«At work the direction is right. But let’s not forget training»- Corriere.it

«It is a broad decree that will have to be evaluated. It could certainly have been more incisive, but on some points the path seems to be the right one”. The cut in the tax wedge on wages of up to 35 thousand euros, which could rise by a few more points in the Labor decree on the agenda of the Council of Ministers on Monday 1st May, is one of the chapters of the measure to which an entrepreneur Look. «It is a first step, albeit a temporary one, but it goes in the right direction because it shortens the distance between the cost of labor in Italy and that in other European countries. It is important because it also becomes a factor of competitiveness and this is why Confindustria has been asking for a much stronger structural intervention for some time now». Annalisa Sassi is the president of Confindustria Emilia Romagna with its 40,000 industrial companies, one of the country’s industrial engines. As an entrepreneur, you are the exponent of the fourth generation of the Casale di Parma food group, 126 years of history.

What will be the immediate effect?
«Faced with an inflationary push that has hit the weakest groups, forced to reduce food spending and also the quality of the products purchased, it can only have a positive effect on consumption. In short, it supports families in one of the most complex times and can also have positive effects on the state coffers if purchases restart. We have witnessed a violent push from price increases that perhaps needed to be tackled in a more structured way right away. For families and businesses that are all in the same position”.

Hasn’t enough been done to support businesses and families?
«A strong impact must be managed so that the energy shock no longer occurs. Then, we only looked at support for energy spending when all prices were going up. The global system has responded by raising rates, so households and businesses have come under doubly pressure. They still are now that energy prices are slowing down. For this reason, the choices of central banks, which will be at the center of this week, will be even more important. However, the production context also responds to the difficulties of the context in which it works: in our region I see that companies still want to invest in Italy and go abroad where they bring Made in Italy products. We as Casale export over 70% of our turnover. The priority will be to support companies that invest and innovate. I come from a region with the highest ratio of private research expenditure to GDP and with the highest per capita exports in the country. In 2022 Emilia-Romagna exported over 84 billion.

The government is working on more flexible fixed-term hiring, will it be possible to unblock the labor market?
«It is a very delicate issue among companies. What I see is a rapidly changing production system, which is going through a phase of great discontinuity with changing markets and rapidly shortening supply chains. The push comes from extraordinary factors, many linked to geopolitics. A company now has to transform itself every five to six years. Term contracts can be useful for specific projects that companies would otherwise have to forego. But they certainly don’t have to be a total, decisive tool. There are other ways to support work».

What are you thinking about?
«I am referring to the welfare network, and in this sense the government management is right with the quota of tax-free fringe benefits for company bonuses to workers. They can be a tool that facilitates integration and improves quality of life. But more can also be done to promote female employment. The fundamental aspect is continuous training and the development of human capital, because the world is constantly transforming. The introduction of digital, for example, is having a very strong impact. Among the companies of Emilia there is a strong awareness of this issue. Companies must respond precisely with training in the context of intense collaboration with universities, ITS and the entire school system. A company is a social organization where skills are exercised, it’s not just a reality that creates wealth».