Mr Romiti is a formidable Italian industrialist of the old school, skilled at bullying the workers and the government for the greater good of Fiat, but hardly the sort of figure to impress international shareholders outside the salotto buono of Milan.

ECONOMIST: Car making in Italy

In fact, the largest portion of jobs in our labor market (nearly half) require some kind of technical training beyond a high school diploma, and these "middle-skill" jobs are experiencing the greatest shortages of skilled workers.

CNN: Commentary: Jobs going begging in some fields