SKILLS AUDIT SURVEY ROMANIA - Europa · skills audit survey romania. the european training foundation is the european union’s centre of expertise supporting vocational education

SKILLS AUDIT SURVEYROMANIA

THE EUROPEAN TRAINING FOUNDATION IS THEEUROPEAN UNION’S CENTRE OF EXPERTISESUPPORTING VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAININGREFORM IN THIRD COUNTRIES IN THE CONTEXT OFTHE EU EXTERNAL RELATIONS PROGRAMMES

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our web site: www.etf.eu.int

For any additional information please contact:

External Communication Unit

European Training Foundation

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T +39 011 630 2222

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E [email protected]

SKILLS AUDIT SURVEYROMANIA

Editors: Mircea Bãdescu and Arjen Deij, European Training Foundation

ETF, 2004

A great deal of additional information on the

European Union is available on the Internet.

It can be accessed through the Europa server

(http://europa.eu.int).

Reproduction is authorised, provided the

source is acknowledged.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The ETF would like to thank the National

Observatory in Romania for the preparation

of this survey, and in particular

the coordinator: Mihaela Jigãu;

the co-authors: Magdalena Balica,

Ciprian Fartuºnic, Irina Horga and

Lucian Voinea;

and the person responsible for processing

data: Cornelia Novak.

The National Observatory, which was

created with the support of the European

Union’s Phare and Tacis Programmes and

the ETF, collects, analyses and

disseminates information on the vocational

education and training system and labour

market issues in Romania. The National

Observatory can be contacted at the

following address:

National Observatory of Romania

Institute for Educational Sciences

Stirbei Voda Street 37

70732 Bucharest

Romania

T/F +40 21 315 87 05

E [email protected]

3

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 3

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 7

1. INTRODUCTION 13

2. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 15

2.1 Survey research methods 15

2.2 Selection and characteristics of the representative sample 16

3. SURVEY RESULTS 21

3.1 Company policy on human resource development and vocational training 21

3.2 The operating environment and the impact of external change on companies 34

3.3 Characteristics and trends of workforce skills 42

3.4 Workforce recruitment and filling vacancies 51

3.5 Turnover of personnel 56

ANNEXES 61

Annex 1: Socio-economic context 61

Annex 2: Statistical data on the national and regional contexts 72

LIST OF ACRONYMS 93

5

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Socio-economic context

An analysis of the national and regional

contexts highlighted several trends

indicating the improvement of the

macro-economic performance countrywide

as well as in the region where the survey

was carried out. According to the data

presented in chapter 4, the North-Eastern

region remains one of the most poorly

developed compared with other zones,

despite the fact that since 2000 the general

trend of economic growth has encouraged

certain developments in business and

employment in this area too.

Although the North-Eastern development

region is the largest in the country

compared to other regions, in terms of

population and geographical area, its share

in the gross national product is relatively

small. Labour productivity is also below the

national average in all sectors of activity,

with the exception of transport.

In 2001, following a period of decline

during the period 1997–99, the number of

companies increased, these being mainly

micro-companies (86.0%) and small and

medium-sized enterprises (SMEs, 13.1%).

Although large companies make up a very

small percentage of the total number of

companies (0.8%), they contribute 42.2%

to the general turnover and employ almost

half of the total number of employees in all

companies. Furthermore, large companies

continue to make the highest gross

investments.

In 2001, in terms of sectors of the national

economy, the profiles of the majority of

operational micro-companies and SMEs in

the North-Eastern region were trade, car

repairs and consumer goods. The least

developed sectors were transport and the

hotel industry.

The employment rate in the North-Eastern

region is the second highest of all regions,

a consequence of the large number of

people employed in agriculture. Although

the unemployment rate has decreased in

2001, in 2002 it remained the highest

(10.6%), with 2 percentage points above

the national average of 8.8%.

Companies’ policies in human resource

development and vocational training

The general context of economic recovery,

which is also present in the companies

covered by the survey, has stimulated

companies’ interest in human resource

development and investment in training.

Many employers, both generally and in the

survey, believe the quality of the workforce

7

The survey covered a total of 100 enterprises/companies in the North-Eastern region(counties of Botoºani, Suceava, Bacãu, Neamþ) and Bucharest. The following criteria wereused to select the representative sample of companies: company profile (main activity), typeof company, company size, history within the market, and form of ownership. In the courseof the survey, however, in addition to objective selection criteria there arose the criterion ofemployers’ willingness to be included in the study. Consequently, the distribution ofcompanies according to the initial criteria suffered certain distortions. Despite its limitations –relatively small representative sample of companies and some distortions in the making-upof the sample – the conclusions of the survey are relevant and allow generalisation to acertain extent. This is all the more true as the survey results confirm for the most part theconclusions drawn by other studies carried out in Romania on similar themes.

to be the key element in raising productivity

and company competitiveness. The

percentage of enterprises assuming

responsibility for enhancing workforce

quality by providing vocational training for

employees is 54%. These companies are

to be found especially in the following

segments of the national economy:

finance/banking and insurance, electricity,

gas and water; and hotels and restaurants.

Companies with the most limited training

provisions are those in the processing

industry and those offering real estate

transactions and other services mainly to

enterprises. For the most part, the

companies surveyed providing training for

their employees are large firms,

longer-established in the market, that

demonstrate a high level of productivity

and performance, are undergoing or about

to undergo development and technological

upgrading, and are anticipating the need

for well-trained personnel with enhanced

skills. The emphasis they place on the

training of their own employees is a result

of, among other factors, the difficulties they

encounter in recruiting staff with the

required skills.

