ABSTRACT
In the structural uncertainty of contemporary Italian society, many inequalities hinder a full social and economic integration of the foreign population. Foreigners, especially new generations, encounter more obstacles than natives when gaining access to education and the labour market, adapting to low-paid and low-qualified work profiles.
Focusing on upper secondary education, vocational courses are radically changing their function. Foreign students choose them not as a second chance but consistently with an explicit project in mind, which considers work as the essential basis for an effective integration into Italian society.
Besides new measures in the labour market, the reorganization of this segment of upper secondary education helps open the way to a more inclusive education system and to a more egalitarian transition to work.
