Sardinia, the youth exodus and businesses raise concerns: "There's a 74,000 worker shortage."

There's a shortage of young people, a shortage of the skills businesses need, and the demographic picture is continually worsening. This explosive mix is jeopardizing the stability of the employment system and, potentially (but not too far away), the social security system.

The collapse

Sardinia is a land of old people; over the past ten years, the population aged 15 to 34 has decreased by approximately 60,000, or over 17% of the total (we are second in Italy after Calabria). Numerous production sectors are facing enormous difficulties; it is estimated (according to trade associations) that over 74,000 people are missing. Confindustria, in its July analysis, warned that the island needs at least 1,900 specific professionals.

The companies

"Sardinian companies are increasingly reporting the difficulty in identifying profiles consistent with their operational and development needs," emphasizes Confindustria Director General Andrea Porcu. "Profiles related to contexts characterized by rapid technological and organizational change are lacking, but those in essential traditional sectors, such as woodworking, construction, and plumbing, are also lacking, if not 'extinct'."

He continues: "The dramatic population decline, combined with the island status that cuts off our region from the influx of potential new non-EU workers, will also have a strong impact on the labor market, which will be increasingly misaligned with demand. We are deeply concerned."

The territories

The province of Southern Sardinia is the worst-hit country in the country: in ten years, it has seen a 24% decline (-17,905); Oristano is in second place (-22.7%); Nuoro is in ninth place (-18); but Sassari and Cagliari are also at the top of the list.

UIL General Secretary Fulvia Murru gets straight to the heart of the problem: "When a region loses its young people, it loses its workforce, its ability to innovate, generate wealth, and ensure generational turnover. It's a dynamic that risks compromising the island's economic and social future."

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