Higher Education and Research Apprenticeship

Apprenticeship is an open-ended employment contract aimed at training and employing young people between 18 and 29 years of age. Tthe apprentices receive not only a wage, but also professional training in return for their work.

In view of the need to provide companies with highly qualified young people, capable of improving their innovation drive, an aspect that is now essential within the current competitive paradigm, Politecnico and Piedmont Region plan advanced training and research apprenticeships for the acquisition of the Bachelor’s, Master’s or professional degree programmes, 1^st and 2^nd level Specializing Master's degree programmes, PhD degrees and Research activity.

These learning paths feature an intense cooperation between universities and companies. By emphasising work as a learning process, they contribute to the development of skills that really meet the specific needs of the economic system, in line with the skill requirements expressed by employers in Piedmont.

Precisely because it is a “training contract”, the work experience is alternated with training opportunities, which may take place either within or outside the company, at accredited training facilities, thus enabling young people to earn an educational qualification.

Higher education and research apprenticeships allow companies to hire highly qualified human resources who are trained according to their needs: the company that hires an apprentice with a higher education and research apprenticeship contract, in fact, collaborates with the university in the definition of the educational project and then, identifies appropriate forms of coordination with them, during the management phase.

Moreover, the enterprise must foster, within itself, organisational, structural and professional conditions that allow the apprentice to be trained for the acquisition of the qualification for which the apprenticeship contract is intended.

• Contract forms and obligations, economic benefits and tax reliefs
  • These career paths are aimed at young people and adults, under the age of 30, employed pursuant to Article 45 of Legislative Decree 81/2015 by companies operating in the Piedmont region.
• Contractual aspects
  • Apprenticeship contracts may be finalised by all private company employers in all sectors.
  • The duration of the contract cannot be less than six months and is equal to the maximum statutory duration of the related career paths. The total number of apprentices that an employer may take on may not exceed a ratio of 3 to 2 of skilled and qualified workers in force.
  • The employment of an apprentice is activated according to the terms of the relevant collective agreement, which specifies rules on wages, working hours, holidays, etc.
• Remuneration and fiscal and economic benefits
  • Remuneration, for the work, is established according to the CCNL (collective agreement) and the remuneration is applied according to the classification or sub-classification provided for.  It should be noted that the apprentice’s remuneration may increase during the course of the training.
  • The apprenticeship contract allows the company to hire and train new professionals at an advantageous labour cost, as various economic and tax benefits are applicable.
• Documentation to be attached to the contract
  • For  the purposes of activating the Higher Education and Research Apprenticeship contract, the university or higher education institution and the employer must sign a protocol, drawn up on the basis of the outline approved by interministerial decree of 12 October 2015, which defines the content, duration and educational organisation of the training, inside and outside the company, and also the type of recipients of the contract (potentially identifying several apprenticeship paths for several qualifications). The apprenticeship contract must be stipulated in writing, together with the Individual Training Plan (PFI - Piano formativo individuale), which can be drawn up in summary form within the contract.

Recipients
University students between the ages of 18 and 29 enrolled in a three-year degree programme or in a Master’s or professional degree programme may be hired under this type of contract.

Organisation and duration of the career path
In consideration of the possibility of part-time enrolment, on the basis of what is defined by the University Educational regulations and taking into account the access requirements in terms of CFUs (University Educational Credits) referred to in the previous paragraph, the duration of the contract to obtain a Degree cannot be less than 6 months and is equal, at most, to the statutory duration of the related university career path. The end of the apprenticeship period coincides with the date on which the degree is awarded, or the thesis is discussed.

Planned training
The training standards of the Bachelor's and Master's degree programmes are defined in accordance with the current university regulations.
Assuming the number of envisaged training credits as a basis for the calculation, the total duration of the career path is normally broken down as follows:

• external training, carried out at the university/academic institution: no more than 60% of the number of hours required as part of the course credits;
• in-house training, carried out at the company: equal to the difference between the hours of regular training and the hours of external training.  The internal training must also include self-study.

In-house and external training must be planned in a way that allows students to earn their final degree.

Students

To receive more information on the initiative or to propose a Higher Education and Research Apprenticeship project, you can contact the relevant University offices by opening a ticket on your personal page on the education portal.

Companies

PoliTO offices are available for additional information or for collecting Higher Education and Research Apprenticeships proposals:

• Bachelor’s, Master’s and professional degree programmes: laurea.apprendistato@polito.it
• Specializing Master’s programmes, 1^st and 2^nd level: master.apprendistato@polito.it
• Ph.D. programmes: dottorato.apprendistato@polito.it
• Research activities: ricerca.apprendistato@polito.it