Revolutions always start from the bottom and one of them is now setting the pace: the one initiated to respond to the structural shortage of skilled workers by Lindo Aldrovandi, founder and CEO of Renner, a wood, metal and plastic coatings company based in Minerbio, near Bologna, with 400 employees, 160 of them in the production departments, and a turnover of EUR 183 million in 2024.
‘Even the President of Confindustria, Emanuele Orsini, wrote to us,' says Aldrovandi, ’pointing to us as an example. We don't want to do charity. This is business: companies need personnel and those who come from other countries need stability. It is a rational equation, not a welfare one'.
‘Investing in projects like this one,’ Confindustria President Emanuele Orsini confirmed in a letter sent to entrepreneur Aldovrandi, ‘means contributing not only to the well-being of one's own human resources, but also to the development of a caring and responsible corporate culture. Your entrepreneurial vision is a concrete example of how industry can be a driver of positive change for society'.
The Renner project was launched last year in collaboration with the Salesian Work in Castel de Britti, in the hills of Bologna, one of the three centres in Emilia-Romagna belonging to the CNOS-FAP network, historically active in the reception and formation of unaccompanied foreign minors.
The experimentation involves a dual track: a 32-week training course financed by Renner for 12 young people and a housing placement programme dedicated to former unaccompanied minors already trained by the Salesians. ‘We have renovated a building we own, investing about 300,000 euro to obtain eight lodgings,’ Aldrovandi pointed out. ’They are reserved exclusively for young people selected by the Salesians, who sign a housing transition pact lasting three years.’
The first two tenants are Suleyman, who arrived on a boat from Gambia, and Bassirou, from Guinea. They will soon be joined by a third young man from Nigeria. The monthly rent is symbolic: €150 for the first year, €170 for the second, €200 for the third, paid entirely to the Salesian institute and used to finance scholarships. ‘It seemed unethical to us to ask for rent from young people in difficulty,’ admitted Aldrovandi, ‘but it was Carlo Caleffi, a layman and director of the Salesian Centre in Castel de’ Britti, who convinced us: it is necessary to educate to autonomy, not to replace reality.’
Today at Renner, foreign workers make up about 7 per cent and the housing project is still in its initial phase. ‘But the impact has been positive,’ said Aldrovandi, ’ The enthusiasm of these young people has brought energy into the departments. And thanks to the experience of the Salesians, we can count on well-structured placements, without improvisation’.
The Renner and CNOS-FAP project is open to everyone, including Italians. But at the first selection, Aldrovandi reported, ‘no Italians showed up. This is something that should give us pause for thought. Hence our orientation: it is not an ideological choice, it is an industrial necessity'.
The training covers all areas of the company, from logistics to production, with a focus on safety and citizenship. The aim is to turn the apprenticeship into a contract. The young people are followed in the classroom and in the company and the results are already visible.
‘The educational part is fundamental,’ explained Caleffi. ’We are not a temporary agency, we do not take money for this. Our goal is to give these young people a happy life. That's why we select them carefully, accompany them even after they are hired, and take care of living together. Putting eight young people from different countries together right away would have been a mistake. We chose a gradual insertion.
The Renner model has already attracted the interest of other Emilian companies. A company in Ozzano has rented a flat to be used as guest quarters, and two dioceses - including that of Piacenza - have contacted the Salesian centre to set up similar collaborations.
‘Our hope,’ Caleffi concluded, ‘ is that the project will become part of a system, with collaboration between the private sector and professional training. Companies have a potential that the public does not have, they can make a difference'.
Ilaria Visentini
Source: Il Sole 24 Ore
