Harnessing market needs to maximise training programmes' impact

BOTH by Ring Capital Issue #26 — Interview with Oscar Pasquali, CEO @Generation Italy

Dear community,

This month, we had the pleasure to interview Oscar Pasquali, CEO of Generation Italy.

Founded by McKinsey in 2014 and initially launched in the US, Mexico, India, Kenya, and Spain, Generation has since expanded to 18 countries. While each region presents unique challenges and opportunities, the network is driven by a shared mission: empowering individuals to access careers that would otherwise be out of reach.

Using a reverse-design approach (starting with employer requirements to train job-ready graduates), Generation has a positive impact on both individuals and society as a whole. Their programmes adapt to local needs and contribute to national transformations, generating positive ripple effects at various levels.

This interview underscores the localised nature of impact. Generation’s work highlights the importance of tailored solutions rooted in specific local realities, and addresses these specific challenges by equipping individuals with skills that match local labour market demands.

Such territorial anchoring is key to fostering long-term societal and economic progress at the community level, while enabling individuals to gain autonomy and fully “express their freedom” as Oscar Pasquali puts it.

As impact stakeholders, it is our responsibility to shine a light on such solutions.

This is what BOTH is about: showing how people, companies, investors and institutions can act and play their part in this transition.

🫵 Which entrepreneur, solution, project or concept related to impact would you like us to cover in this newsletter? Feel free to send us your ideas!

Could you introduce yourself, your background and what brought you to Generation Italy?

I’m Oscar Pasquali, CEO of Generation in Italy, which I contributed to launch in 2018. Before joining Generation, I served as Head of Technical Secretariat to the Minister of Education, University and Research in Italy. Earlier in my career, I worked for the American Chamber of Commerce and in Management Consulting.

What brought me to Generation was its mission and the opportunity to contribute to improving the connection between two worlds which were not talking as effectively as they could: people looking to launch or relaunch their professional careers and employers looking for skilled and motivated people to work with.

What is Generation’s mission, and how does it guide your work in Italy?

Generation’s mission is to empower individuals to access careers that might otherwise be out of reach.

While we initially focused on youth unemployment — a critical global challenge, we have expanded our programmes to include participants aged 18 to 45. This shift helps address the paradox of skills mismatch: in Italy, 1.8 million people are unemployed, yet companies report 1.7 million job vacancies due to a lack of candidates with the appropriate skillset. Our ambition is to bridge this gap by creating a “common ground” where job seekers and employers can meet.

Moreover, as technological and energy transitions are reshaping the labour market, the need for reskilling grows. Many individuals face declining demand for their current skills, and we see an opportunity to support their transition into roles aligned with evolving market needs.

What are the main challenges in the Italian market regarding youth unemployment? How do you see the job market evolving in Italy?

Despite improvements in Italy’s job market, with employment reaching a 30-year high, not all segments of the population have benefited equally. Youth and women remain disproportionately affected.

Since 2007, employment for those aged 50-65 has grown while youth employment has dropped by almost 6 points and unemployment has increased by 2.3 points. What’s particularly concerning is the 6-point increase in youth inactivity — people who are not studying, working, or seeking employment. This loss of hope, and engagement is troubling, not only for the labour market, but for society.

The gender divide is equally stark. And if you add to it the geographical dimension, the situation is alarming. For instance, in southern Italy, young women employment (18-29 y.o.) is as low as 18,4%: nearly 34 points below the European 27 average. In the face of a demographic decline, this issue is urgent. Employment fosters autonomy, independence, and it is a mean to fully enjoy and express our freedom, at all levels. Addressing these inequalities is fundamental for both the individual and societal well-being.

How do you identify the priority sectors? Are these priorities consistent across Generation’s global network?

We apply the same methodology across all countries, analysing statistical data and conducting direct interviews with employers to identify in-demand professions specific to each region. Unlike traditional training and education providers, we reverse the process, starting with employers' needs to design profession-based boot camps in collaboration with them.

While programme specifics vary by country, certain trends are evident across the Generation network. For example, demand for digital skills has been consistently high over the past six years. Energy transition is taking the same path. Conversely, some sectors, like healthcare, which are prominent in the US and UK, are less feasible in other countries, such as in Italy due to regulatory constraints.

