Webuild Now Hires Prisoners for $6.8bn Naples-Bari Railway

Webuild is uniquely combining social reintegration and workforce development by training prisoners for its Naples-Bari High-Speed Railway project in Italy.

The initiative aims to provide inmates with professional skills while bolstering the company’s supply of qualified workers.

The programme, run in collaboration with Italy’s Department of Penitentiary Administration (DAP), initially focuses on ten prisoners. 

The first four participants, selected from the Benevento district prison, have completed preliminary training inside the prison before moving on to practical construction training.

Following this preparation, the inmates are now working on the Apice-Hirpinia section of the railway, one of four segments Webuild is responsible for along the route. 

The full project includes the Naples-Cancello, Apice-Hirpinia, Hirpinia-Orsara, and Orsara-Bovino lots, employing roughly 2,300 people across all sites.

The project was formalised through an agreement signed with the Ministry of Justice in 2023. As Webuild outlined in its press release:

“Legality and social inclusion through specialised work and training: these are the pillars of the project developed by Webuild with the Italian Ministry of Justice to train and reinsert prisoners for work, with its first application happening in one of the construction sites of the Naples-Bari High-Speed railway line.”

The process begins with a careful selection conducted jointly with DAP and employment agency Randstad. After completing the “Territorial School” training inside the prison, participants undergo the “Trade School” programme at FORMEDIL Avellino, an intensive training path designed to equip them with the practical skills needed for construction work. 

RELATED: Italy’s Webuild Eyes African Talent to Fill 10,000 Jobs

Webuild emphasises that the training is provided voluntarily and is not funded through public money, apart from the general decontribution benefits outlined in the Smuraglia Law.

Gianfranco Marcello, Director of Benevento Prison, praised the initiative, saying: “The work opportunity offered is highly professionalizing and is not paid for by public funds (except for the general decontribution of the Smuraglia Law), representing, therefore, a constructive exception in the scenario of prison work in the Campania Region.”

The programme is now expanding. Selection interviews are underway at the Casa Circondariale of Ariano Irpino in the province of Avellino for five more prisoners, who will be deployed on the central Hirpinia-Orsara section of the railway.

Webuild describes the project as part of a broader strategy to address the rising demand for skilled technical workers.

The company currently manages around 30 major infrastructure projects in Italy, including the Palermo-Catania-Messina High-Capacity Railway, the Terzo Valico dei Giovi – Genoa Junction project, Rome’s Metro Line C, and the New Genoa Breakwater.

The company’s Italian and global expansion has driven significant employment growth. 

“Solely in 2024, Webuild hired over 13,000 people, among whom approximately 2,900 people in Italy,” the company said.

By blending rehabilitation with practical skill-building, Webuild’s initiative offers prisoners the chance for meaningful reintegration into society while simultaneously supporting one of Italy’s largest ongoing infrastructure projects.

Join 15,000+ pros getting our weekly digest of news and insights.