OR.A.CO.LI – Project for orientation towards informed choices

The project, involving all Tuscan universities and coordinated by two training agencies, complements and expands the actions under Ministerial Decree 934/22. Its aim is to encourage the transition from upper secondary school to university, reduce university drop-out rates, and contribute to increasing the number of graduates.

The project is aimed at students in the final three years of upper secondary school in Tuscany, with a specific focus on peripheral areas.

Around 200 schools, 10,000 students, 300 teachers and 100 companies from the most representative economic sectors of the region will be involved.

OR.A.CO.LI adopts an integrated approach that enhances collaboration between universities, businesses, training organisations and schools.

The project’s actions are structured as follows:

• Orientation programmes towards university study choices, closely connected with the regional production system, aimed at students in the final three years of upper secondary school, with particular attention to peripheral areas and to types of schools from which students less frequently progress to university studies;

• Training activities for teachers and staff in upper secondary schools on post-secondary guidance, in close connection with the regional production system;

• Regional public events on orientation and communication.

Goals and ambitions of OR.A.CO.LI

The project assigns the implementing bodies overall responsibility for a process that includes design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. Planning starts with an analysis of the matching between school pathways and university choices, involving the regional production system.

Within this framework, the project pursues the following specific objectives:

• Bring closer together school, university and labour market systems through deeper mutual understanding;

• Emphasise the concept of work both as a reality and as a fundamental value of the educational experience;

• Compare the two educational contexts in terms of “school climate” and “workplace climate”;

• Provide the main actors in the process with operational and methodological tools to manage it, and to facilitate communication and guidance between the two systems.

Expected results

The project is designed to improve the employability of young people embarking on university studies by supporting them in their university choice and helping them to find jobs consistent with their skills and with the economic and production specificities of Tuscany.

The project has a duration of 24 months.