In late 2025, the Italian Ministry of Culture (Ministero della Cultura) announced a large public competition for 1,800 permanent assistant positions. The competition is opened to candidates holding a high school diploma or equivalent qualification. This announcement has generated significant interest, especially among young people and those seeking stable employment within the Italian public sector.
In Italy, many government jobs are filled through national competitive exams called concorsi pubblici. Unlike typical job applications, these competitions are regulated by public law and often involve standardized tests that are open to all eligible candidates. Success in a concorso generally leads to a permanent public-sector position with benefits and protections under Italian labor rules.
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What This Competition Is About
The 2026 competition targets the Area Assistant roles of the Ministry of Culture. It focuses on two main professional profiles:
- assistants for protection, welcome, and surveillance;
- technical assistants for protection and enhancement.
Together, these profiles account for 1,800 jobs across the country.
1,500 positions are for assistants working in areas such as visitor welcome, public surveillance, and support in museums, archaeological parks, libraries, and other cultural institutions (Codice 01).
300 positions are for technical assistants supporting tasks related to cultural heritage protection, archaeological research, cataloguing, and valorization (Codice 02).
Candidates must have at least an high school diploma or diploma di istruzione secondaria di secondo grado. This makes the competition especially notable because many public sector opportunities in Italy require a university degree.
Where the Positions Are Located
The competition is organized regionally, meaning candidates choose a region when applying, and successful applicants will work in cultural institutions within that region. High numbers of available posts are in regions like Campania, Lazio, and Tuscany, with additional posts across Lombardy, Veneto, Emilia-Romagna, and others.
Unlike some job applications, candidates do not choose specific cities at the time of application. Instead, once the final rankings are published, successful candidates are assigned specific workplaces within the chosen region based on their score.
The Examination Format
The selection involves one written test consisting of 40 multiple-choice questions to be answered in 60 minutes. Questions cover:
- general subjects (e.g., administrative law, public sector rules, EU law, Italian language and basic English, digital skills);
- profile-specific areas (e.g., cultural heritage regulation, museum operations, or archaeological methods).
The scoring system rewards correct answers and penalizes incorrect ones, encouraging careful preparation. To pass, candidates typically need to reach a minimum score set by the competition rules.
How to Apply & Key Dates
Applications must be submitted online through the InPA portal, the central recruitment platform for Italian public administration jobs. Applicants need a digital identity (SPID, CIE, or similar) and a certified email address (PEC). A small participation fee of €10 is required.
The deadline for applications is January 10, 2026.
A Gateway to Stable Public Employment
This competition represents one of the largest public-sector hiring initiatives in the cultural field for 2025-2026, offering permanent employment and a unique way to work within Italy’s treasured institutions. It’s an excellent example of how concorsi pubblici enable broad access to government jobs based on merit.
