Collaboration Challenges in School-to-Work Programs. Tutors’ Perspectives from Host Organizations

The paper examines the challenges of PCTOs implementation at a micro level, exploring the point of view of host organisations. Through a study conducted in Italy from 2019 to 2023, using both quantitative and qualitative methods, it describes the collaboration between the host organisation tutors and the educational tutors, highlighting its impact on policy effectiveness. To develop effective PCTOs projects and foster dialogue between formal and informal learning contexts, the policy guidelines give a central role to collaboration between school and host organisation tutors. However, the article highlights inadequate levels of cooperation, which often undermine the effectiveness and quality of such training experiences. This deficiency is particularly evident when looking at the marginal role played by the host organisations in the signing of agreements and in the design of pathways, phases that are mainly managed by the educational tutors, with negligible levels of co-planning. The implementation phase, on the other hand, is often entrusted to the host organisation tutors and is characterised by few moments of discussion between tutors. The research findings show that the obstacles to cooperation between schools and host organisations depend both on the policy itself and the structural factors in the Italian context.