“Brain drain” from the southern canton – 800 young people leave Ticino every year – News

Ticino State Councilor Christian Vitta wants to fight the brain drain from Ticino through innovation.

Giulia Romer is 26 years old and a social media manager in Zurich. Laura Laffranchi – also 26 – is a primary school teacher in Dietlikon (ZH). Linda Perren is 28 years old and a nurse at the University Hospital Zurich. They are all Ticino women who packed their bags to find work outside of Ticino.

Almost 800 people do this every year. This phenomenon particularly affects young people between the ages of 20 and 40, who are often very well educated.

The reasons for such moves are varied and often have to do with the search for qualified jobs or jobs that better match the professional profile and reasonable salaries, which Ticino often does not offer.

Lower wages in Ticino

The median salary in the private sector is 5163 francs in Ticino, compared to 6248 francs in all of Switzerland. However, the emigration of skilled workers from Ticino is not just a question of studies, work and salary.

“The economy and a good salary are important, but they are not everything,” reports Linda. The young woman is looking for a city to live in that is dynamic and international. Conditions that you won’t find in Ticino.

We are in the situation that Zurich is bleeding the canton of Ticino dry. And we do almost nothing about this problem.

Ticino has stopped growing demographically in recent years. The demographic crisis is exacerbated by the emigration of skilled workers beyond the Gotthard. This worries the economy, which is urging Ticino politicians to do more. “We are in the situation that Zurich is bleeding the canton of Ticino dry. And we are doing almost nothing about this problem,” criticizes Ivano Dandrea, economist and author of a book on demographic insecurity in Ticino.

He is convinced that the brain drain will pose a multitude of challenges for the canton at socio-economic, cultural, technological and institutional levels.

Attractive again through innovation

But how can a peripheral canton like Ticino compete with Zurich and Geneva – and become attractive again? The Ticino Finance and Economics Director Christian Vitta assures: “The canton of Ticino is a nationally and internationally recognized center for research and innovation. In order to become even more attractive, we want to concentrate our efforts on the Ticino Innovation Park project in the future.»

Legend:

Economic Director Christian Vitta is confident that the right measures will be taken against the “brain drain”.

SRF

It is a platform for researchers, high-tech companies and start-ups to work together on inventive activities, developing and testing sustainable and innovative ideas. «There are three specific competence centers: life sciences, lifestyle tech and drones. These sectors create attractive and high-quality jobs that can encourage young people to stay in Ticino or even come to Ticino,” Vitta is convinced.

Back to the three emigrants: Even if the Ticino authorities are trying a lot to lure back well-trained people like them, returning home is far from an option for them. Linda: “I definitely intend to stay here longer and then return to the sun and warmth for retirement.”