In Italy, the Apprenticeship is an open-ended contract regulated by a national law ("Testo Unico apprendistato”, 2011) and implemented by social parties. It is one of the main tools for helping the school-to-work transition of young people. The term of the contract runs from a minimum of 6 months up to a maximum of 3 years (or 5 years for craftsmen) and foresees the participation of the apprentice in all the training courses that can give him the technical skills useful for his work.
There are 3 kinds of Apprenticeship: the Apprenticeship for Qualification and professional degree, aimed at young workers aged between 15 and 25, the Professional Apprenticeship contract and Apprenticeship for higher education and research, aimed at young workers aged between 18 and 29.
In all the Construction sectors (building, wood and furniture, cement, lime and gypsum, stone and excavation, brick and cement products) the Italian social parties signed the National Collective agreements for the regulation of the Apprenticeship. These agreements regulate some specific aspects of the contract: the professions of an apprentice, the terms of the contract, the period and the contents of professional training, the percentage of apprentices to be confirmed at the end of the apprenticeship period. The national agreements signed by social parties fix also the main responsibilities of the Tutor who helps the young employee at work and supervises his training and establishes that the Scuole edili (the bilateral bodies for professional training in the sector) set the courses for apprentices.