Augurusa Foundation Rewrites the Rules of the Labor Market

Italy’s first Social Impact Managers emerge: Augurusa Foundation’s strategy to train tomorrow’s leaders

A remarkable nationwide success for the Free Advanced Training Course for Social Impact Managers by the Antonio Emanuele Augurusa Foundation, co-organized with Randstad and the UCID Youth Movement, concluding its first edition with acclaim and enthusiasm from countless partners who supported it throughout, recognizing it as an exemplary model of free, inclusive training focused on social innovation – in collaboration with LUMSA University, ESG Ability Observatory of Sapienza University of Rome, European University of Rome; with the patronage of the CEI’s National Office for Social Issues and Labor, Unioncamere, Federmanager Youth, Mercatorum University; with events sponsored by the Ministry of University and Research, the Ministry of Labor and Social Policies, and the Calabria Region. None of this would have been possible without the fundamental contribution of Randstad Employment Agency, which has supported the development of this visionary project from day one, betting on a strategic professional figure for the country’s future. “The emergence of the first Social Impact Managers represents a milestone we are deeply proud of,” states Marco Ceresa, Group CEO Randstad. “This initiative, made possible through the valuable collaboration between Randstad, the Augurusa Foundation, and UCID young entrepreneurs, aims to train leaders capable of combining managerial skills with social impact awareness.”

It is Renato Loiero – Economic Advisor to the Prime Minister and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Augurusa Foundation precisely defining the professional profile of the SIM: “The Social Impact Manager’s ‘profession’ encompasses six functions: defining social impact strategy, identifying areas of intervention, implementing social projects within the organization that create value for the community, measuring and evaluating impact with defined performance indicators, communicating social impact, and lastly, collaborating with various stakeholders, both internal and external to the organization, to maximize the social impact of activities.” The Social Impact Manager thus marks a new chapter in approaching and understanding social responsibility. “This role is becoming increasingly essential,” emphasizes Benedetto Delle Site, National President of UCID Youth. “Our businesses need to integrate social impact into their activities’ structure, looking beyond profit toward the common good.” The 27 students, who have come to Calabria from all Italian regions and abroad since March 10th to participate in the program, are now ready to enter the job market in non-profit, corporate, and Public Administration sectors as social impact professionals.

The final Project Works, resulting from 300 hours of classroom and laboratory training, will serve as a testing ground where Italy’s first Social Impact Managers will compete for a 6-month internship at the Augurusa Foundation. The Foundation’s program is not just a simple training course, but a social project of education, sustainability, and inclusion – completely free for participants – capable of enhancing local communities and territories while believing in young people by providing concrete growth opportunities. The free residential format in Filogaso (VV), strongly desired by the Foundation to honor its roots, has fostered collaboration networks and exchanges with the local community that welcomed the students during their stay. There were high-profile Lectio Magistralis open to citizens and community gatherings, such as the ceremony of planting twenty trees for the 55th anniversary of Earth Day, jointly promoted with Filogaso’s Municipal Administration, which provided training spaces for the Foundation to develop the project. On this note, Msgr. Mariano Crociata – President of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Community (COMECE) highlights: “It’s beneficial for young people to come into contact with these worlds, and it’s beneficial for these territories to experience excellence and high-value offerings that completely break the patterns of marginality and under-culture. Focusing on specialization and the highest level of training has a cascading effect on generations and territories: it’s a very significant experience.”

Earth Day’s Global President – Kathleen Rogers, who participated as a lecturer on “Social Impact for Planet,” addressed the students praising their work and passion: “I want to congratulate you on your demonstrated interest in sustainable development and your commitment to serving businesses, NGOs, and administrations in promoting a Green Economy. Whenever change occurs, whenever there’s scientific development, there are people exactly like you on the frontlines creating cutting-edge technologies, rethinking how things work, and reinventing new models of innovation and entrepreneurship.” Emphasizing sustainability’s centrality, Massimiliano Falcone – Connect4Climate, World Bank Group adds, “The culture of caring for the planet is the culture of future business. The social impact manager is the only possible manager in the world to come. I congratulate the Augurusa Foundation for its social innovation capacity and strategic vision that has led to building a project that can certainly be replicated globally.”
The Augurusa Foundation thus deserves great credit for identifying the urgent demand for professionals capable of guiding transformative processes, measuring social action effects, and building alliances between public, private, and civil society sectors, and for investing in free training to promptly respond to this need, succeeding in bringing together excellence profiles among entrepreneurs, academics, and representatives of civil and ecclesiastical institutions in Filogaso. “I sincerely thank all partners who believed in this project and helped give it legs and spirit, and I thank the many professionals who dedicated their time and expertise to our students. Naturally, special thanks go to the students who chose to embark on this journey with us. Soon, the Alumni network will be established, and we are organizing the professional association,” states Francesco Augurusa, President of the Augurusa Foundation. This achievement confirms the quality of the Foundation’s initiatives, which is already looking forward to its second edition.