Thousands of tech jobs vacant as Italy can't find talent

Some 76,000 of professional-level jobs offered by companies in the industrial and services areas went unfilled last year, according to data from Italy's Ministry of Work and Chamber of Commerce.

According to the data, 41.8 percent of all jobs offered to Italian software developers and analysts were unfilled, or only filled temporarily. The same was true of 30 percent of jobs offered for engineering professionals.

This is despite a national unemployment rate of 11.7 percent and a youth unemployment rate of 37.9 percent.

"Generally, Italy is managing to easily find workers for most of its jobs," a spokesperson from the Chamber of Commerce told The Local.

"However, there are a couple of areas where the number of unfilled jobs is very high."

Other sectors struggle to find professionals too, but Italy's technology and engineering sectors are particularly hard hit, especially as thousands of the country's brightest move abroad each year for work.

According to data from national statistics agency, Istat, seven percent of all Phd holders who graduated between 2004 and 2006 currently live abroad, while 14 percent of Phd students who graduated between 2008 and 2010 are now living and working elsewhere.

"Obviously, among those who leave Italy for work there are many highly-skilled and well-educated workers," the spokesperson added.

Another problem is the lack of work experience among Italian jobseekers. Companies are looking to hire, but can't find workers who fit the bill.

"We need our schools and universities to offer more work placements to students, giving them the opportunity to develop the real-world skills that will make them more valuable to employers," the spokesperson said.