The Stadi Generali dell'Orientamento, organised by Confindustria, took place yesterday, 17 May, at the Benito Stirpe stadium in Frosinone.

Almost 4,000 students from all over Italy listened to testimonials and advice on choosing the study paths that offer the greatest employability opportunities and are therefore closer to the industrial system.

Among the testimonies and suggestions, those of Giovanni Brugnoli, Confindustria Vice President for Human Capital, e Francesca Mariotti, General Manager Confindustria; by Marina Calderone, Minister of Labour and Social Policies, Giuseppe Valditara, Minister of Education and Merit, Cristina Grieco, President of Indire, Claudio Gagliardi, Deputy Secretary General of Unioncamere, Giuseppe Biazzo, Vice President of Unindustria, Federico Visentin, President of Federmeccanica, and Riccardo Mastrangeli, Mayor of Frosinone; as well as recommendations and examples from entrepreneur Brunello Cucinelli, sculptor Jago, 2006 World Champion and Frosinone Calcio coach Fabio Grosso and FIGC Technical Sector President Demetrio Albertini, who presented the Italian National ITS ACADEMY compiled with Indire's contribution.

During the second part of the morning, spaces were set up in the stands of the stadium for the young people to meet and discuss the opportunities for orientation from multiple points of view: with Brunello Cucinelli and Jago on the themes of creativity, beauty, technological humanism; with the athletes of the Luiss Sports Association for orientation through sport; with the ITS Mechatronics of Lazio, ITS Lazio Digital Academy, Academy of Fine Arts of Frosinone and University of Cassino and Southern Lazio, in collaboration with R-Store; with UMANA for orientation game activities on soft skills and the orientation map; with the Intesa Sanpaolo Savings Museum to think about the future with financial education through quizzes and interactive-digital exercises to learn how to manage one's budget; with the Bracco Foundation to discuss STEM and overcoming gender stereotypes; with Indire to talk about Erasmus, students' skills in ITS and internationalisation opportunities. One forum was then dedicated to the exhibition and award ceremony of Federmeccanica's 'Eureka! Works!' project, where 500 primary school children presented the toys they had made.

According to Giovanni Brugnoli, Vice President for Human Capital of Confindustria, "in Italy there are 3 million Neet, young people who do not study and do not work, a school dropout rate permanently in double figures, with dramatic peaks in the South, a youth unemployment rate among the worst internationally. It means that there is a problem in Italy: governments and politicians, in recent years, have lost sight of young people. And school is always at the centre of electoral programmes only to be forgotten. But our country, which is the second manufacturing power in Europe, cannot afford such a waste of talent. And yet, the Its Academies are close to a 90% placement rate. Italy must therefore get that second professionalising leg that has made the fortune of half of Europe off the ground and focus on scientific subjects with a high innovation content. The NRP allocates 19.44 billion euro to the strengthening of education. An unprecedented amount of resources that we must spend and, above all, do it well: on training, on school buildings, on links with the world of work. School is the real investment in the future. Let us not waste this opportunity'.

Partners in the initiative: Unindustria, Federmeccanica, Luiss, the ITS Mechatronic of Lazio and the Academy of Fine Arts of Frosinone. In addition, the event was realised with the support of Intesa Sanpaolo and Umana, in collaboration with the Museo del Risparmio, with the contribution of the Bracco Foundation, the Mai Foundation, R-Store, the Luiss Sports Association and the University of Cassino and Southern Lazio, together with Cotral - an Agens associate - as Mobility Partner.

The General Orientation Day was sponsored by FGIC, Indire and Unioncamere.