New technology and employment in Italian telecommunications

Abstract The paper deals with the employment consequences of technical change in the Italian telecommunications sector. After a short overview ofthe structure ofthe Italian telecommunications industry and its recent economie evolution, the impact of new electronic techniques on labour is studied from both a quantitative and a qualitative point of view. The authors underline the correlation between technological change in the '80s and the sharp fall in TLC manufacturing employment. As far as basic and new services are concerned, employment shows a positive trend; nevertheless in these sub-sectors the impact of technology on skills is also striking. With regard to this, the authors present the results of their questionnaire analysis carried out in Italy and embracing all the major firms within the sector. The general conclusions take into account the huge modifications in manpower requirements and stress the necessity of training, retraining and appropriate economie policies.