Skills anticipation in Romania (2022 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), previously the Ministry of Education, Research and Technology, and the Ministry of Labour and Social Justice (Ministerul Muncii și Justiției Sociale). 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 Prognosis (Comisia Naţională de 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 Justice, the Ministry of National Education, National Agency for Employment (Agenţia Naţională pentru Ocuparea Forţei de Muncă), and 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 skills needs. Obtaining EU funding through the European Social Fund (ESF), as well as cooperating with EU agencies such as CEFEFOP, has helped to develop skills anticipation. Most stakeholders, however, other than the government, have only a limited role in the process of skills anticipation.

Description

Increasingly, Romania has taken a more comprehensive approach towards skills anticipation activities, particularly in conducting periodic exercises, to collect skills intelligence, to disseminate to target groups and to use these data in policymaking. ESF funding significantly supports skills anticipation initiatives. Skills anticipation exercises in Romania take a number of forms, including data collection and forecasting. Specifically:

• skills data are mainly collected by the national statistical office, 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 Prognosis;
• periodic skills’ anticipation exercises include research and skills forecasting by the National Scientific Research Institute for Labour and Social Protection/https://new.incsmps.ro/  (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; as well as projects undertaken by the National Agency for Employment, with co-funding from the ESF.

Other ad hoc exercises include:

• research by the National Scientific Research Institute for Labour and Social Protection;
• skills assessments in relation to the skills of VET and higher education graduates by the CNDIPT; and
• initiatives from the National Agency for Employment, including co-financing from the ESF through specific sector operational programmes

In addition to the work of these national bodies and institutes, other contributors include research institutes, under the authority of the Romanian Academy, the Institute for Education Sciences (Institutul de Științe ale Educației, IES), 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. Skills anticipation in Romania aims to inform policymakers by providing them with the information required to shape public policies.

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 Ministry of Labour and Social Justice, 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 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 has the goal of 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), and the Classification of the Occupations in Romania (Clasificarea Ocupaţiilor din România).

In addition, the 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 of the skills anticipation

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 Justice. Other important institutions involved in skills anticipation activities are the following.

• The National Commission for 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 data about the skills’ supply and demand 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 National Agency for Employment operates in a similar way under the authority of the Ministry of Labour and Social Justice.
• 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 the 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 measures. 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 parliament.

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 Justice, 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 (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 run in this area; nevertheless, the frequency of funding for such initiatives remains irregular. The work undertaken by the National Commission for 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).

Methods and tools

Skills assessment

Skills assessments are undertaken by the National Commission for Prognosis, which assesses the qualification structures in different sectors of the economy.[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 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 Prognosis cooperates with CEDEFOP and the National Scientific Research Institute for Labour and Social Protection to contribute to the mid-term pan-European forecasting exercise.

The CNDIPT runs occasional forecasts regarding the demand for the skills of VET students.  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 either at the behest of the social partners (employers and trade unions) through their lobby actions, and/or by the Ministry of Education. The funding for these types of forecasting activities are typically allocated through particular projects, such as DALIVET (2014-2016).[v]

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 National Agency for Employment and National Scientific Research Institute for Labour and Social Protection, co-financed by the Operational Programme Human Resource Development 2007-2013, provided the INCSMPS with a short- and medium-term forecasting capability to help inform labour market interventions with a particular focus on the provision of training for unemployed people. This forecasting exercise complements the National Agency for Employment’s youth employment programme which includes the development of a national database of people not in employment education or training (NEETs). This database will allow for monitoring outcomes from labour market interventions.

Skills foresight

There is no evidence of skills foresight being undertaken in Romania.

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 Prognosis 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 Justice 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 Justice and its agencies, such as the National Agency for Employment, the National House for Public Pensions, and the Labour and Social Inspection Agency 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 below), 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.(2022). Skills anticipation in Romania. Skills intelligence: data insights. URL [accessed XXX]

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Endnotes