Working in Italy

Around 19,000 British expatriates have already established a home in Italy and the appeal and desirability of the country is so strong that citizens of many nationalities apply every year for Italian residency and work permits.

However, unless you’re a citizen of another EU member state, you speak fluent Italian and are well qualified in the field in which you’d like to work, finding a job and working in Italy may prove tricky.

Despite what may be politically correct to say, it’s a fact that jobs in Italy will go to an Italian before they’ll be offered to a foreign resident.  Unemployment in Italy has been high for many years and it’s only now that the numbers are coming down to more manageable levels of around 8.6% - so you can probably understand an employer’s reluctance to see a fellow Italian overlooked in favour of an equally well qualified foreigner.

Having said that, many UK and EU citizens successfully find employment in Italy teaching their national languages in one of the many language schools in the larger Northern Italian cities such as Milan, Florence and Rome or working as au pairs.  Unless you speak fluent Italian these sorts of jobs are the only ones you’re likely to succeed in applying for. 

The majority of employment opportunities are in the more industrialised north of the country with unemployment in the more beautiful south running in the region of a staggering 20%.  If your particular profession has qualifications and certification you must ensure these translate to Italian equivalents and that you won’t have to re-take your qualifications in Italy before you can apply for work.  Even if you’re thinking of setting up in business alone you have to have the proper qualifications recognised by the authorities before you can trade or you’ll face some quite hefty fines.

In terms of seeking employment, Italy is very much a country built on networking - it is far easier to get a job when you’re already living in Italy as you’ll hear of openings and opportunities in the local cafe or bar before they are ever advertised elsewhere.  Alternatively, if your profession has a trade body or trade press find out whether there is an Italian equivalent or whether they have ties with any companies or bodies in Italy.

You can also consider posting your CV online and trawling international recruitment sites for opportunities in Italy as well as getting involved in forums of expatriates already working in Italy who may be able to advise and assist you. 

And finally, without wishing to repeat the point too many times - you really need to have a fluency in Italian and be fully qualified for the professional in which you wish to work if you’re serious about working in Italy.