For both the business sector and academia it is important to realise the opportunities and challenges of the current macroeconomic, political, social and cultural situation in Romania, to identify and take advantage of them in order to establish the foundation of a modern country, where its human resources are developed to the maximum. We cannot accomplish this without developing an economic and educational system based on knowledge exchange and social engagement of all stakeholders (from the academic sector to the business environment, from the public sector to the mass-media and civil society).
Currently, almost 70% of jobs in Romania are in sectors with little added value, a situation which has serious economic consequences in the medium and long term: there is a focus on low salaries, with Romania becoming a place of cheap labour. A recent report on global competitiveness published by the World Economic Forum shows that Romania needs to improve the level of practical competences and professional training, to meet economic needs.
Another difficulty is the evaluation systems for professors and students. In the last three years, the pass rate for the national school leaving certificate exam has remained at a low level, under 50% and there are no significant signs that this will improve.
Over the last year, only one Romanian academic institution, the Babes-Bolyai University of Cluj-Napoca, entered the Academic Ranking of World Universities in Mathematics taking 102nd place. It also ranked 81st in the Best Global Universities ranking for mathematics - a significant improvement from last year.
Despite its poor infrastructure, Romania still has the potential to become a regional hub for the creative industries and information technology and important steps have been made in this direction in the last few years. The existing IT infrastructure facilitates knowledge transfer at global standards, without natural barriers.
The current challenges faced by the Romanian education sector include:
Given the interdependency between the academic world and the business environment, ongoing cooperation between these two sectors is extremely important so that students are prepared to enter the labour market, developing practical skills which make them more employable.
The FIC would welcome the creation of a Think Tank dedicated to education for employability, to act as a channel of communication between the business environment, universities and other relevant actors. This umbrella body would anticipate and analyse tendencies in the market, conduct surveys among relevant stakeholders, submit proposals for improvement of the current situation, present best practices and monitor progress. It would facilitate alignment between the labour market’s needs and the career options of students.
Companies in Romania need predictability of the available human resources (in terms of numbers and skills), as well as to anticipate and influence tendencies in education and the related legislation. Internships are the usual intermediate step between student and the employee status. Through these, the predominantly theoretical academic training is complemented. However, there is currently no legal regulation of internships. The recently passed Law no. 78/2014 establishes only the premises for volunteering, while Law no. 258/2007 establishes the legal status only of pupils and students.
The FIC considers that there should be special focus on the legal framework for internships, with new legislation a priority. The fiscal burden on companies should be reduced, as an incentive to offer internships.
Moreover, given the current focus on theory in class, to the detriment of practical and social skills, direct contact with experts from business would lead to better understanding between the two sectors. The FIC recommends that these experts from companies should be allowed to teach in universities.
A system of recruitment and training for teachers should be implemented, based on performance criteria so that only well-motivated candidates are recruited and promoted. Universities should reintroduce entrance examinations to improve the quality of students, while at the same time testing their reasons for choosing one field of study or another. In addition, in its assessment of the performance of universities, the Ministry of Education should take into account the percentage of students who find work in relation to their chosen field of studies.
Changing the paradigm and investing in education will pave the way for sustainable economic growth.
The business environment has the resources and expertise to connect stakeholders and develop relevant skills through direct input in adapting curricula to fit the current needs of the labour market. It can also encourage initiative and practical training of students by investing in projects that support start-ups and entrepreneurship.
Companies in Romania have already started developing programs engaging several stakeholders to reach this goal. For example, in the last few years, IT companies have invested massively in the technical faculties of the main Romanian universities, improving the educational process, for the benefit of students, who later join their companies, hence generating a clear return on investment.
Better communication should take place between universities and the business community during the entire academic cycle. Consequently, from analysing the context (the opportunities and needs of both sectors), to setting up the curricula, moving to the actual process of teaching, there should be a close cooperation process, which should also take into account relevant stakeholders like civil society or the mass-media.
CSR programs in education should tackle systemic problems and consolidate the poor cooperation between these sectors. Strategic partnerships with the main universities should be developed. Companies should increase the number of internships and create mechanisms to enable the transfer of knowledge (e.g.: creating a mentoring platform or/and an integrated job platform, as well as developing shadowing programs).
