The Push from Incentives: Investments and Results
According to the Fòrema survey—a training body of the Veneto Confindustria system—conducted on a sample of 1,000 companies in Veneto, 71.5% of the companies analyzed made investments in advanced capital goods, research and development, and training using the tax credit. Of these investments, 87% were concentrated in the four-year period 2022-2025. Some 70.2% of companies mobilized between 100,000 and 1 million euros, while 21.8% exceeded 1 million euros.
The stated reasons are mainly increased productivity and efficiency (86%), improved energy and environmental performance (67%), and strengthened competitiveness (55%). The most widely adopted technologies are software and digital systems (77.6%), interconnected capital goods (69.2%), 4.0 training (53.8%), and IoT sensors with data analytics (51.8%). On a scale from 1 to 5, measured impacts reach 4.6 for process efficiency and 4.4 for productivity; 88.6% of companies report being more competitive.
Employment and Skills: Technology Does Not Destroy Jobs
According to the source, the employment data contradict the narrative of a technology that eliminates jobs: for 66.7% of companies, investments produced direct workforce growth (significant for 24%) or safeguarded at-risk positions (24.1%). In the period 2022-2025, the sample expanded its workforce by 12.8%, with about 8,000 new jobs. On skills, 72% added technical-specialist roles, 61.5% retrained staff in digital and green skills, and 32.9% hired sustainability and energy experts.
However, critical issues remain related to bureaucracy and regulatory instability. Without support measures, 87.4% of companies say they would have difficulty remaining competitive. The incentive system is rated good by 51.8% and sufficient by 29.5%, but the reported critical issues concern regulatory complexity (36.5%), uncertainty over deadlines and changes in rules (32%), and excessive compliance requirements (26%). The requests are for stability and simplification: 74.5% call for five- or seven-year planning, 67% for streamlined compliance, and 45% for greater integration between incentives for machinery and training.
Welfare and Gender Equality: The Company-Size Gap
The second part of the survey, devoted to work organization and work-family balance (Survey PdR 192/2026), highlights a two-speed picture. On awareness of the reference practice for gender equality, 29% of the sample says they do not know it, 27% know it but have not acted, and another 27% apply informal, uncertified practices; only 17% are certified or in the certification process.
Differences between large and small companies are marked: maternity protections reach 4.2 out of 5 at large companies and fall to 2.6 at small ones. Paternity protection slips to 1.6 at SMEs (3.5 at large companies), and caregiver support stops at 1.8 (3.2 at large companies). Paternity, caregiver and corrective actions remain below the minimum attention threshold (3/5) for most of the business base. Fòrema argues that decrees or incentives are not enough to close the gap; ready-to-use operational tools and local support are needed. In the absence of external data, it remains to be verified how far these results can be extended to other Italian regions.
