The GOL program, acronym for “Worker Employability Guarantee”, is a reform initiative introduced by Italy’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) to relaunch employment and combat unemployment. This program provides a series of services for the reintegration of the unemployed, layoffs, disabled workers, women, young people, over 50 and other
disadvantaged categories.
According to estimates by Sviluppo Lavoro Italia SpA, the former ANPAL, will involve a total of 3 million beneficiaries until 2025.
In this detailed guide, we see how the GOL program works for work, what are the objectives, who it involves, the data updated to 2024 and what actions it supports
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What is the GOL program
The GOL program is a set of tools and measures aimed at promoting employment in Italy. It is part of Mission 5, Component 1 of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), dedicated to labor policies. His interventions are part of the reform project in the labor sector, connected to the Plan for the Strengthening of Employment Centers (CPI) and the National Plan for
New Skills.
The “GOL” program was created with the 2021 budget law, which allocated the resources to establish the appropriate fund, implemented by decree of 5 November 2021. The 2022 budget law has extended the advantages of the GOL program also to self-employed workers with a VAT number and has strengthened the training system with the help of local administrations and public and private entities. The 2024 budget law confirmed the measure also for 2024, refinancing the program and linking it to measures such as training and work support and the inclusion allowance
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News 2024
There are several changes affecting the GOL program in 2024, introduced by the 2024 budget law and various ministerial decrees. Here are the main ones:
- Additional resources of 1 billion euros for active policies, in addition to the 4.4 billion euros of the PNRR.
- Involvement of accredited private operators for access to the GOL and expansion of the audience of beneficiaries, including recipients of income support measures such as training and work support and inclusion allowance.
- Strengthening GOL courses with the addition of short training activities and the elimination of the minimum limit of training hours.
- Introduction of “on the job” training courses for all beneficiaries, including internships and internal training.
- Sviluppo Lavoro Italia SpA has formally replaced the former ANPAL.
GOL program routes
The GOL plan is divided into five differentiated paths based on the work experience and the characteristics of the interested party:
- Profile with high employability: linear path of reintegration into work.
- Profile with the need to adapt skills: “upskilling” refresher course with short-term training interventions with a professionalizing content.
- Profile with the need for new skills: “reskilling” retraining course with intense training activity lasting up to 300 hours.
- Profile with low employability: work path and inclusion, with the collaboration of the network of territorial services.
- Profile in corporate crisis: collective relocation process.
GOL Program Beneficiaries
GOL program beneficiaries include:
- Citizens with social safety nets in a constant employment relationship.
- Fragile or vulnerable workers, such as young NEETs, disadvantaged women, people with disabilities and mature workers (over 55).
- Beneficiaries of social safety nets in the absence of an employment relationship, such as unemployed recipients of NASPI or DIS-COLL.
- Citizens who are beneficiaries of welfare income support, as recipients of the inclusion allowance and training and work support.
- Unemployed without income support, unemployed for at least 6 months and self-employed workers who cease their activity or with very low incomes.
- Workers with very low incomes (working poor) and self-employed workers with a VAT number.
Mandatory nature of the GOL program
Participation in the GOL program is mandatory for certain categories of people, such as the unemployed who receive social safety nets, NASPI or DIS-COLL, and the recipients of inclusion allowances and training and work support. Failure to participate results in the loss of the right to the related benefit.
How to access the GOL program
To access the GOL program, you must contact the employment centers (CPI) or employment services in the area of expertise. After funding the regions, these bodies are responsible for the implementation of the project with the support of Sviluppo Lavoro Italia. The GOL program is not a program to enroll in, but a new offer of services for work
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GOL Program Activities
As part of the GOL program, Sviluppo Lavoro Italia has activated useful tools to analyze companies’ labor demand, professional needs and evaluate the skills gap, such as:
- LMI (labor market intelligence): interactive dashboard for analyzing labor market needs.
- SGA (skill gap analysis): tool for evaluating the distance between workers’ skills and those required for a given professional unit.
- GOL document bank: dynamic and navigable archive of the measures adopted for the implementation of the GOL program.
Objectives of the GOL program
The objectives of the GOL PNRR program are:
- Involve at least 3 million beneficiaries by 2025, of which at least 75% must be women, long-term unemployed, people with disabilities, young people under 30 and workers over 55.
- Involve at least 800,000 people in training activities, including 300,000 for strengthening digital skills.
- Comply with specific standards defined as essential levels in GOL for at least 80% of the CPI in each region by 2025.
Monitoring data
As of January 31, 2024, the GOL program has taken care of more than 2,070,745 beneficiaries. Here are the data:
- 51.3% included in path 1 (high employability)
- 25.5% in path 2 (update)
- 19.7% in course 3 (redevelopment)
Among the beneficiaries:
- 55.7% are women
- 28.3% are young people under 30
- 54.4% are between 30 and 54 years old
- 17.3% are over 55 years old
- 14.9% are foreigners
GOL Program Resources
The total resources for the GOL program amount to 4.4 billion euros, in addition to 1 billion euros from 2024 with the European RepowerEU program.
Milestone and target
The main objectives of the GOL program include:
- Entry into force of the inter-ministerial decrees for the approval of GOL and the plan for new competencies.
- Adoption of regional plans for the full implementation of GOL and reaching at least 10% of the total beneficiaries.
- Involve at least 3 million beneficiaries by 2025, with specific targets for women, long-term unemployed, people with disabilities, young people under 30 and workers over 55.
The GOL program represents a fundamental opportunity to improve the employability of Italian workers, offering personalized training and job reintegration courses. Thanks to these measures, the aim is to create a more qualified and resilient workforce, capable of responding to the needs of the constantly evolving labor market
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