Here you will find information on High Schools and Professional Education and Training

Find the most suitable course of study for your needs.

Professional institutes

Following the reform initiated by Legislative Decree No 61 of 13 April 2017, Professional Institutes are schools of innovation, open and conceived as workshopsarch, experimentation and educational innovation. The new Professional Institutes are characterised by the personalisation of the learning programme and the development of an "Individual Educational Plan" for each student. They feature tutors who work with individual students to motivate, guide and progressively build their educational pathway as well as a teaching model that directly links the courses of study to the relevant industrial sectors in order to offer concrete prospects of employability. And again: teaching methods for learning inductively, through workshop experiences and in operational environments, analysis and solution of problems related to the relevant economic activities, cooperative work on projects, the opportunity to provide paths for transferable skills and orientation, the so-called PCTO, as early as the second year.

The eleven branches of study
Professional education courses include a standard two-year course and a three-year course aimed at further developing the students' education in accordance with the possible variations of the specific branch of study. Professional institutes feature eleven branches of study. At the end of the course the student obtains a secondary school diploma.

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Maintenance and technical assistance

Suitable for anyone who

has an interest in machines, machinery, plants and their operation, and is able to understand technological applications;
likes to work on mechanical, electrical and electronic devices, installing, repairing and servicing small systems, machinery and equipment;
wants to work on technological equipment, including motor vehicles, identifying any faults or anomalies and restoring their functionality.

You will learn to

carry out routine maintenance, diagnostics and testing of machines and small installations;
analyse and interpret diagrams of apparatuses, installations and devices and prepare activities for their operation;
collaborate in testing, regulation and inspection activities, also providing for the issuing of certifications required by the standard;
work safely in compliance with occupational health and safety and environmental protection regulations.

After graduating

You will be able to work

In some of the most in-demand careers in the sector, which can also be accessed with post-diploma levels of education: plant installers and maintainers, repairers of machinery and industrial plants, mechatronic and mechanical maintenance technicians.

You can continue your studies

At ITS Academy - Higher Technological Institutes in the “Mechanical System” field, discover the ones closest to you: sistemaits.istruzione.gov.it/portaleitsacademy;
At Universities, discover the ones closest to you: www.universitaly.it.
AFAM - Higher Education in Music and Dance: choose the course of study best suited to your aptitudes from 4 different courses of study at www.universitaly.it;
Special university institutes: discover highly specialised university courses where access is possible on merit and after passing an entrance exam at Special university institutes;
High Schools for Language Mediators (S.S.M.L.): Find out how to further your language studies at High Schools for Language Mediators (S.S.M.L.) at www.universitaly.it/ssml.

Timetable and workshop activities

The first two years of professional education courses comprise 2112 hours per year: 1188 hours of general education activities and teaching and 924 hours of specialised activities and teaching, including hours allocated to workshops. Schools can use up to 264 hours to personalise learning, implement the Individual Educational Plan and can provide pathways for transferable skills and orientation, the so-called PCTO, from the second year.
For the next three years, each school year (third, fourth, fifth) includes 1056 hours per year, of which 462 hours are allocated to teaching in the general area common to all branches and 594 hours to specific teaching for individual branches. Schools can use their margin of autonomy, in relation to the overall timetable, to intensify workshop activities and enhance their educational offerings in a flexible manner.

Innovation Workshops

Professional education sees itself as a permanent workshop for research and innovation, in a continuous relationship with the world of work. Schools can tailor their curricula to specific educational programmes required by the local area and consistent with the priorities indicated by the regions. The new professional college education system is centred on:

customised teaching, widespread and intelligent use of workshops, integration of competences, skills and knowledge;
orientation teaching, which accompanies and guides students throughout their studies;
innovative and flexible educational offerings and subjects grouped by cultural strands.

Graduates acquire a cultural perspective that combines technical and professional competences with those relating to European citizenship.

Educational, cultural and professional profile

Professional education courses, whatever the chosen branch of study, are characterised by the Educational, Cultural and Professional Profile (E.E.C.P) that combines both the shared learning outcomes and the targeted learning outcomes of graduates. Schools can integrate the competences, skills and knowledge contained in the Exit Profiles to propose innovative programmes, in line with local expectations, or programmes already adopted and deemed successful.

Correspondence with ATECO codes

You can find the output profiles of the eleven branches in the annexes to Decree No. 92 of 24 May 2018. This regulation also provides the correlation of each of the branches of five-year professional education courses with the ATECO codes of economic activities drawn up by ISTAT and with the vocational qualifications and diplomas of Professional Education and Training (IeFP). Within the framework of the ATECO codes, schools can develop and specialise innovative programmes consistent with the specific needs of the territory