The number of Sardinian students studying at Italian universities outside the island is growing : ten years ago, they were 11.2%, while in the 2023/2024 academic year, they rose to 16.2%. Furthermore, 20% of young graduates in Sardinia are working in other regions or countries within five years of obtaining their degree.
This is what emerges from the report by the CNA Sardinia Research Center , which, by reprocessing ISTAT and Almalaurea data, highlights how, between 2019 and 2022, the negative migration balance of young Sardinian graduates between the ages of 25 and 39 stood at just under 16 residents per thousand inhabitants. This figure places the island in eighth place among Italian regions for negative migration, in a ranking where Trentino Alto Adige, Piedmont, Tuscany, Lazio, Lombardy, and Emilia Romagna dominate the positive figures.
According to MIUR data, for the 2023/2024 academic year, students enrolled in Sardinian universities decreased from 47,572 in 2011/2012 to 35,539 in 2023/2024, a decrease of over 12,000. During the same period, resident students enrolled in other regions increased from approximately 6,000 to 7,000.
This phenomenon is part of a context of demographic aging and a reduction in the youth population, which decreased from 102,158 (2011) to 83,518 (2024), with a contraction of 18.2%.
The difficulties of recent graduates from the universities of Cagliari and Sassari in finding employment are also evident in employment rates significantly lower than the national average and unemployment levels approximately 3 percentage points higher in the first five years after graduation. The percentage of NEETs (those not in education, employment, or training) among Sardinian graduates remains high, at 14% after five years, compared to the national average of 9.6%.
According to Luigi Tomasi and Francesco Porcu of CNA Sardinia, the "employment situation confirms the regional labor market's severe difficulties in providing adequate opportunities for qualified young people. The risk is a vicious cycle that deprives Sardinia of skills essential for socioeconomic development, the digital transition, and the green economy ." Among the proposed solutions are "strengthening technology transfer channels between universities and businesses, also leveraging innovation hubs financed by the PNRR and European funds; incentivizing the attraction of innovative businesses with targeted tax breaks and advanced digital infrastructure; and strengthening regional talent repatriation programs, linking them to concrete work projects and progressive career paths."
(Unioneonline/vl)
