AWS re/Start: the programme of opportunities, skills and new beginnings for the South of Italy

The European Union has declared 2023 the European Year of Competences. The intention is twofold: on the one hand to help people develop the right skills to get into skilled jobs, and on the other hand to close the talent shortage especially in IT.

In line with these objectives, together with Amazon Web Service and in partnership with Isola Catania, we promoted re/Start, a free training programme for the development of skills in cloud computing with the aim of improving the employability of young people in Sicily.

Creating impact is for us a commitment to future generations. This is why, since 2017, we have been promoting quality, accessible and inclusive training through our completely free educational programmes dedicated to young people. A goal that we share with AWS and that led us to believe in this project from the outset: to create a pool of new talent on the subject of Cloud Computing, involving people who are unemployed or underemployed and who, due to an unfavourable economic and social context, have not been able to access quality training opportunities.

We imparted over 400 hours of training to 50 students in Catania

Our impact is not only to bridge the gap between demand and supply of work in the cloud, but also to reduce the employment gap between North and South, offering talents the opportunity to stay and cultivate their professionalism in their own land. This is why we chose Sicily as the stage for the project. Sicily, in fact, is currently one of the regions with the highest unemployment rate in Europe, a figure that especially affects young people, where unemployment reaches peaks of up to 60 per cent, increasing and accelerating the risk of social exclusion. In this context, Isola becomes a strategic location for opportunities, networking and a meeting and exchange point for all AWS re/Start students.

To make this vision a reality, concrete solutions are needed, but also companies that know how to invest in the future of many boys and girls in socially fragile conditions, offering them the opportunity of a real restart. This is why our thanks go to the four companies that have embraced and supported this project.

The AWS re/Start programme is not just an educational project, but an initiative that opens up new opportunities and concrete changes. During the graduation ceremony in Isola, the 50 young graduates had the opportunity to interact directly with companies, thus taking the first steps on their career path. The ceremony is not the end of a course, but a beginning.

Together we can build a stronger and more resilient Sicily, ready to compete in the world of emerging technologies.