In Italy, our programmes focus on four main areas: customer care, digital and tech professions, manufacturing, and energy transition. All our programmes are designed to equip participants with job-ready skills within a short, intensive timeframe.

How do your training programmes address challenges related to the transition?

Programmes like the photovoltaic installer and green energy sales bootcamps directly address environmental challenges and support the energy transition. Socially, all our programmes aim to enable individuals to overcome educational, professional, and geographical barriers to employment, providing them with skills and the job opportunities to launch professional careers which otherwise would not be accessible.

More broadly, our conviction is that by training individuals, we contribute to both workforce development and societal progress. For example, Italy’s lag in digital skills is affecting both individual employability and national competitiveness. We want to contribute to addressing this challenge.

What results has Generation Italy achieved since its launch?

The Generation network focuses on employment as the ultimate outcome of its programmes, with training as the enabler. We provide free training programmes and guarantee at least one job interview at the end of the bootcamps to all our learners. Since 2018, we have trained over 9,000 individuals across 35 cities, achieving an average job placement rate of 83%. We continue to track their progress post-placement: 79% remain employed after one year, with retention rates reaching 96% for digital roles.

Thanks to regular touch points with our beneficiaries, we also track impact over time through metrics such as salary, contract type, and job quality. A recent survey of alumni from 2-5 years ago showed 92% are still employed (98% for digital graduates), with 70% saving up to 30% of their salary and 85% expressing job satisfaction. These outcomes are very important to us because they highlight the long-term durability of our impact. And impact can become change only if it’s durable.

What comes to your mind when you think about impact?

To me, impact means creating meaningful, lasting change. For it to be truly transformative, impact must be durable. Education stands out as a powerful driver of lasting impact because it equips individuals to grow, adapt, and contribute to their communities and economies over time. Education’s effects are exponential rather than linear.

Over six years, our learners in Italy have collectively earned €89 million in net salaries — seven times the investment made by our partners in their training. At a global scale, the Generation network trained more than 130,000 million people, and graduates have collectively earned $1.5 billion in wages. This doesn’t even factor in societal benefits like reduced unemployment costs, increased tax revenue, or the advantages for employers, such as streamlined recruitment and reduced training time.

Could you share a story of an individual from your programmes who has inspired you?

I feel lucky because I’m doing a job where stories are not missing. One memorable one is of a 22-year-old originally from Romania. After dropping out of high school, and jumping between short-term jobs and disappointing experiences, he joined our cybersecurity programme. With no prior tech experience, he completed the 10-week course and secured a position at a major system integrator. He told us he never imagined himself in such a role or being able to plan for the future.

Another inspiring case is a single mother from the US living in Italy who took our programme remotely while caring for her child. After she was selected, she had to go back to the US for a month, but continued to work while she was away: caring for her child during the day and attending the programme at night. Her determination paid off, as she secured a job within a month of graduation. That again tells us of the power of motivation. Sometimes what is missing is the opportunity, having the chance to acquire the necessary skills or the connection to the labour market.

What are the next steps or future plans for Generation Italy?

Equal access to quality jobs and economic mobility are significant societal challenges. At Generation, we aim to contribute by supporting individuals in finding their place in the labour market. To continue growing our impact, we have identified three interconnected priorities: scale, professional portfolio, and learners.

Scale: The challenge we face impacts hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people. While our work creates meaningful change at an individual level, addressing unemployment and economic mobility on a larger scale requires us to enhance our delivery model. This includes scaling up our efforts and collaborating with public and private stakeholders to maximise our impact and drive systemic change. By working together, we can create solutions that are greater than the sum of their parts.

Professional Portfolio: To serve a broader range of learners and employers, we must expand our program portfolio to include more in-demand professions.

Learners: So far, we have demonstrated that our methodology enables motivated individuals to launch successful professional careers, regardless of their educational or professional background. Now, while maintaining the breadth of our work, we must tailor our approach to address specific needs and make the labour market more inclusive. Increasing women’s participation in the workforce, supporting people with diverse abilities, and empowering refugees and migrants represent key opportunities to build a better and more prosperous society from both individual and collective perspectives.