The challenge of the future: beyond rare earths, rare people

STEM skills will be increasingly in demand for jobs in the future and are already becoming the real rare resource in the market. What are the pathways and scenarios for bridging this mismatch? This was the topic at the center of the debate entitled “The Challenge of the Future: Beyond Rare Earthss, Rare People,” hosted today in the setting of the Trento Festival of Economics.

The event, moderated by Sergio Nava, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Radio 24, featured Ferruccio Resta, President of Fondazione Bruno Kessler; Alessandro Bulfon, CEO of Angelini Technologies, the division of Angelini Industries active in industrial technology, and Fameccanica, its main member company; and Jessica Serra, SIEyeCo-founder & COO.

A hot topic nowadays, new talent was at the center of the meeting sponsored by Angelini Industries at Fondazione Caritro, which highlighted the growing importance of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) skills in the future of the job market, exploring the pathways and scenarios needed to bridge the mismatch between the demand for professionals in STEM fields and the students who choose to attend engineering and science schools.

The discussion was set around three main topics: the evolution of STEM skills, where panelists discussed how the background required is changing and what the new challenges and opportunities are; the importance of international background, emphasizing the need for students and professionals to have a global education in order to be competitive in an increasingly interconnected job market; and academia-business collaboration, highlighting the importance of closer cooperation between academia and industries to develop training programs that meet the needs of the job market.

“The evolution of STEM skills and the development of an educational approach geared toward continuous learning are key to readily meeting future challenges. The ongoing technology revolution invests not only industry, but also other players, prompting us to rethink our perimeters of action both at the collective level, with companies capable of promoting the creation of heterogeneous and interdisciplinary work teams, and at the individual level, incentivizing students to choose careers in the field,” said Ferruccio Resta, FBK President, starting from his experience that has seen him, among other things, serve as President of the Milan Polytechnic – In this transformation, we need a public administration that is actively in touch with the labor market and an educational system capable of developing training programs that respond to real needs, with an eye to changes beyond national borders.”

Among the highlights that emerged from the discussion, Alessandro Bulfon spoke about the need to foster joint actions between business and educational institutions in order to follow a single, shared and forward-looking plan for the growth of people that represents the key asset for our country’s competitiveness. Jessica Serra, on the other hand, shared her experience as a startupper, describing how educational institutions can adapt to new market needs and foster skills development.

Alessandro Bulfon, CEO of Angelini Technologies and Fameccanica, General Manager of Fameccanica since 2019, has solid experience in complex international business contexts, having served as CEO in Coesia, Fabio Perini SpA and Arti Group.

Ferruccio Resta, President of Fondazione Bruno Kessler, is Full Professor at Politecnico di Milano, President of Fondazione Politecnico di Milano and the National Center for Sustainable Mobility MOST. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of Allianz SpA, Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo, Sole 24 Ore and Fiera Milano, and an expert member of the Technical Structure at the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport.

Jessica Serra, Co-founder & COO of SIEve, is a management engineer and deep tech entrepreneur. She co-founded SIEve, an innovative startup that developed an all-in-one regenerable filter for advanced wastewater treatment by harnessing the circular economy of “Red Mud.”