There's plenty of work in Sardinia, but there's a shortage of skilled artisans. Confartigianato Imprese Gallura is sounding the alarm, with data showing how the difficulty of finding staff is becoming a structural problem for businesses on the island.

The data – In 2025, Sardinian artisans planned to hire 15,290 workers but found only 6,840, with a recruitment problem that reached 55.3%, compared to 53.7% in 2024, equivalent to 8,450 positions. Considering the entire Sardinian business landscape, they are unable to find 46.3% of the required workforce, compared to 42% in 2024, equivalent to 74,190 positions. The delay in finding suitable people to hire generates enormous costs. Small businesses on the island are estimated to have suffered €206 million in losses due to long waiting times for staff and a lack of unskilled labor. The social consequences are evident: 21.4% of young people between the ages of 15 and 29 are neither in education nor employment, or are not enrolled in training programs (known as NEETs).

"Emergency" – "In Sardinia," Confartigianato emphasizes, "this phenomenon represents a waste of resources and an emergency that must be addressed urgently . Furthermore, approximately a quarter of young people between the ages of 25 and 34 are inactive. Added to this are the data on school dropouts: on the island, this varies between 14.5% and 17.3%, compared to the Italian average of 10%.

Young People – To try to introduce young people to the world of artisanal businesses, student days were organized, for example, in Gallura, where students from the "Mossa" and "Panedda" high schools in Olbia met with artisans. "We're starting to experiment with concrete initiatives to foster contact and relationships between businesses and schools," said Marina Manconi, president of Confartigianato Gallura.

(Unioneonline/lf)

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