Italy
Italy was hit hard by the economic crisis of 2008/09 and is still recovering. Many industries suffered including construction, IT, telecommunications and the health sector. Unemployment also increased and there remains a shortage of jobs in certain sectors. UK graduates will be in competition with Italian nationals for available jobs.
You do not need to be in the country to apply for a job as vacancies are often advertised online. However, your chances of finding employment may be increased if you are in the country as networking and making personal contacts is important in Italy.
Applications are made using a CV and covering letter or by using the application form provided by the company. Speculative applications are common and should be formal with an indication of why you would like to work for the company and what you can offer them.
CVs should be in Italian if possible and should typically be no longer than two pages. The CV should contain information on your qualifications and past employment as well as personal data and any skills such as IT or languages.
Unless otherwise indicated you do not need to include a photo or references. It is also not necessary to send in copies of qualification certificates; they should instead be taken to the interview.
The CV should be accompanied by a covering letter which should be concise and no longer than one page long. It should be formal in style and typed.
Online application forms are more common with large international companies that have a presence in Italy.
See Eurograduate - Italian CV for a sample CV.
There may be three to four interviews in the recruitment procedure for a job in Italy. It can be a lengthy process which takes between one to three months to complete. It is therefore a good idea to establish how long the recruitment period will be beforehand so you know when to expect the result.
Some interviews may involve psychometric testing or other types of tests which highlight your suitability to the job role. First impressions are important and so ensure you dress appropriately for the interview and take copies of any certificates or references.
If you wish to compare your qualifications with Italian qualifications, you can consult ENIC-NARIC.
You may also wish to go to UK National Europass Centre (UK NEC) for information on how to make your skills and qualifications easily understood in Italy.
If you are planning to live and work in Italy, check your UK tax and National Insurance position with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) to ensure that you are not losing any UK pension rights.
There are a large number of online recruitment services and job vacancy websites for Italy, including:
Some UK-based employment agencies deal with international vacancies or have branches abroad, including in Italy. The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) has lists of approved UK agencies.
Euro-CIETT is the European organisation of the International Confederation of Private Employment Agencies (CIETT). Visit the website for details of their European members.
Alternatively, the English Yellow Pages for Italy has a list of employment and recruitment agencies. There are also regional branches of this publication, with one for Rome and one for Milan.
Vacancies are published in the general or specialised Italian press. There is a wide range of Italian newspapers, both regional and national, carrying job vacancies. The main papers are:
Kidon Media-Link is a useful resource for a list of Italian newspapers.
Employment centres (centri per l'impiego) and guidance services (servizi di orientamento) can also help in your search for work.
It is common in Italy to apply speculatively to organisations. Personal contacts are also very important - a lot of work is found by word of mouth. Family businesses still make up a large portion of the businesses in smaller urban and rural areas. You must be prepared to network extensively. This kind of approach works particularly well in language schools, hotels, restaurants and large companies, particularly in large cities.
Details on where to find lists of companies, which can be used for speculative applications, can also be found in job market, in the companies section.
Teachers of English are always in demand. Visit TEFL.com for examples of the type of vacancies that exist. Training and experience will make it much easier to get work. If you have a TEFL qualification you could teach in a language school. A list of relevant schools and vacancies is available from ESL Base .
Opportunities exist in voluntary projects or work projects such as those run by Concordia International Volunteers , Legambiente and Lunaria. The International Voluntary Service (IVS) in Britain may also have voluntary placements.
Casual work is most easily found in tourism, mainly in coastal, lake and mountain resorts, and cities. Opportunities for casual work also exist in the agricultural sector, mainly in fruit picking and there is a strong demand for au pairs.
Websites with temporary/casual vacancies include:
If possible, try to obtain a written contract with your job's terms and conditions before leaving the UK.
For some examples of gap year opportunities in Italy, try Gap Year Directory and have a look at gap year for more general advice and links to gap year providers.
Higher education in Italy is divided into two different areas: university and non-university.
State universities are public entities which are concerned with higher education and scientific research. There are currently 58 state universities in Italy.
The non-university sector is further divided into four types of institution. They include higher schools of design, schools of higher education in language mediation, higher integrated education institutions which offer programmes of higher technological education and training, and some other specific institutions that provide courses in areas such as archiving, diplomatics and military studies. These institutions fall under the supervision of the relevant ministries.
