Ranstad Italia – Programmes for People with Disabilities and Older Workers

Ranstad Italia is running the first (by their own account) and hence unique Italian programme dedicated to the placement of employees with a disability, called ‘Hopportunities’. In Italy, similar to many other European countries, there is a legal requirement to employ people with a disability following a scaled quota system. According to the regulatory framework one person with a disability must be employed in companies from 15 to 35 employees; two persons for companies from 36 to 50 employees; and 7% of employees with disabilities for companies with more than 50 staff. The total number of companies in Italy is 77,244 and the total number of employees with a disability required according to the regulatory framework is reported to be 322,021. The (theoretical) national workforce with a disability is estimated to be 426,000 people. Ranstad’s Hopportunities service includes search & selection of candidates with disabilities and temporary placements. The company also networks with local and national stakeholders on this topic.
Another Ranstad Italia initiative, Rentrée, focuses on older employees, especially on those who were laid off as part of redundancy programmes. The Italian government provides aids to companies who employ such staff. In addition to their core business of search & selection and temporary placement Ranstad has also established partnerships with public job centres, regional (provincial) administration and with associations for people over 40 (!) to facilitate the re-entering of older candidates in employment. The Rentrée programme also offers training courses to improve professional skills and hence facilitating the match of candidates and companies seeking talent.