ECVET - Application to mobility projects

The Italian education and training system is divided into three levels and it is managed by the Ministry of Education, University and Research (MIUR):
1. primary and first cycle
2. second cycle
3. post secondary education and training (higher non academic education).

1. The Primary (elementary) school lasts 5 years and the first-grade secondary education (middle school) lasts 3 years. The student has to pass a final exam in order to gain the admittance to the second cycle.

2. The second cycle has undergone several reforms. The secondary education is divided into

• high schools with courses lasting 5 years; they end with an exam functional to gain admittance to the University; they deal with three areas: secondary schools (6 different typologies); technical colleges (2 sectors and 11 course of studies); tertiary colleges (2 sectors and 6 courses of studies)
• VET: the courses last three/four or five years and they end with an exam which enables to gain both a qualification or a diploma; only in the second case it's possible to gain admittance to the University.

The Act 296/06 has established that the education is compulsory until 16 years old.

3. The Higher education (academic and non academic). In the second case, the system is called I.F.T.S. - Post-secondary non academic education -. The IFTS and ITS systems were set up under the Act n.144 of the 17th May 1999 (then modified by the Act 296/06). IFTS is jointly managed by the MIUR, the Ministry of Labour, the Regions; the IFTS National Committee lays down the procedures, the guidelines and the minimum national standards. The Regions design the courses, adjust the guidelines to the different local requirements and call for funding.

The Act 40/07 has given the possibility to establish the Poli Formativi (Partnerships) at provincial level. IFTS courses meet the national standards set out by the Unified Conference and they are supervised by the Regions.