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Skills anticipation in Romania (2023 Update)
Summary
Overview of the Romanian approach
Skills anticipation in Romania is largely undertaken by government ministries and agencies, namely the Ministry of Education (Ministerul Educației). Skills data in Romania are mainly collected by the National Institute of Statistics (Institutul Naţional de Statistică), which collects, processes, and prepares statistics on the labour market (including data pertaining to skills). Skills assessments and forecasting are conducted by the National Commission for Strategy and Prognosis (Comisia Naţională de Strategie şi Prognoză).
Information from skills anticipation activities is shared primarily with ministries and other government agencies that deal with policymaking through the dissemination of data and reports. Information is also shared with careers guidance counsellors in (a) vocational and general education and (b) the public employment service (PES). Social partner stakeholders (e.g., trade unions and employer representatives), also have access to the reports containing information on skills anticipation. Other stakeholders such as enterprises, employers, education bodies, NGOs, etc. may have access depending on the official status of the skills anticipation (i.e., in the public domain or not in the public domain). Generally, most results which are publicly available are free.
The main funding agencies include the Ministry of Labour and Social Solidarity (Ministerul Muncii și Solidarității Sociale), the Ministry of National Education (Ministerul Educației), the National Agency for Employment (Agenţia Naţională pentru Ocuparea Forţei de Muncă, ANOFM), and the Executive Unit for the Financing of Higher Education, Research, Development and Innovation (Unitatea executive pentru Finanțarea Învățământului Superior, Cercetării, Dezvoltării și Inovării (UEFISCDI) under the National Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training Development (Centrul Național de Dezvoltare a Învățământului Profesional și Tehnic, CNDIPT).
Investments in skills anticipation have been made in Romania to develop methodologically robust forecasts of the country’s skill needs. EU funding through the European Social Fund (ESF), as well as cooperating with EU agencies such as CEFEFOP, has helped to develop skills anticipation. Also, the World Bank, within the RAS - Reimbursement Advisory Services projects, developed various studies/works that presented actions and recommendations that would be the basis of more efficient political decisions regarding skills anticipation.
Most stakeholders other than the government have so far had a limited role in the skills anticipation process.
The National Authority for Qualifications has developed its own strategy for professional development and training (ANC Strategy for professional development and training 2021-2027), having among the specific objectives "the continuous anticipation of the demand for skills on the labour market". According to the ANC strategy, the implementation of this specific objective is the responsibility of the sectoral committees.
Description
Increasingly, Romania has taken a more comprehensive approach towards skills anticipation activities, particularly in conducting periodic exercises to collect skills intelligence, disseminate to target groups and use these data in policymaking. ESF funding significantly supports skills anticipation initiatives.
Skills anticipation exercises in Romania take several forms, including data collection and forecasting. Specifically:
- Skills data are mainly collected by the National Institute of Statistics, which collects, processes and prepares statistics on the labour market;
- Macro-economic forecasting is primarily conducted by the National Commission for Strategy and Prognosis;
- Periodic skills anticipation exercises include research and skills forecasting by the National Scientific Research Institute for Labour and Social Protection (Institutul Naţional de Cercetare Ştiinţifică în Domeniul Muncii şi Protecţiei Sociale, INCSMPS), the assessment work on VET and higher education graduate skills by the CNDIPT;
- Various studies carried out within projects (e.g., the ReCONECT project), co-funded by the ESF or other donors.
Other ad hoc exercises include:
- Research by the National Scientific Research Institute for Labour and Social Protection;
- Skills assessments of VET and higher education graduates’ skills by the CNDIPT;
- Initiatives from the National Agency for Employment, including some co-funded by the ESF through sector operational programmes;
- Initiatives from the National Authority for Qualifications in partnership with other institutions, including some co-funded by the ESF through sector operational programmes; and
- Initiatives from National Authority for People with Disabilities (Autoritatea Natională pentru Protectia Drepturilor Persoanelor cu Dizabilitati – ANPDPD, including co-financing from different donors.
In addition to the work of these national bodies and institutes, other contributors include research institutes, under the authority of the Romanian Academy, the Executive Unit for the Financing of Higher Education, Research, Development and Innovation (UEFISCDI), under the Institute for Education Sciences (Institutul de Științe ale Educației, ISE), NGOs as well as EU agencies, such as CEDEFOP, which help build expertise through cooperation. ESF co-financing has been used by the various funding agencies to co-fund the development of skills anticipation exercises.
