MILAN — There is no job shortage in the upscale Italian furnishing industry. The northern region of Lombardy, which is home to the lion’s share of Italian furniture manufacturers, is responding to the ongoing skilled-worker shortage with the creation of specialized training programs.
On Monday, FederlegnoArredo, the Italian federation of woodworking and furniture industries, said it has joined the Territorial Pact for Skills and Employment in the Furniture and Furnishings Manufacturing industries, which includes leading institutions, trade associations and local businesses. The initiative, financed by the region of Lombardy, is a pilot project promoted by the manufacturing-rich provinces of Monza and Brianza.
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The consortium has already started to create an ongoing roster of training courses to groom between 22,000 and 34,000 specialists by 2028. At least 8,000 of these individuals are needed to fuel the wood industry, while more than 25,000 of them are needed specifically for the furniture sector. About 48 percent of these 22,000 to 34,000 individuals will require a second technical diploma, the association said.
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This new generation of skilled personnel includes carpenters, machinery workers, designers, draftsmen, prototype-makers, upholsterers and sewers. In the manufacturing-rich Brianza area, a number of short training courses have been earmarked for “vulnerable” individuals, which includes migrants, the unemployed and women in difficulty, offering practical skills in carpentry, furniture assembly, upholstery and sewing.
“Our goal is to make our supply chain known in all its aspects, and to underline how each professional figure involved in the production process is crucial to the success of a sector that is the pride of Made in Italy,” said Federlegno Arredo president Claudio Feltrin, adding that the pilot project is a replicable model for other districts and regions.
March will see the start of the first training course with Artwood Academy, a high-level training school in the field of wood design and contemporary carpentry, which was founded by FederlegnoArredo in 2013 and which is dedicated to meeting the need for training courses for companies in Brianza.
Lombardy on the whole is home to 8,600 companies in the wood-furniture supply chain, including 4,600 furniture-makers — many of them luxury — and some of the most recognizable names like Molteni&C, Minotti, Cassina, B&B Italia and Poliform. Together these companies currently have 53,000 employees, Federlegno said.
FederlegnoArredo has yet to report its final figures for 2024, but in 2023, the entire Italian wood-furnishings sector booked 52.6 billion euros in revenue with 10.8 billion euros generated from Lombardy alone. Aside from boosting employment, the wood-furniture supply chain has come together to innovate the sector’s supply chain and create a circular economy as a united front. In October, industry leaders revealed the formation of the Extended Producer Responsibility Consortium; the concept was conceived and promoted by FederlegnoArredo and top furniture-makers, with the aim of collectively tackling waste reduction and recycling of its end of life products and more.
FederlegnoArredo said at the time that the National Furnishing System Consortium has 15 founding members, companies that collectively posted annual sales of about 2 billion euros.