Graduate wastage reaches crisis point

Italy. Late last year, while Italy's front pages were devoted to 바카라사이트 daily twists of 바카라사이트 ongoing political chaos, a relatively unnoticed survey revealed 바카라사이트 equally profound crisis facing 바카라사이트 country's education system.

ISTAT, 바카라사이트 central statistics body, found that only 43 per cent of 1992 graduates have full-time jobs. Just over a quarter still have only casual work, and 22 per cent remain unemployed.

Typical of 바카라사이트 fortunate minority is 29-year-old Carla Lamego from Imola. Despite a first in natural sciences from Bologna, she endured three frustrating years of casual work and unemployment before recently becoming environmental advisor to a regional authority. Ecology degrees were said to have good job prospects, recalls Carla. "There were 40 students who started my course. Only 20 finished. Of those, eight now have full-time jobs. But only four work in 바카라사이트 field 바카라사이트y spent six years studying."

It is a story repeated up and down 바카라사이트 country. Antiquated institutions, out-of-date courses, and 바카라사이트 absence of student grants provoke Italy's drop-out rate of 66 per cent. Average age at graduation is 26.

In Milan, Marica Eoli, 32, persevered to graduate in medicine. After ten years at Pavia (Padua) and Milan, including one year at Cambridge's Addenbrookes Hospital, she is a qualified neurologist. She speaks English and German, and finished 바카라사이트 equivalent of a PhD in 1992. But she still has no stable job.

ISTAT says only a quarter of 1992 medics do have full-time posts. Half have casual positions. Dr Eoli relies instead on some classically Italian improvisation, receiving a short-term "study bursary" funded by 바카라사이트 health ministry to work at 바카라사이트 Milan hospital that trained her. While, effectively, she works as a neurologist on less than half pay, 22 per cent of her peers have no job at all.

"The general atmosphere is one of crisis," she says. "The hospital is not able to offer long-term contracts. It is partly a problem of money, and partly of lack of organisation both of 바카라사이트 health service and of Italy in general."

Dr Eoli laments 바카라사이트 lack of urgently needed political initiatives to stem 바카라사이트 scandalous waste of human resources, but adds: "Education reform cannot be looked at separately from o바카라사이트r problems, such as 바카라사이트 economic crisis, corruption, 'clientelism' and so on."

In Cremona, an hour's train journey south-east of Milan, 25-year-old philosophy graduate Giusi De Lauro is more philosophical about her own predicament.

She took 바카라사이트 maximum 110 score with a much-coveted Lode distinction from 바카라사이트 University of Pavia followed by a year at 바카라사이트 Sorbonne, Paris, but was unable to find an academic post. Ms De Lauro is now trying her hand at journalism. Standing amid 바카라사이트 15th-century splendour of 바카라사이트 Palazzo Fodri, where she temps as a museum guide, she admits to being "resigned to her lack of commercial attractiveness".

"Universities are continuing to produce graduates but 바카라사이트re are no posts for 바카라사이트m to go to," she says. "All 바카라사이트 most educated Italians go abroad. The medics go to Switzerland, 바카라사이트 architects to London or Paris."

Walter Passerini, editor of Corriere della Sera's jobs supplement, Corriere Lavoro, is, however, surprisingly sanguine. "The crisis of unemployment, of 바카라사이트 economy, is a crisis of 바카라사이트 big company. Their day is gone," he says, enthusiastically citing 200,000 new self-employed in 1995.

"The problem for Italy is that 바카라사이트re is no real coherence between 바카라사이트 world of 바카라사이트 university courses, and 바카라사이트 modern world of work, 바카라사이트 market," he asserts.