Aims
Skills anticipation is focused primarily on developing (a) skill needs assessments and (b) forecasts of future skill demand and supply to inform policymakers and labour market participants. In particular, skills anticipation activities aim to ensure that education, training, lifelong learning and professional training is effective in equipping the labour force with skills demanded by businesses both now and in the future. Anticipating skills in Romania aims to inform decision-makers, providing them with the necessary information to review policies and strategies so that they can develop measures and create mechanisms capable of making possible the adaptation of the labour market to the post-covid situation and to the twin (digital and green) transition.
Legal framework
While there is no particular regulation which covers skills anticipation, the National Employment Strategy 2014-2020 (Strategia Națională pentru Ocuparea Forței de Muncă 2014-2020) developed by the then Ministry of Labour and Social Solidarity, is linked to skills anticipation efforts. The Strategy takes into account demographic factors (population change and projections of future change), the international context (migration trends), and the sectoral and occupational composition of the labour force (trends and expectations). This document constitutes an important base for policies and measures relating to skills anticipation in Romania.
The National Strategy for Green Jobs (2018-2025) developed by the Ministry of Labour and Social Solidarity aims to ensure Romania's transition towards a green economy with all the necessary implications such as: re-engineering of enterprises, development of new policies, monitoring the evolution of green jobs, as well as anticipating the needs of skills and new jobs.
The Integrated Strategy for Human Resources Development (2009-2020) (Strategia Integrată de Dezvoltare a Resurselor Umane 2009-2020) is another important document related to skills anticipation. The Strategy aims to bring about improved predictability/anticipation of skills needs to facilitate the match between the skills people possess and those in demand in the labour market. The Strategy aims at creating a national platform regarding the analysis and prognosis of skills demand and supply. According to the Integrated Strategy, skills anticipation exercises should use the National Framework for Qualifications[i] (Cadrul Naţional al Calificărilor), Occupational Standards[ii] (Standarde ocupaționale), National Register of Qualifications (Registrul National al Calificarilor) and the Classification of the Occupations in Romania (Clasificarea Ocupaţiilor din România).
In addition, Romania’s sustainable development strategy 2030 defines the national framework for implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This strategy promotes the sustainable development of Romania by focusing on three dimensions: economic, social, and environmental. This strategy is citizen-centred and faces the challenges of the 21st century by prioritising the role of education to acquire key skills to ensure better work and life conditions.
Governance
Skills anticipation is Romania is largely the responsibility of government ministries and agencies, namely the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Labour and Social Solidarity. Other important institutions involved in skills anticipation activities are the following:
- The National Commission for Strategy and Prognosis, which is governed directly by the Prime Minister of Romania and provides the basic macro-economic forecasts.
- The National Institute of Statistics which supplies validated statistical data from its regular research (LFS, national accounts, etc.).
- The National Scientific Research Institute in the field of Labour and Social Protection (INCSMPS) which up until now has been the main supplier of research, studies and forecasting exercises in the area.
- The Ministry of Education governs the CNDIPT, which has played an important role over the past few years by providing skill supply and demand data while also commissioning studies, research and forecasting initiatives in the field.
- The National Qualifications Authority (Autoritatea Națională pentru Calificări, ANC) also works under the Ministry of Education to conduct skills anticipation activities.
- The 16 Sectoral Committees that are under the coordination of the National Authority for Qualifications. These committees cover a variety of economic branches, including but not limited to: tourism, hotels, restaurants, culture, health and social assistance, textiles, garments, environmental protection, and chemistry and petrochemicals.
- The National Agency for Employment operates in a similar way under the authority of the Ministry of Labour and Social Solidarity.
- The Institute of Education Sciences is subordinated to the Ministry of Education.
- National Centre for the Development of Technical and Vocational Training (CNDIPT).
The role of stakeholders
Social partners play a role in skills anticipation activities, particularly in conducting data collection. However, the extent to which stakeholders are actually able to use skills anticipation data to influence policy is uncertain. Social partners tend to lobby for policy changes, based on the findings from skills anticipation activities. One such example is the change in public policy brought about by social partners, both unions and employers, to successfully refocus public policy attention on the need to promote VET as an educational option (Education for All 2015 National Review) through vocational schools and apprenticeships by using evidence collected through skills anticipation activities. Social partners also tend to take a role in bodies such as the Social and Economic Council and the National Tripartite Social Dialogue Council, which enhance social dialogue. These Councils examine and provide opinions on the laws the government submits to the parliament.
The sectoral committees are social dialogue institutions of public utility, with legal personality, organised on the basis of law 268/2009 at the level of the branches of activity defined by the national level single collective labour contract. At the level of a branch of activity, only one sectoral committee can be constituted.
