Italian higher technical education: Reactive or proactive institution in the skill ecosystem?

Through an empirical enquiry based on semi-structured interviews with 9 Italian higher technical education providers, this paper tries to show how and to what extent Italian short cycle tertiary education support innovation. The collected results debunk the idea that TVET is fully market-driven, being a rather reactive actor in the interplay with companies. On the contrary, at least in some of the cases reported, it appears to take a proactive role inside skills ecosystems, promoting, within certain limits, the development of new professional profiles.