Let’s face facts: as beautiful as it is, Italy is not the first country most people associate with career opportunities.
Time and time again, Italy appears near the bottom of world rankings for work opportunities in expat surveys, with low pay, language barriers and a lack of job security all reported as making it difficult for international residents to find the right fit.
This could not be truer for 29-year-old British citizen Liam*. Sitting in the living room of his apartment in Florence, Liam wonders about his work opportunities in the Tuscan capital.
“I get up every morning and I feel like I’m going to spend nine hours of my day doing something I’m not all too passionate about,” he says. “I just feel like time is passing me by and I’ve adopted the mentality of a much older person.”
Like many anglophones who come to Italy, Liam is an English teacher. He trained and qualified six years ago, just before he moved to Italy with his Italian partner.
He currently earns €1,300-1,400 a month after taxes. His salary has only changed once in the years he’s worked here. Meanwhile, Florence, one of the most expensive Italian cities to live in, has become even more costly.
A report released in June by Italy's national consumers' union revealed that the cost of living in the city went up by €366 euros per year for a family – that's nearly double the average increase across the country.
“At first it was great,” Liam says. “I was in a new country, learning a new language and experiencing a new culture. It was a dream come true. I’m still proud I did it and love Italy.
“But I soon came to learn it’s not always sunshine.”
READ ALSO: Why English teachers say working at Italy's language schools is an 'uphill battle'
Despite taking regular Italian classes, Liam warns that learning a language is extremely hard. While he’s immersed himself in the hope of getting better, he says he has a mental block which prevents him from going any higher than upper-intermediate level.
“Of course, this affects my ability to get a job,” Liam says. “There are barely any English-speaking jobs in Italy and I don’t want to be an English teacher forever, certainly not with this company. But it’s hard now. I have my partner to think of too.
“Home is more appealing for job prospects. I’m stuck in a rut.”
Liam’s experience is not unusual: a recent survey found that language skills meant some 86 percent of foreigners working in Italy were in roles they were overqualified for. That was the highest figure across all countries surveyed.
But language skills aren't everything: the survey found nearly two in three those proficient in Italian were overqualified for their roles.
Italy was also overall the EU country with the highest rate of ‘brain waste’, a situation where foreign nationals are in jobs they're overqualified for due to their education not being recognised in Italy.
“It’s not to say things are easy for Italians either because they are not,” Liam says
“My Italian partner is a researcher and she gets a pittance compared to what she’d get elsewhere.
"It’s really difficult for most people unless you know people or come from a rich family. Having connections works wonders here and I don’t think many people realise that before searching for a job.”
For Italian resident and fellow teacher Jamie Roberts, English teaching is one field where it's becoming increasingly harder to get a foot in the door.
“Despite a clear shortage of teachers for positions throughout the EU, and amplified post-Brexit, schools either poach teachers from other schools or go wanting,” she writes.
“This is important as it is one sector where there are hundreds of opportunities and yet nearly none for non-Italian, non-EU qualified personnel.”
She writes that a lack of visa support leaves third-country nationals with few easy options, with many arriving in the country on a student visa and looking for a job afterwards.
As a teacher too, Abruzzo-based freelance writer and English teacher Wendy Ridolini says some things have changed since she arrived in 2010.
“Qualifications like CELTA are now required by many schools and native British speakers are not so much in demand," she says.
However, "the hourly rate for teaching is much the same as it was years ago."
She says finding online work is easier now and allows for people to be more flexible, especially if they are freelancing.
Yet, Marcello Perrone, who moved to Italy from Germany in 2011 and runs his own company, says knowledge of Italian, regardless of online or face-to-face work, is undoubtedly important for those looking for jobs.
“If someone thinks that they can find a job in Italy without a good knowledge of the Italian language, or get by in everyday life, they are wrong,” he comments.
“Apart from highly qualified jobs, preferably in an international environment, it rarely makes sense for a company to hire an employee without knowledge of Italian.
"After all, it is usually necessary to communicate with colleagues and customers, who naturally want to communicate in Italian.”
For Liam, Marcello’s comment hits the nail on the head.
“I am really trying with the language, but without being an advanced speaker, I doubt I’ll have many career options in Italy. My level is stopping my progress.
“My advice for anyone looking to come here would be to learn the language first and network.”
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