Target groups
The primary target groups of skills anticipation exercises are government ministries, specifically, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Labour and Social Solidarity, as well as agencies which introduce and shape regulations and strategies that contribute to the governance of the skills system. Information reaches these users in the form of data, reports, studies, forecasts, etc. Other target groups include careers guidance counsellors (including those in vocational and general education and the PES), social partners/sectoral committees (unions and employers), employers, parent/student associations, education and training institutions, jobseekers (via the PES), researchers/academics, the media, and the wider public. However, it is difficult to assess both the extent to which data reach these other target groups, and the extent to which it is used by them.
Funding and resources
Funding for skills anticipation comes primarily from the state budget on demand from the main beneficiaries (e.g., ministries, state agencies, etc.). In practice, over the past few years annual initiatives were implemented in this field. Nevertheless, the frequency of funding for such initiatives remains irregular. The work undertaken by the National Commission for Strategy and Prognosis, and the National Institute for Statistics, which are the main data suppliers for any national initiative in the field, comes from the regular allocations of the state budget which funds these state bodies. The development of skills anticipation has been aided by EU funding, primarily through the ESF. This funding has contributed to a number of projects, including funding from the Operational Programme Human Resource Development 2007-2013[iii] to develop forecasting activities and the 2014-20 operational programme dedicated to the area of human resources (the Operational Programme Human Capital).
It is worth mentioning the Administrative Capacity Operational Program (POCA 2014-2020), which is dedicated to human resources in the public administration and is co-funded by the EU. Additionally, the national "Educated Romania" project has been initiated by the President of Romania to support the society's resettlement on values and promote a culture of success based on talent, performance, work, honesty, and integrity. Some provisions of this project were included in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR). The Education and Employment Operational Program (POEO) 2021-2027 funds measures and mechanisms for skills anticipation development and implementation and is co-funded by the EU.
Methods and tools
Skills assessment
Skills assessments are undertaken by the National Commission for Strategy and Prognosis, which assesses the qualification structures in economic sectors.[iv] Other periodic assessments include research by the National Scientific Research Institute for Labour and Social Protection; assessments on the extent to which skills supply from VET and higher education is meeting demand by the CNDIPT; and initiatives undertaken by the National Agency for Employment.
Skills forecasts
The National Commission for Strategy and Prognosis is the main national body responsible for forecasting. It has developed its own models to produce regular forecasts (twice a year) of the main labour market indicators such as employment rates, wages, unemployment rates, etc. The National Commission for Strategy and Prognosis cooperates with CEDEFOP and the National Scientific Research Institute for Labour and Social Protection to contribute to Cedefop’s pan-European forecast.
To decentralise and establish a direct connection with the labour market, sectoral committees will continuously provide skills anticipation information to the National Authority for Qualifications. This approach will provide both a national and sector-specific view of the labour market to the ANC.
The CNDIPT runs occasional forecasts regarding the demand for VET students’ skills. These forecasts are carried out in association with local stakeholders to inform local and regional plans for the development of VET provision. The request for a forecast is instigated by the request of the social partners (employers and trade unions) through their lobby actions, and/or by the Ministry of Education.
Another ad hoc forecasting exercise was carried out as part of the GREEN JOBS skills assessment, undertaken by the National Agency for Employment and co-funded by the ESF, which focused on the demand for skills relating to the green economy.
Finally, there are labour market and skills forecasting projects, which have been undertaken with the aim of producing a methodology for regular forecasting. For example, a partnership between the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, the National Institute for Scientific Research in the Field of Labour and Social Protection, the National Centre for the Development of Professional and Technical Education, the Ministry of Education and the Executive Unit for Financing Higher Education, Research, Development and Innovation within the project ReCONECT - Adaptation to Change - Integrated Mechanism for Anticipation, Monitoring, Evaluation of the Labour Market and Education that ran from December 2020 to June 2023. The project aimed to develop three mechanisms:
- mechanism for monitoring the insertion of graduates of education and professional training programs (Mechanism 1);
- mechanism for anticipating the need for skills on the labour market (Mechanism 2);
- evaluation and monitoring mechanism of public policies regarding active measures and professional training (Mechanism 3).
Skills foresight
There is no evidence of skills foresight being undertaken in Romania. But after the completion of the ReCONECT project and the implementation of the mechanism for anticipating skill needs in the labour market, there will be sufficient evidence regarding skills foresight, as the project correlates labour demand with supply by introducing new tools and mechanisms for monitoring and evaluating public policies and anticipating skill needs. The application made through this project will provide data from all partners involved to anticipate changes in the labour market and education to enable decision-making.
