Human capital is still an important factor in maintaining and growing the competitive and inventive capability of the industrial system. This is according to Istat's 2026 Annual Report. The analysis, which was conducted using company data, confirms a positive correlation between employees' levels of education and qualifications—particularly graduates and technical professionals—and companies' propensity for innovation in various dimensions, including digital technology adoption, the introduction of new products and processes, and R&D activities. In 2025, although connectivity and cloud usage (now adopted by almost 70% of companies) have become structural requirements, the leap toward advanced digitalisation remains constrained by the availability of specialised skills. The analyses indicate that the intensity of digitalization is increasing in conjunction with the proportion of personnel and graduates with specialized and technical qualifications. Skills shortages are recognized as the key impediment to AI adoption by half of those who have unsuccessfully contemplated employing AI.