Italy health workforce training expansion

In the July 23, 2026 session of the permanent conference between the State, the regions and the autonomous provinces of Trento and Bolzano, Italy confirmed a national quota of 1,500 pharmacy training places for the 2026‑27 academic year, matching the Pharmacy Federation’s estimate and aiming to balance hospital and community pharmacy staffing.

The Spes Academy ‘Carlo Azeglio Ciampi’ opened enrollment for a four‑month hybrid programme, “Farmaco e Salute – Pilastri del Made in Italy”, beginning 18 September. The course targets professionals under 45 in pharmacy, biotech and health policy and offers 30 scholarships (10 fully funded, 20 partially funded) with an early‑bird 5 % discount.

Concurrently, the Istituto Superiore di Sanità launched an online ECM course for pharmacist vaccinators, awarding 20.8 credits and training pharmacists to administer all vaccines in the National Vaccination Prevention Plan to patients aged 12 +. Registrations run until 20 July 2027, with the course concluding on 27 July 2027.

In early August the government approved 1,520 scholarships for non‑medical health specialisations—including biology, chemistry, pharmacy, physics, dentistry, veterinary science and psychology—for the 2025‑26 academic year, and created 60 funded spots for a new General Practice training track (2026‑2029) to address a shortage of family doctors, especially in Sardinia.

Later in August the Italian Federation of General Practitioners urged an urgent decree to allow candidates who passed the GP exam to fill vacant regional posts, proposing a €3,000‑€5,000 bonus and tax relief for relocations to lower‑demand regions. At the same time, Minister Anna Maria Bernini signed a decree raising total university seats for Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary studies in 2026‑27 to 30,225 (27,001 for Medicine), adding roughly 3,000 places to meet growing demand.

These coordinated actions expand specialist and primary‑care training capacity, introduce incentives to balance regional staffing, and broaden the overall health‑workforce pipeline in Italy.