chaddsuk

Hi

Very early stages of looking at Italy as a possibility for my family, none of us speak Italian at the moment so am I right to assume that there would be no chance of me finding work out there?

I currently work in Technical support and my wife is a customer services manager, what kind of level of Italian would i need before i could even dream of working out there?

thanks

chris

sonofjoe

Depends on which area you will be moving to - If it's the north of Italy, just higher than basic I would hazard a guess, but if it's the south a good command of the Italian language is essential, as most southern Italians don't speak English. I work for the British Institute (English language school), the owner speaks basic, the manager even less, and the receptionist only knows one or two words of English. We have staff meetings for the English teachers, in Italian!!

TestaRossa

Very few customer service or technical staff speak English, only Italian, I know 'cos I've phoned a few! Unfortunately, unless you do speak good Italian your English wouldn't be an advantage to them - you couldn't be on a dedicated line for English speakers for example. The only company I know that did this in Customer services was Alitalia...... and they were native Italian speakers first.

Also everyone will tell you that the salaries are rubbish - average is about €1800/month after tax. So if, and without Italian, it's less than an if at the moment, both of you got jobs paying this much you would have maybe €3 -3500 coming in a month. Work out if you could live on this. And if you can, then start Italian lessons in earnest!

Also it isn't the easiest place to get residency. Spain you walk into the police station, register, they check you live where you say you do and then give you a card. Here, you either already need to have a job or jump through lots of hoops to prove you can afford to live here!

So, I guess it all depends on how much you really want to come here. The other option is what we do - if you can telework in your current jobs then that is a possibility. Broadband is widely available and reasonably priced but you would need understanding employers! My husband works for himself, so he is very understanding!

jenny g

Oh Testa Rossa...please enlighten me as to who would pay an average salary of 1,800 euros a month (i will call them straight away)!!!!!!!!! Both my husband and myself are pretty fluent in Italian..but do you think you can find a job at 50, even being bilingual??? I dont think so!!! Have a good weekend!! Jenny

TestaRossa

That was for an average Italian in a white collar job, not an immigrant of any kind. Average is what it says, I know Italians earning more, I know Italians earning less. However, I think that there are people on this site who have worked here for a lot longer with fluent Italian that could give an indication of the salaries for non-Italians, which is what you really needed to know.

Also jennyg the post was for the information of the OP, whose age I don't know but from what he says I would assume was much younger than 50. I am sorry you are having difficulties, this is not a country that believes in age brings wisdom, I know from people who have told me that job ads regularly have a max. age on them, of course, this would be illegal in the UK even though still covertly practiced in some work areas.

sonofjoe

Ahh then comes the contract... 6 months if your are lucky 3 months if you aint