The partnership between institutions of the central administration will develop, through the project, three mechanisms that will meet the needs of analysis and intervention in education and employment programmes. The project aims to develop three types of mechanisms:
- Mechanism for monitoring the transition of professional and technical education and higher education graduates in the labour market;
- Mechanism for anticipating short and medium/long term qualification needs;
- Evaluation and monitoring mechanism of public policies regarding active and political professional training measures.
Other skills anticipation practices
There are no other skills anticipation exercises in place in Romania.
Dissemination and use
There is no structured dissemination strategy or practice to systematically provide information from the skills anticipation exercises to the target groups (government agencies and ministries, careers guidance counsellors in education and the PES, social partners, employers, students and their parents). Information reaches these users in the form of raw data and reports.
Use of skills anticipation in policy
Analyses provided by the National Commission of Strategy and Forecast or by the National Scientific Research Institute for Labour and Social Protection are mainly used by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Labour and Social Solidarity and serve as the foundation for policymaking on education and labour market issues. For example, the Ministry of Education takes results from skills forecasts and assessments into account when deciding on the allocation of subsidised places for students in educational institutions, such as vocational schools. Additionally, the Ministry of Labour and Social Solidarity and its agencies, such as the National Agency for Employment, the National House for Public Pensions (Casa Naţională de Pensii Publice, CNPP), and National Agency for Payments and Social Inspection develop programmes and policies to re-integrate people into the labour market based on skills anticipation results.
Target groups’ uses of skills anticipation outputs
The primary target groups of skills anticipation are government ministries (mainly the Education and Labour ministries), and the agencies which produce regulations and strategies relating to the skills system. The ministries and government agencies use the results of skills anticipation exercises to formulate policies in the education and the labour market domains. Careers guidance counsellors in education and the PES are also important target groups that use the results from skills anticipation to inform their client groups. While there are specific examples of where skills anticipation results have been used by target groups to influence policy (e.g., the use made by social partners as explained earlier), it is less clear whether the results from skills anticipation exercises are used systematically other than by government ministries and agencies.
Please cite this document as: Cedefop. (2023). Skills anticipation in Romania. Skills intelligence: data insights. URL [accessed DATE] |
Bibliography
- Bartlett, W. (2013). Structural unemployment in the Western Balkans: Challenges for skills anticipation and matching policies. European Planning Studies, 21(6), 890-908.
- Cedefop/OECD/ETF/ILO/. (2015). Survey on Anticipating and Responding to Changing Skill Needs. OECD-G20-ILO-KMOFA Knowledge Sharing Workshop on Human Resource Development, Skills and Labour Mobility for Inclusive Labour Markets and Growth. Paris: OECD.
- Cedefop. Matching skills database Partnership analysis and labour market forecasting system with continuing adaptation to economic dynamics.
- Cedefop. (2020). Developments in vocational education and training policy in 2015-19: Romania. Cedefop monitoring and analysis of VET policies.
- Cedefop. (2019). Skill forecast in Romania.
- DALIVET
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- __ (2007). Investigating skills and training demand in Romania. Systems, institutional frameworks and processes for early identification of skill needs/2007. Office for official publications of the European Communities, CEDEFOP PANORAMA series.
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- Ministry of Education
- __ (2014). Education for All: Review Report: Romania.
- Ministry of Labour and Social Solidarity
- Ministry of Labour, Family and Equal Opportunities. (2007). Sectoral Operational Programme Human Resources Development 2007-2013.
- __ n.d. National Employment Strategy 2014-2020.
- National Agency for Employment
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- National Institute of Statistics
- National Qualifications Authority (ANC)
- National Scientific Research Institute for Labour and Social Protection
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Endnotes
[i] It is regulated by the HG no 567/2015 which stated the modifications to an old HG – 918/2013 regarding the approval for The National Qualifications Framework. This law was enacted on 30.07.2015
[ii] There is a list of the Occupational Standards (linked to the Occupational Classification in Romania-COR). Both the COR and the Occupational Standards for each COR occupational code is elaborated by the National Council of Professional Training for Adults, National Authority for Qualification (Autoritaea Nationala pentru Calificari, ANC) using a specific methodology.
[iii] http://www.fonduri-structurale.ro/Document_Files/resurseumane/00000030/rcxgy_POSDRU_engleza.pdf
[iv] These are not necessarily posted on the organisation’s website, but the studies are mentioned by the Ministries of Education and Labour respectively.
Data insights details
Table of contents
Page 1
SummaryPage 2
DescriptionPage 3
Methods and toolsPage 4
Dissemination and usePage 5
BibliographyPage 6
Endnotes