Rome, 14 November 2025 - Kicking off today is the National Small and Medium Enterprises Daypromoted by Small Industry Confindustriatogether with the Territorial associations of the system. Now in its sixteenth edition, the initiative continues to grow and renew itself, this year involving more than 1,300 enterprises, 750 schools middle and high schools and more than 50,000 students all over Italy in company visits and meetings also scheduled on other dates.

The event is joined by Territorial Associations of the System - in addition to Federchimica, Confindustria Moda, Confindustria Accessori Moda e Assosistema - and, among them, several have renewed their collaboration with Confagricoltura, to tell young people about farming and the production chain as a whole: Bergamo, Brescia, Alessandria and Aprilia.

"Choose"is the theme of the 2025 edition. The SME Day wants, in fact, to be an invitation to reflect on the importance of the decisions that guide one's personal and professional path and on the significance of consciously taking responsibility for one's choices, facing uncertainty with courage. The entrepreneurs want to share experiences and paths with the students, showing how every entrepreneurial choice is the result of commitment, vision and the ability to innovate, and knowing that every decision brings with it challenges to be faced.

The initiative was created to bring young people closer to the world of business and give them an insight into those who every day contribute to creating value, innovation and employment. Companies open their doors to students, teachers and local institutions, giving rise to a dialogue that is becoming increasingly rich, participatory and continuous. Since 2010, the year the event was launched, the SME members of Confindustria have involved more than 600,000 young people in meetings and visits to their premises. The day is also an opportunity to reflect on the crucial issue of skills: the mismatch between demand and supply of professional profiles costs companies over 40 billion euros a year and remains an open challenge that the production and training worlds must face together.

The event is part of the Enterprise Culture Week, now in its 24th edition, which Confindustria organises to constantly and innovatively promote corporate values and the link with the territory. It is also among the events of the European SME Week organised by the European Commission and receives since 2021 the patronage of the Ministry of Education and Merit e of the Conference of the Regions and Autonomous Provinces e for the eighth consecutive year of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperationwhich confirmed its international footprint.

Since 2015, in fact, PMI day has also been held abroad: this year for the third year in Brazilin collaboration with the Consulate General of Italy in Sao Pauloand in particular in the USAwhere the Miami Scientific Italian Community organised a series of initiatives in collaboration with the Italian Embassy in Washington D.C.. and its Consular Diplomatic Network, ABROAD TO - The Community of Italian Companies, the California Scientific Italian Community and the ODLI - Organisation for the Development of Italian Studies. Also confirmed is the collaboration with the international representations of Confindustria Albania e Confindustria Bulgaria.

"Getting to know the company up close, understanding how products are created, discovering the skills and people who make them possible: this is the deeper meaning of SME DAY" - stated Giovanni Baroni, President of the Small Industry of Confindustria. "Since 2010 we have been offering thousands of students the opportunity to discover Italy's productive reality and to orient themselves with greater awareness. The word 'Choose' expresses well the message we want to spread with this edition: choose who to become and which path to follow, knowing that only through the comparison between school and business can we bridge the gap between training and work. SMEs, rooted in the territories and open to innovation, represent a concrete reference point for young people who want to build their future".

For Claudia Sartirani, national SME DAY leader for Piccola Industria, "PMI Day is a project of great value, because every year it manages to generate an extraordinary energy, capable of uniting companies, students and teachers in a true dialogue, full of curiosity and stimuli. It has grown over the years not only in numbers, but above all in the quality of the experiences and creativity of the proposals that arise from the encounter between those who produce value and those who are building their future. I like to think of PMI Day as a pact of trust between two worlds that need to contaminate and inspire each other: companies find in young people the strength and vision of tomorrow, and young people discover in companies the passion, courage and responsibility that make every choice concrete'.