Talents on the move: OltreconfiniTi connects research and professionals

Context

TL;DR

• The «Talents on the move» event took place in Lugano
• At the center: attractiveness, young people and professionals
• OltreconfiniTi connects businesses, research and skills
• The roundtable shared stories of returning to Ticino

Key facts

• What → “Talents on the move”
• Where → Lugano Congress Centre
• Organizers → Economic Affairs Division and Social Affairs Division of the City of Lugano
• Project → OltreconfiniTi
• Objective → to connect companies and research institutes with professionals from Ticino

LUGANO – Today, “Talents on the move” took place at the Lugano Congress Centre, an event dedicated to the movement of talent and the Canton of Ticino’s ability to attract and retain young people and professionals. The event was jointly organized by the Economic Affairs Division of the Department of Finance and the Economy and the Social Affairs Division of the City of Lugano and is part of the annual series on the labor market and sustainable development, launched in 2023.

The discussion instead concerns the factors that make the area a place to live, work and shape a life project.

The meeting, opened by introductory remarks from State Councillor Christian Vitta and Lugano Municipal Councillor Lorenzo Quadri, then examined the relationship between young people, work and territorial attractiveness. Barbara Antonioli Mantegazzini, head of the CReS Centre of Expertise in Social Research at SUPSI, provided further insight; Lorenzo Barisone, Statistics and Data Innovation Manager for the City of Lugano, presented a statistical analysis focused on Lugano. Riccardo Trezzi, founder of a macroeconomic consultancy firm, then spoke.

The issue beyond departure

In an increasingly international labor market, the mobility of young people and professionals concerns Ticino, the City of Lugano, Switzerland as a whole and, more generally, Europe. The event, however, focused on the ability to remain attractive: tomorrow’s Ticino should be able to attract back those who leave today and make the most of professionals with skills and experience acquired elsewhere.

This led to the directions identified for the Canton: economic development and innovation, improved framework conditions, possible measures to encourage residence in Ticino and more effective communication of opportunities for those studying or working outside the Canton. These directions were presented as complementary to economic development policies, not as a procedure for cross-border commuters.

During the morning, Matteo Casali and Selma Bertolani presented OltreconfiniTi, an initiative created through collaboration between the Economic Affairs Division and the Information and Communication Service of the Council of State. The platform aims to connect companies and research institutes with professionals from Ticino who have studied or worked outside the Canton. In closing, the panel discussion with Monica Besomi, Jeremy Nicholls and Alex Bernardi presented various return paths, highlighting the opportunities and difficulties of this choice.

Operational details

What it means for people working in Ticino

The practical value of the news for a cross-border worker is primarily one of guidance. The text does not announce a new rule for payslips, a tax deadline or a procedure related to the commute. The focus remains the territory’s ability to attract skills and people.

A project with a precise scope

For those already working in Ticino without living there, the most concrete reading concerns the labor market: the Canton wants to make the opportunities available in the area better known to those who currently study or work outside the Canton. A cross-border worker considering an opportunity can therefore view the event as a signal about territorial competitiveness, not as an announcement about salary, hours, border crossings, transport or tax conditions. The source does not quantify any of these items.

OltreconfiniTi does, however, have a precisely defined target audience: Ticino professionals who pursued a course of education or work outside the Canton. For them, the project connects skills acquired elsewhere with the needs of local companies and research institutes. The source does not say that the platform is aimed indiscriminately at all cross-border workers; it would therefore not be correct to present it as a universal channel for anyone crossing the border.

The distinction between mobility and attractiveness also helps in considering the possible choice of residence. The event program indicates actions to encourage residence in Ticino, but does not describe conditions, requirements or benefits. For a cross-border worker, this means that the source raises a question about their life plans without providing a procedure for turning a job into residence.

The testimonials of Monica Besomi, Jeremy Nicholls and Alex Bernardi add a qualitative element: people with different backgrounds studied or worked outside the Canton and later chose to return. Their contribution highlights the opportunities and challenges of returning, but does not make it possible to derive a single model, salary level or forecast for those living across the border. Anyone seeking practical information separate from the project can consult aziende che assumono, keeping the tool distinct from the platform presented at the event.

Useful planning tools

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Useful planning tools

To estimate your pension strategy, use the pension planner and the pillar 3 simulator.

Key points

How to use this news

The source does not provide a form to fill out, a deadline or a document to attach. Instead, it offers a framework for understanding whether the issue of the return and circulation of talent concerns one's own career path. For the cross-border worker, the most appropriate approach is to separate what the text makes available from what it does not address.

Four steps without forcing the source

1. Define the profile. Check whether your career path matches the one indicated by OltreconfiniTi: being a Ticino professional and having studied or worked outside the Canton. If these elements do not match, do not attribute to the platform an eligibility that the source does not state.

2. Focus on the skills. Reorganize the educational and work experience gained outside the Canton and connect it, as the project does, to the needs of Ticino's economic fabric. The stated objective is to foster the meeting between skills and needs; it is not a promise of employment nor an automatic outcome.

3. Find the right channel. If the interest is a specific position, separate the search for annunci di lavoro from the linking function attributed to OltreconfiniTi. The source refers to companies and research institutes, but does not describe forms, applications, deadlines or documents: it is not advisable to invent steps that have not been indicated.

4. Keep work and residence distinct. Possible actions to promote residence in Ticino are presented as part of territorial policies. Therefore, a cross-border worker can use them as a criterion for reading the life project, but not as confirmation of a right, a requirement or a procedure.

A company or a research institute can read OltreconfiniTi from the perspective of the demand for skills; a professional, from the perspective of experience gained outside the Canton. In both cases, the verifiable point is the meeting between these two elements, not a change to tax or social security rules. For an individual comparison of salary and net pay, use calcolatore fiscale dello stipendio.

Source: tio.ch