The School4Life programme is designed to support students, families, and teachers throughout the country. The school drop-out rate in Italy stands at 13%, against the European target of below 10%.
Leonardo, together with 11 national companies, is taking part in School4Life, the initiative promoted by the ELIS Consortium - a non-profit organisation that promotes educational and professional training activities for young people - to counteract the occurrence of secondary school dropouts throughout Italy.
Professional training activities
The two-year School4Life project provides guidance to young people at risk of dropping out of school and initiatives to support families and teachers, with the aim of involving a total of 15,000 students. Particular attention will be paid to the regions where, according to an analysis of the Ministry of Education, the phenomenon is most widespread: Sardinia, Campania, Sicily, Lombardy, and Liguria.
Europe 2020 aims to reduce the school drop-out rate to below 10%.
Europe 2020, the ten-year strategy proposed by the European Commission, aims to reduce the school drop-out rate to below 10%. In Italy, the ISTAT Report on Education Levels 2021 notes that the drop-out rate stands at 13.1% of the total school population, with a significant impact on the employment prospects and planning skills of young people.
Involvement of business professionals
According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) 2019 Report, in fact, unemployment among senior school dropouts is almost double that of senior school graduates and almost quadruple that of university graduates. Moreover, according to the OECD, leaving senior school before graduation contributes 35% to the NEET (Neither in Employment or in Education or Training) phenomenon, i.e. young people who are neither studying, nor working, nor seeking employment. According to ISTAT surveys, in 2020, there were more than 2 million NEET in Italy.
School4Life strengthens the relationship between schools and businesses. The orientation activities dedicated to students will see the direct involvement of business professionals and university students as Role Models and Mentors.
Female student population
The programme also aims to promote the introduction of STEM subjects to the female student population
Orientation meetings will alternate with the realisation of group projects, creativity marathons (creathons) and moments of discussion and learning on an experiential basis. Training programmes for teachers, webinars for parents and the ‘We Stay’ help desk for the remediation of at-risk situations will be aimed at adults who support young people on their school journey.
The programme also aims to promote the introduction of STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) to the female student population, which in Italy are still predominantly male fields of study. Thanks to the initiatives carried out over the last four years by ELIS, with its corporate partners within the framework of the Sistema Scuola-Impresa (School-Business System) Programme, the School4Life project will be able to take advantage of a consolidated network of over 600 schools throughout Italy.
Scientific citizenship initiatives
The dissemination of ‘scientific citizenship’ and orientation towards the professions of the future, the sharing of knowledge and technological skills with the communities of reference, and the commitment to an inclusive culture are central themes for Leonardo and part of the Group Sustainability Plan.
In 2021, the company reached over 400,000 people through scientific citizenship initiatives
In 2021, the company reached over 400,000 people through scientific citizenship initiatives, including STEMLab, a project involving over 600 schools, 700 teachers and 2,800 students, and mentoring programmes for young female students in Southern Italy.
Multimedia interactive whiteboards
The company is at the forefront of technical training for young people thanks to its employees who teach at the five Italian Leonardo Higher Technical Institutes (ITS) and its Role Models - women with STEM backgrounds who guide and inspire the new generations through targeted meetings in schools.
In 2021, the first Leonardo crowdfunding project in support of the digitalisation of Italian schools, affected by the COVID-19 emergency, was concluded through a fundraising campaign that enabled 46 institutes identified in agreement with the Ministry of Education to be equipped with new IT devices. With the contributions made, over 900 IT devices have been purchased, ranging from tablets to PCs, from multimedia interactive whiteboards to video projectors and DVD players.
