From November 2025 to March 2026, the Italian HR+ pilot action brought together 21 HR Managers and equivalent professionals from 18 organisations in a comprehensive 72-hour blended learning pathway designed to strengthen strategic HR competences and foster tangible organisational improvement.
The initiative, implemented by Fòrema Srl with the support of project partners, represents a key milestone in testing the HR+ training model in a real-world context. Through a carefully structured combination of e-learning, in-person training and tutored project work, participants were guided to acquire, deepen and apply six core HR+ skills within their own organisations.
A Structured and Progressive Learning Model
The HR+ Academy was designed around a clear pedagogical logic.
1. First, participants built foundational knowledge through six asynchronous online modules hosted on the Gdoce LMS platform. Between December 2025 and March 2026, they accessed content co-designed by the partnership covering the six HR+ skills:
- Management of Digital Work Tools, Systems and IT Security
- Mapping and Forecasting Required Skills
- Attracting, Recruiting and Selecting Talent
- Designing and Managing Learning Opportunities to Promote Employability
- Planning and Implementing Staff Development Pathways
- Managing Organisational Change Processes
2. The online component was complemented by three in-person training days (24 hours), held at Fòrema between November and December 2025. These sessions focused on the strategic development of four key HR+ skills and were delivered through expert-led workshops, group exercises and simulations. Beyond theoretical understanding, the emphasis was placed on the practical application of knowledge, encouraging participants to test their ability to translate concepts into concrete HR actions.
3. Finally, from December 2025 to February 2026, participants engaged in a tutored project work phase (40 hours). This hands-on component required each organisation to identify a critical HR challenge and design a structured improvement strategy, defining objectives, planned activities, expected results, required resources and potential risks.
This approach allowed participants to actively experiment with the six HR+ target competences within their own organisational contexts.
Personalised Support and Concrete Outputs
To ensure tailored guidance throughout the process, each participant was offered four individual online mentoring sessions – one for each project phase – with a Fòrema Specialist in People Management & Organisation.
In total, 18 project works were developed, involving all participants (colleagues from the same organisation worked on a shared project). Eighteen participants took advantage of the online tutoring activities, with a total of 40 hours of personalised mentoring delivered.
The pilot’s impact was further amplified by the involvement of additional auditors—HR staff members from participating companies—who joined selected sessions, contributing to knowledge dissemination within their organisations.
A Diverse and Representative Group of Organisations
The Italian pilot engaged organisations reflecting the regional productive fabric and a strong degree of diversity. The vast majority of companies (78%) are based in the Veneto region, where Fòrema operates. Thanks to the collaboration with FAV – Fondazione Aldini Valeriani (Bologna), participation was extended to organisations from Emilia-Romagna (11%), Lombardy (6%) and Piedmont (5%).
In line with the regional industrial landscape, the Metalworking sector represented the largest share (44%), followed by the Paper and Packaging sector (17%). However, the pilot also demonstrated significant cross-sectoral reach, including companies operating in Engineering (6%), Transport (6%), Furniture (6%), Wholesale Trade (6%), Food Production (6%), Construction (6%) and ICT Services (6%).
Organisational size varied considerably. While large companies accounted for 22% of the sample, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) represented 78% overall (67% medium-sized and 11% small enterprises), confirming the relevance of the HR+ model for the SME ecosystem.
Notably, female participation was particularly strong: 76% of participants (15 out of 21) were women, highlighting the significant presence of women in HR leadership roles across participating organisations.
Testing HR+ in Practice
The Italian pilot action has demonstrated the effectiveness of a blended and practice-oriented approach to HR capacity building. By integrating digital learning, face-to-face training and project-based experimentation supported by expert mentoring, the HR+ Academy enabled professionals to move beyond theory and generate actionable strategies tailored to their organisational realities.
As the project progresses, the results of the 18 developed HR improvement strategies will contribute valuable insights into how HR+ competences can support organisational resilience, skills anticipation and sustainable workforce development across different sectors and company sizes.
The Italian experience confirms that investing in structured, applied HR learning pathways can generate both individual empowerment and measurable organisational impact—core objectives at the heart of the HR+ project.