Mese: Luglio 2021

A well-diversified sector in terms of the outlet sectors served, with the forecast of a positive sales volume, in tune with the history of the last decade when, from 2009 to 2019, this world grew by 8.8% in terms of active locations and consolidated the expansion paths of the companies born in the early 2000s, the golden age of “dot.com” companies.

This is how the ICT entrepreneurship in Friuli Venezia Giulia is presented in “FVG Digitale – Le imprese digitali in Friuli Venezia Giulia, Report 2021”, the first systematic report dedicated to this area promoted by the Ditedi Cluster, realized with a joint work between professors of the University of Udine and the University of Trieste and whose presentation is scheduled for Thursday, July 8, at 5 pm online at .

at www.fvgdigitale.ditedi.it.
The document analyzes in the multiplicity of its aspects a sector that became even more crucial during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The survey at the base of the Report involved about one hundred ICT companies in Friuli Venezia Giulia, active in the production of hardware, software and services. The data were collected through a survey between July and November 2020 acting on a large scale – companies with turnover between 250 thousand and 50 million euros -, which were accompanied by twelve in-depth interviews to as many entrepreneurs.

The picture that emerges from the report is very varied. From the point of view of human resources, the ICT sector stands out for the high presence of personnel with a high level of education, with an average percentage of 36.1% of employees in the sample. Degrees in IT disciplines (present in 70% of companies) and economic/legal disciplines (present in 40% of companies) prevail, but specializations in humanistic areas are also evident, present in 30% of companies. Few women still work in the sector; within the sample surveyed, on average, they account for 19.5%. A low figure, but still in line with the values recorded at European level (European Commission (2021), Women in Digital Scoreboard 2020, https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/ women-digital-scoreboard-2020).

Companies with between 10 and 25 employees represent the largest group (44.2%), but the component of medium-large companies (with more than 50 employees) is also significant, i.e. 9.3%. Forty-two percent of the average turnover is produced in the region, 48.4 percent in the rest of the Italian market, while direct export represents less than 10 percent.

“The work carried out by the professors of the Universities of Udine and Trieste is fundamental to understand the state of the art of the Ictregional sector – says the project manager of the Cluster, Francesco Contin – We wanted to take a picture of what exists, also in the light of the impact that Covid-19 has had on the economy. The analysis conducted has allowed us to better frame the size and economic scope of the sector, investigating the dynamics of growth and strategies for approaching the market, and provides us with some food for thought that will be useful in setting up future support actions and intervention policies”. Among these, above all, “the training of the new generations, also and above all female – continues the director -, with still few high school and university graduates to meet the current and future needs of companies and the managerial training of entrepreneurs themselves that affects the dynamics of growth and internationalization of companies and the ability to attract and enhance the skills and talents available, through corporate welfare and staff retention policies, for example”.

The Report also focuses on the behavior of ICT companies during the period of the pandemic, to conclude that with regard to the business model in this period companies seem to have played “in defense”, marginally modifying their model. Instead they have played “on the attack” alongside their customers, helping them to rethink their ways of working and selling remotely.

The report promoted by Diredi is the first of its kind and is destined to be followed up. “With the support of Regione Fvg, Ditedi has the intention and the objective of not leaving this event isolated – confirms Contin -, but of continuing with the activity of analysis, deepening some points and aspects of the study carried out. The idea is to create a fixed appointment (annual or biennial) to monitor the state of health and the growth of the sector and to bring out the points of excellence and the needs of regional ICT companies”

The Nautical Academy of the Adriatic, born in 2015 in Trieste, currently the busiest port in the country, as an Its dedicated to high professional training in the port maritime sector, continues its rise. And its students after training easily find work being often already recruited during the training period. So much so that this year, in addition to the courses that have already begun and are already well established, there will be a course on cyber security.
These are the courses that will start in October of this year: the one for train drivers at the headquarters of Gorizia, for technicians for logistics, in Trieste and Pordenone, for technicians of naval design and production, in Trieste, for trainee officers of deck and machine, in Trieste, and, the novelty, the one for systems expert in cybersecurity, in Trieste.
“The academy – explained the director of the educational institution in Trieste, Bruno Zvech – is certainly a key element in the port cluster of Trieste, inserted in a region, Friuli Venezia Giulia, which is a formidable logistics platform. We speak of a cluster to the vanguard and to the step with the times that follows with attention the next-future developments tied to the energetic efficiency, to the computer game, passing for the automation and the robotizzazione. In this context – it has continued Zvech – the academy carries out its role of formative infrastructure of high range with a national breath, above all tied up to the Adriatic, because there are not many similar realities in our Country”.
A sector, the maritime port one, which, as explained by Zvech, “despite the very difficult period linked to the pandemic, has held up, indeed I must say that from the point of view of intermodality, the logistics mechanism in this country has been able to hold up, with wide margins for future development.
And in the face of this current and future development, it goes without saying that there will be an increasing need for highly specialized personnel, with a very high demand for technicians. Therefore, the validity of our mission is confirmed”. The Academy debuted over six years ago with the deck officer cadet course, which is increasingly involved in interesting developments: “at the moment – explained the director of the academy – we are getting positive feedback regarding the embarkation of our students on passenger ships.
This is also an evolution because until now we only did the merchant with Italy Maritime that is our main partner. Another successful course is the one that trains technicians for logistics, which is held in Trieste and Pordenone Interport, one of the most important infrastructures in the northeast, where the railway operator Upac operates and with whom excellent relations have been established.
Other courses that represent the backbone of the Trieste institution are the course for designers, created at the instigation of Fincantieri but which then expanded to include collaboration with a large number of professionals, and finally, the last course created last year, for shunting line railway drivers, which is based in Gorizia and which has met with considerable success: “With our partner Adriafer – explained Zvech – we are managing continuous permanent training”. Now for the director of the Academy “it is necessary to sound out new areas.
And for this reason, we will start with a two-year course for system technicians of cyber security, which will be coordinated by Ivano Di Santo, cyber security officer of the Port Authority of the Eastern Adriatic, and we have already set up a network of high-level teachers. Half of the course will be held in English”.
As proof of the strong interregional projection of the Academy, 18 apartments for a total of 34 beds are available for “off-site” students in two buildings in the historic center of Trieste, a few meters from the sea and not far from the Academy’s headquarters in Via von Bruck, a stone’s throw from the Port Authoriy. In addition, the status of the students is equivalent to that of a university student, with discounts on transportation, cinema, theater, use of libraries, as well as the agreement for meals in affiliated establishments.