measures multiply
Previously associated with peripheral or mountainous regions, financial incentive policies are spreading throughout Italy. Calabria offers up to 26 euros to new residents in municipalities with fewer than 2 inhabitants. Sicily has sold properties for 1 euro as a strategy to repopulate abandoned areas. In Trentino, there are subsidies for renovating houses in Alpine valleys.
Even cities like Bologna and Genoa invest in partnerships with the third sector to retain young people and qualify immigrants.
Varese's entry into this movement signals that the problem is structural. It is no longer about saving villages, but about preventing the collapse of the job market in areas previously considered safe.
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