Besides hard skills, there should also be a focus on interdisciplinary, digital and project management skills, which will prepare students to enter the labour market or become entrepreneurs.
After the collapse of the communist regime, the reputation of Romanian vocational education declined markedly. There were two main causes – (i) The quantitative and qualitative decline of Romanian heavy industry after 1989 (resulting in a significant decrease in the demand for qualified workers) and (ii) A growing attitude that higher education is an essential condition for professional success.
The revival of Romanian heavy industry seen in the past decade (Petrom, Dacia, Arctic, ArcelorMittal etc.) has generated a clear need for qualified workers in almost all industrial areas. There is a need for a change of attitude, so that elementary school graduates with a vocation for a career in industry can receive more encouragement and support to pursue this.
The FIC understands the need for a talented and qualified work force in industry. The FIC also understands the difficulties faced by the Romanian vocational education system, due to common misconceptions as to its value. Consequently, the FIC recommends and supports a focused effort by both the private and public sector towards an improvement in the image of vocational education.
Methods to achieve this could include:
The main production centres are located in various parts of Romania, in a very irregular pattern (e.g. Bucharest, Pitesti, Gaesti, Ploiesti, Galati, Craiova etc.). Meanwhile, other regions are underdeveloped (e.g. Vaslui, Bacau, Satu Mare, Tulcea etc.). Consequently, from a geographical standpoint, the Romanian industrial system is highly heterogeneous.
However, this was not always the case. During the communist era, all the main cities were highly industrialised and the main source for qualified work was a complex vocational education system with vocational schools located in close proximity to each big factory. While some factories never closed, and continued to cooperate with their vocational schools (e.g. Dacia and the Industrial Scholar Group etc.) many other industrial complexes ceased their activities, (e.g. Republica, IMGB, ARO, Tractorul etc.). In this context, even though the vocational schools serving these former industrial giants never closed, their graduates are unable to be efficiently integrated in the work field. To solve this problem, a relocation of the vocational schools is urgently needed.
The FIC acknowledges the importance of reorganising the vocational education system and encourages the relocation of vocational schools to bring them into close proximity to the great industrialised areas. There is a clear lack of coordination between supply and demand in the Romanian heavy industry system from a geographical point of view. The FIC also understands that it would not be economically viable for companies to invest in vocational schools located a long way from their premises.
The FIC recommends that public authorities should initiate a reorganisation plan for the vocational education system (with support from interested companies) based on the current needs and geographical locations of factories. The FIC can continue to offer support in drafting and implementing the plan.
Most companies interested in cooperating with vocational schools have particular needs and requirements from and for their future employees – graduates of the vocational schools. The current curricula do not always cover the required subjects and there is a clear need for new specialisations to be developed, to meet the needs of companies at the existing vocational schools.
However, the current legal procedure for setting up a new specialisation is very complicated and involves many bureaucratic obstacles. In time, this has led to companies avoiding such constructive initiatives.
The FIC recommends the implementation of a new legal framework in vocational education, which will allow interested investors to set up new specialisations within the existing vocational schools.
Many talented individuals are not always aware of their talent and/or not able to pursue it for administrative/financial/social reasons. Consequently, a lot of very talented young people end up in positions not suited for them, struggling in a field that has no connection with their talent. This inevitably leads to dissatisfaction for the individual, low performance at work and poor social integration.
In order to focus individuals towards their talents and convince them to pursue their passion, the FIC recommends the revival of career counselling during elementary school. The counselling will focus on all the actors involved in the process: children (identifying their talent), teachers (training them to identify and guide talented children) and parents (counselling them on how to support their talented children).
Specific tests should be introduced in the 7th and 8th grade, to help reveal the hidden potential within each student.
Currently, there are very little or no fiscal facilities for companies interested in investing in the development of vocational schools. This, alongside other obstacles (see the list above) inevitably leads to reluctance to pursue this type of investment and, eventually, to a continuous decline in the vocational education system.
The FIC believes that the public authorities should launch a thorough analysis of the fiscal environment and its associated legal framework and identify an effective solution for granting fiscal facilities to companies willing to invest in the vocational education system.