Workshop on HRMT – Modernizing statistics: how to get there? – Geneva, 15-17 October 2014 Training needs in the NSS in view of the new European Master in Official Statistics – the Italian case Maria Pia Sorvillo, Nereo Zamaro 1 1 Introduction Quality of Official Statistics, both at national and EU level, relies in the NSIs’ capabilities, as they play a paramount role as the major data producer for national and international users. But also other organizations, namely those part of the National statistical systems, are quite relevant in the process of data production and contribute significantly to official statistics. All these organizations should be enabled to profit from training initiatives aiming at supporting modernization in official statistics, as it would be beneficial both for single organizations and for the system as a whole. A special attention has to be paid to their specific setting as, differently form the NSIs, those organizations are not specifically devoted to data production and often statistical information is just a “side-product” of administrative processes. In some cases, staff assigned to the statistical function was not hired especially for that job and specific competencies in statistics could result to be weak, often resulting from on-the-job training activities, or gained in a scattered way in response to punctual issues, or not regularly updated. Focusing on the Italian context, that would be the case for the staff working in many of the 3,400 organizations belonging to the NSS. In such a context, restricting the potentialities of a new programme such as the European Master in Official Statistics (EMOS) to the National Statistical Institutes could turn out to be reductive: in addition to NSIs, also NSS organizations should be considered primary stakeholders of it. EMOS could substantially contribute to the improvement of the level and of the range of professional competencies in the field of official statistics, first of all providing young graduates to be hired in this specific segment of the labour market and, at a later stage, offering continuous training activities suitable for upgrading the NSS’ staff skills. 2 The Italian National Statistical System 2.1 Main characteristics of the NSS’ organizations The Italian statistical system (SISTAN) was established by law in 1989, and since then SISTAN offices have been set up in most of public administrations, central and local, and in private institutions vested with public functions (e.g. those in charge of the provision of social protection and other welfare services). It is a huge system: at the end of 2013 it counted 3.438 offices. Most of them (80%) operates in small municipalities (below 30 thousand inhabitants), but data production for official statistics mostly comes from central administrations and other national institutions, Chambers of commerce, Regions and Provinces. Following the law, the SISTAN offices have to perform a multifaceted set of tasks, which requires a wide range of competencies: not only statistical activities, but also IT, administration and budget, performance measurement and control. In 2011, ISTAT planned a web-survey to gather systematic information on self-reported professional competencies of the staff assigned to the SISTAN offices, in order to understand the mix of individual skills, professional experiences and knowledge owned and applied to perform their tasks. 1 Maria Pia Sorvillo, Istat; email: sorvillo@istat.it Nereo Zamaro, Istat; email: zamaro@istat.it