If you hire front-of-house, kitchen, reception or retail staff for their first job in Italy, you may already have met them: as students on placement during formazione scuola-lavoro (school-to-work training, the mandatory work-based hours formerly called PCTO). Enrolment in the Enogastronomia e ospitalità alberghiera track (food, wine and hotel hospitality) stood at 138,078 students across state and paritarie (state-recognised private) schools (MIM open data, school year 2024/25). The school that trains them is also an orderly channel for hiring them.
Why go through the school
The experience is documented. In vocational schools, school-to-work training lasts at least 210 hours over the final three years (Law 145/2018, Art. 1(784)). For each placement the company tutor gives the school the elements needed to assess the student, and the school certifies the skills acquired (Legislative Decree 77/2005, Arts. 5 and 6). A CV alone does not give you that information.
The school may act as an intermediary. State and paritarie upper secondary schools are authorised by Article 6 of Legislative Decree 276/2003, on condition that they publish their final-year students' CVs free of charge on their website until at least twelve months after the diploma, and register in the Ministry of Labour's online register (Albo informatico). ITS Academies (post-secondary higher technical institutes) have a similar provision (Law 99/2022, Art. 6(7)). Intermediation includes collecting CVs, pre-selection and managing the match between supply and demand (Art. 2). That is what allows a registered school to put you in touch with its graduates.
Contracts for younger workers
First-level apprenticeship (Legislative Decree 81/2015, Art. 43). For young people aged 15 to 25 who are working towards a qualification or diploma. With secondary schools it can start from the second year, for up to four years. The company signs a protocol with the school, which draws up the individual training plan with the company's involvement (Art. 42). Hours of training at school are unpaid and hours of training at the company are paid at 10%, unless the collective agreement provides otherwise; the collective agreement also sets pay for working hours. After the diploma the contract can be converted into a vocational apprenticeship. The detailed rules are set by the Regions.
Vocational apprenticeship (apprendistato professionalizzante, Art. 44). Ages 18 to 29, or from 17 for holders of an IeFP (regional vocational training) qualification. The collective agreement sets the duration, up to three years (five for craft profiles). For companies that work in seasonal cycles, the collective agreement may provide for fixed-term apprenticeships.
Post-study internship (tirocinio extracurriculare). It is not an employment relationship and must be promoted by an authorised body: in Lombardy this includes schools, ITS foundations and accredited IeFP providers. The Lombardy rules (Regional Resolution DGR 7763/2018):
- a minimum allowance of €500 gross a month, €400 if the company provides meal vouchers or a canteen, €350 if the commitment is no more than 4 hours a day;
- a minimum duration of two months, reduced to one for businesses that operate seasonally; a maximum of six months, or twelve if the training plan targets skills at EQF level 4 or above;
- no internships for elementary tasks, nor to replace staff during peaks, holidays or sick leave;
- having hosted the student for school-to-work training does not prevent you from starting an internship with them.
Since 28 June 2026 a national limit also applies: no more than twelve months of post-study internships in total for each group of companies, without prejudice to the other limits (Law 234/2021, Art. 1(726-bis), inserted by Decree-Law 62/2026).
Hosting a placement is the first step
A company that hosts school-to-work training signs an agreement with the school. The agreement may not assign students to high-risk work, and companies listed in the national school-to-work register add to their risk assessment a section covering students, which is attached to the agreement (Law 145/2018, Art. 1(784-quater) and (784-novies)). The evaluation you write as company tutor is one of the elements the school uses to assess the student.
What to ask the placement office
- Is the school registered in the Albo informatico for intermediation, and where does it publish CVs?
- In which months are classes on placement, and for how many hours?
- What evaluation form does the company tutor use, and can candidates show you the evaluations they received?
- Has the school already signed protocols for first-level apprenticeships?
- Does it promote post-study internships for its graduates?
Where the software fits
With InTransparency, the school records placements, hours and tutor evaluations in one place. On the job board you can post an ad, always under your company's name; students apply themselves, and job placement stays in the school's hands.