Italian at work in trade, tourism, food and design
Italian matters at work wherever companies deal with Italy or with Italian-speaking Switzerland. Five groups of jobs use it most often.
- Staff in trade and industry who buy from or sell to Italian companies and talk to suppliers, customers and agents.
- Tourism and hospitality staff who serve Italian guests or work for travel companies in Italy.
- People in food, fashion and design, where Italian companies, products and terms play a large role.
- Singers, musicians and art historians, for whom Italian is part of the professional vocabulary, from opera libretti to art history sources.
- Staff in Switzerland, where Italian is one of the four national languages.
Online lessons fit working life with Italy well. You can reach teachers from every Italian region, choose one who knows your sector and fit lessons around your working day. Italy is one hour ahead of the UK, so lessons before or after work suit both sides.
In Switzerland, Italian is spoken mainly in Ticino and in parts of Graubünden. The Swiss federal administration and many companies work in several national languages, and knowledge of Italian is an advantage there.
Business Italian with Lei, titles and fixed phrases
Business Italian uses the polite form Lei, the third person singular, with customers, partners and superiors. You start a business relationship with Lei and switch to the informal tu only when the other person offers it. Italians also use professional titles in business, such as dottore or dottoressa for university graduates, ingegnere for engineers and avvocato for lawyers.
| Situation | Italian phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Opening a formal email | Gentile dottoressa Rossi | Dear Dr Rossi |
| Making a polite request | Le sarei grato se potesse... | I would be grateful if you could... |
| Closing a formal email | Cordiali saluti | Kind regards |
| Summing up a meeting | Riassumendo, abbiamo deciso che... | To sum up, we decided that... |
Specialised Italian goes one step further. Specialised language means the vocabulary and text types of one profession. Courses exist for tourism, food, fashion and medicine, and singers find courses on the diction of Italian opera libretti. In other fields, such as engineering or law, a one-to-one course with your own documents usually replaces a ready-made programme.
The Italian grammar each CEFR level adds for work tasks
Employers usually describe the Italian they need as a level of the CEFR, the Common European Framework of Reference with six levels from A1 to C2. The binding requirement comes from the employer, and each level brings Italian grammar that specific work tasks need.
| Work task | Usual level | Italian you need for it |
|---|---|---|
| Standard emails and orders | B1 | Lei forms, fixed openings and closings, passato prossimo |
| Meetings and presentations | B2 | congiuntivo after credo che, conditional for polite requests |
| Negotiations and contracts | C1 | formal register, passive forms, sector vocabulary |
The congiuntivo is the Italian subjunctive, which follows verbs of opinion, wish or doubt. In meetings you use it constantly, for example in credo che sia possibile (I think it is possible). The conditional softens requests, as in potrebbe mandarmi (could you send me). Both belong to B2, the level many employers name as the minimum for meetings.
Ask the employer in writing which CEFR level and which certificate it expects. Learners who already speak Spanish or French often reach B2 faster, but they need practice to avoid mixed forms in written Italian.
Italian certificates employers recognise
Four institutions issue the recognised certificates of Italian as a foreign language, and they have joined forces in the association CLIQ. The Università per Stranieri di Siena runs the CILS, the Università per Stranieri di Perugia the CELI, the Società Dante Alighieri the PLIDA and the Università Roma Tre the CERT.IT. All four align their levels with the CEFR.
Three features matter for job applications.
- At CILS you pass only if you reach the minimum score in every skill, so a certificate shows employers that listening, reading, writing and speaking are all at that level.
- Results of the CILS arrive about three months after the exam. Plan the exam well before an application deadline.
- The CILS certificate has no expiry date, but some employers ask for recent proof.
The exams take place at test centres in Italy and abroad, often at Italian Cultural Institutes. PLIDA has more than 300 centres in more than 60 countries, which helps if you live far from Italy.
The CILS B1 Cittadinanza is a special exam for Italian citizenship applications only. It does not help in a job application, so take the general exam at B1 or higher if you need proof for work.
6 topics of a business Italian course
A business Italian course should cover six topics, ideally with your own texts from work.
- Introducing yourself and your company in the Lei form.
- Formal emails with openings such as Gentile and closings such as Cordiali saluti.
- Phone and video calls, including spelling names the Italian way with cities, as in A come Ancona.
- Meetings and negotiations with the congiuntivo and the conditional for polite disagreement.
- Small talk at business meals and the moment to move from Lei to tu.
- The vocabulary of your sector, for example tourism, food, fashion or machinery.
The US Foreign Service Institute (FSI), the language school of the US State Department, places Italian among the languages closest to English and puts professional fluency at about 552 class hours of full-time training. With three hours of class a week you collect about 130 hours a year, so an intensive course or a stay in Italy shortens the path to work level.
A teacher with experience in your sector brings real emails, offers and meeting phrases into the lesson and corrects your Lei forms in the texts you write at work every day.
Frequently asked questions about online Italian courses for work
Which Italian level do employers expect for work?
Employers usually expect Italian at CEFR level B1 to C1 for work, depending on the tasks. B1 is often enough for standard emails and orders, B2 is common for meetings and presentations, and C1 for negotiations and contracts. The employer sets the binding requirement.
When do you switch from Lei to tu in Italian business?
In Italian business you switch from Lei to tu only when the other person offers it. Start every new business relationship with Lei, the polite third person singular. Superiors and older partners usually decide when the change happens.
Which certificate proves Italian for a job?
Italian for a job is proven with one of the four recognised certificates of the CLIQ association, which are CILS, CELI, PLIDA and CERT.IT. All four use the CEFR levels from A1 to C2. Ask the employer which level it expects before you book an exam.
Does the CILS B1 Cittadinanza certificate help in an Italian job application?
No, the CILS B1 Cittadinanza certificate does not help in an Italian job application, because it is valid only for citizenship applications. For work you need a general certificate, such as CILS, CELI, PLIDA or CERT.IT at B1 or higher. Jobs with meetings in Italian usually ask for B2.
How do you address an Italian business partner with a university degree?
You address an Italian business partner with a university degree as dottore or dottoressa plus the surname, for example Gentile dottoressa Rossi in an email. Engineers are often addressed as ingegnere and lawyers as avvocato. Use the polite Lei form throughout.
How long does it take to learn Italian for work?
Learning Italian for work to professional fluency takes about 552 class hours of full-time training for English speakers, according to the US Foreign Service Institute. With three hours a week you collect about 130 hours a year. Spanish or French and an intensive course shorten the path.
Sources
The information is based on these sources. Check fees and dates with the provider before you register.