Abstract
The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of training and work-experience in Italy, focusing on the effectiveness of Post-graduate internships and placement services. This research aims to demonstrate the links between the reform of placements in tertiary education systems which have affected European countries since the Bologna Declaration, Italy in particular. The local dimension of the survey, which is conducted at the University of Catania, appears to be a privileged observatory to consider the process of coercive isomorphism and convergence at a European level compared with the characteristics and the socio-institutional environment of a certain territory. The data provided demonstrates the necessity to reflect on the effectiveness of internships and the efficacy of university placement services in Catania. The analysis could prove to be a useful instrument for reconsidering national regulation regarding internships, highlighting above all the constraints that may exist at the local level, especially in countries such as Italy, characterized by strong disparities both in terms of the efficiency of services and the dynamism of the productive sectors and their labour markets.