Qualified Migrations: the Italian Case / Migracje pracowników wykwalifikowanych: sytuacja we Włoszec

This article investigates the phenomenon of migrations of highly qualified workers with particular reference to the Italian case. In the course of the article we will move from the examination of the traditional literature on the subject of qualified migrations, taking into account the most recent research on the European situation, until narrowing the attention to the Italian situation. The Italian scenario presents a series of peculiarities that the article will show off. Firstly, it will be underlined that in recent years considerable flows of mi- grants have started to leave Italy, directed above all towards the countries of the European Union: the range of these new migrations can be compared to the number of people who left the country during the Fifties. Secondly, it will be highlight- ed that the new flows of migrants leaving Italy are very different from those of the past: a high percentage of those who leave have a high level of education or already have a specialization in work. Within this section there is also a brief analysis of the qualified migrations within Italy: the results highlight how the young qualified workers – or students – of the South are pushed more and more to leave their regions of origin to head towards the Northern regions, historically richer and more dynamic. Therefore, it is emphasized that in Italy there is an internal brain drain that causes an intellectual depletion of the Southern regions: it will be also noted that the young qualified natives of Northern Italy, instead, emigrate mainly to other European countries such as, for example, Germany and Great Britain. The results of the research tend to in- dicate that Italy is for now a net export- er of highly skilled workers given that skilled foreign workers who choose Italy as a workplace are a very small proportion of the immigrants who annually reach the country. However, the situation tends to improve if the situation of foreigners en- rolling in degree courses at Italian universities is taken into consideration: the data presented in the article show that without the contribution of foreign members the decline in enrolment at Italian universities would have been much more considerable.