Italy joined the Bologna Process, which aimed to standardise higher education across Europe, in 1999. This means that Italian institutions offer qualifications that are comparable to those in the UK and which in general follow the structure of Bachelors degree, Masters degree and PhD.
The Laurea Specialistica is the Italian equivalent to a Masters and typically takes two years of full-time study to complete. The Dottorato di Ricerca is the equivalent of a research Doctorate and takes a minimum of three years to complete, but the overall length is determined by the subject matter.
Most courses are taught in Italian and a range of topics are available in the main areas of health, humanities, sciences, social studies and technology.
Italy has 89 university institutions which include:
Universities Worldwide has a list of institutions in Italy. Also see Study in Italy for further information.
In general, in order to get a place on a Masters level course in Italy, you must hold a degree-level qualification or equivalent. You must also be competent in Italian and will usually need to sit an exam or show documentary evidence that you have reached a certain level of competency in the language. Individual institutions should be contacted to find out specific requirements.
Application forms can be found online and must be submitted with the necessary supporting documents, e.g. copies of transcripts and degree certificates. The institution of your choice should be contacted to find out specific deadlines for applications.
Individual institutions are able to set their own fees but on average the amount paid by a student is between €850 and €1,000 per year. However this varies depending on the subject of study and private universities will also charge more.
Masters and post-Doctoral courses will also demand higher fees and institutions should be contacted to find out specific details.
All university students, including foreign students are able to apply for financial support. This includes scholarships, student loans and housing assistance. These are all managed by the DSU Office (Diritto allo studio universitario) and you should contact the office in the university you are applying to find out more information.
UK students on undergraduate degree programmes or postgraduate Masters and some PhD programmes may be interested in spending time studying in Italy through the Erasmus programme. This programme is open to all subject areas, but check with your institution’s Erasmus coordinator first (usually based in the international office) to see which countries they have links with and in what subject areas.
Italy is a member of ENIC-NARIC, a network of national centres that aims to improve academic recognition of diplomas and periods of study in European Union (EU) member states, EEA countries and associated countries in Central and Eastern Europe. Visit the UK NARIC (National Recognition Information Centre for the United Kingdom) for information on your qualifications being recognised back in the UK.
EU citizens do not need a visa or work permit to enter Italy but citizens of non-EU countries may be required to have these documents.
If you are from a non-EU country, check with your embassy to find out the requirements for entering Italy.
EU citizens are able to work and study in Italy without a visa and just need to have a valid passport in order to enter the country.
Citizens of EU countries do not need a visa or work permit to enter Italy.
If you are not a UK national, contact the Italian embassy in the country where you are currently residing about how to obtain visas and work permits. If you are living in the UK, go to the Italian Embassy .
You might also find it helpful to contact your ministry of foreign affairs (or your own embassy if you are not living in your home country) to ask whether there are any issues to be taken into account when considering working in Italy.
EU citizens wishing to stay in Italy for longer than three months must register with the police in the first 90 days of their stay and should obtain a certificate of registration. You must be able to prove that you have sufficient financial support and health insurance.
Citizens of non-EU countries may need to meet certain requirements and should contact the Italian Embassy for further details.
The EURES - European Job Mobility Portal , maintained by the European Commission, provides information about job vacancies, living and working conditions and labour markets in Italy, as well as a CV-posting service for jobseekers.
Career and educational information can also be found at L'Informagiovani (in Italian). These information services for young people are provided by Comuni (local councils) and are available nationwide.
The careers website, JobTel , is a guidance portal and contains information, links and addresses relating to education and employment and may also be useful.
A number of Italian universities have in-house employment guidance offices (uffici di orientamento al lavoro), details of which are generally easy to find on university websites. The majority of Italian universities also contribute to an initiative called Alma Laurea, a database containing the complete CVs of recent graduates that enables students and graduates to gain easy access to the job market and assists companies in their personnel recruitment.
British citizens can get help in an emergency from the British Embassy in Italy . The website contains information on the type of help available.
The European emergency number, 112, can be used in Italy for the fire department, police and ambulance service.
Find the latest travel advice and travellers’ checklist on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) website.
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