The present survey, unlike other research

on similar themes carried out in the past

few years, has revealed a growing interest

among employers and SMEs in vocational

training for employees. They have become

more and more aware of how important

human resource development can be in

increasing company productivity and its

success in the market. The halt in

economic decline has allowed the

companies to adopt active measures to

adapt to market conditions, continuing

vocational training (CVT) being one such

measure. Training is supplied equally to

adults and recent graduates. Moreover,

some companies include the development

of professional skills for recent graduates

as specific goals in their human resource

development strategy. However, these do

not include skills relating to production

activities.

Half of the companies stated that they train

their employees. These figures are far

above the level indicated in the second

Continuing Vocational Training Survey

(CVTS 2) results for Romania. One cannot

conclude, however, that the level of training

has increased substantially during the past

four years. It is the choice of the sample

and the definition of training that are the

main reasons for the differences.

Participation in the current survey was

voluntary and more likely to attract

companies with active human resource

development policies.

The categories of highly qualified

employees have the advantage of a wider

range of training opportunities. In their

case, training programmes are longer,

more comprehensive and better organised.

For operational staff the training provision

is sporadic, random, and in the form of

short courses, and is generally intended to

cover immediate needs. Training provision

aimed at increasing workforce flexibility is

also limited: 40% of the companies

surveyed provide multi-qualification

programmes and 23% retraining. The main

explanation given by some of the

companies for their reduced training

provision was that the supply of workers

who are adequately qualified for the

company’s needs is sufficient, albeit that

the workforce may be relatively

low-qualified.

The number of companies that approach

human resource development in a

systemic manner remains low. For

instance, only 44% of the companies

surveyed that hold training activities also

have a training strategy, and only 33% of

them have included this strategy in the

general development plan of the company.

Most have limited financial resources (40%

of companies have allocated a special

budget for training and 20% have

personnel actually involved in organising

vocational training activities). Relatively few

(52%) of the companies that provide

training opportunities also evaluate the

results of training, although the percentage

of those that evaluate the performance of

the entire personnel or of particular

categories of employees is higher – 60%

and 72% respectively.

8

SKILLS AUDIT SURVEY - ROMANIA

The business environment and the

impact of external changes on

companies

The survey revealed that the majorities of

managers are aware of changes occurring

in the business environment and do their

utmost to adapt as quickly as possible. The

main changes in the companies surveyed

relate to new price policies, a tighter control

of production costs, new management

strategies, more attention being paid to

quality standards and meeting client needs,

investments in new equipment and

technologies, and new products and

services.

In the human resource field the main

measures consist of a change of

occupational group structure, changes in

the number of employees, internal rotation

and revision of job descriptions. There

were fewer indications of changes in the

budget allocated for vocational training, or

in general of concrete initiatives that would

be classified as active strategies relating to

managing through skills and total quality

control, as well as orienting

products/services sales towards external

markets.

The process of adapting to the business

environment was less a condition of

success and more a question of survival in

the market for the companies surveyed. As

a consequence, the majority of companies

offered little evidence of an active

approach to adjustment, such as

investment in human resources and

equipment, an increased emphasis on

quality standards, diversification of

products/services, a recruitment policy

focused on new skills needed by the

company, etc. The change was possible

using mostly passive strategies, focused

on reductions of production/sale costs,

changes in the structure of occupational

groups, changes in workforce size, internal

rotation and new job descriptions. This was

especially the case in the small and

medium-sized enterprises, in those

providing a large share of their

products/services to other organisations,

and in those not involved in exports.

Compared to the level recorded two years

before, 44% of companies considered the

level of productivity to be higher and 36%

said it was much higher. Only 2% of

companies believed that no changes had

occurred in terms of company productivity

over this time period, while 14%

considered the productivity level to be

lower. Only 2% of the companies declared

the workforce to be a major impediment to

company development, while 46%

declared to be generally satisfied with their

human resources. More than half believed

their human resources to be a particular

strength of the company.

There was a relatively high level of

upgrading/innovation in the companies

surveyed: 80% had launched at least one

new product or service onto the market in

the past year, while almost two thirds of the

companies had bought new installations,

machinery or equipment.

Characteristics and trends of workforce

skills

The majority of employers interviewed

were sensitive to the importance of

employee skills. Consequently, an

increased awareness of the need for

investment in human resources was

recorded, as a prerequisite for performance

and competitiveness. Similarly, it should be

noted that 80% of the companies surveyed

have assumed the responsibility of raising

the quality of employee skills. Most

companies made positive comments

regarding the quality of their own personnel

in comparison with the personnel of

competitor firms. The changes made in

recent years in various fields of activity

(new installations and equipment,

technologies, products and services) have

required a diversification of workforce

skills, and there will be a growing demand

for new skills in the future.

In this context of change, many of the

companies are, however, confronted with a

deficiency of skills, whether this be the lack

of personnel qualified to perform certain

tasks, or the absence of certain types of

skills (particularly specific professional

skills and other abilities required for the

job). Current skills’ shortages are a

9

problem for 38% of the companies, from all

fields of activity (with the exception of

finance/banking). These companies mainly

drew attention to professional and

administrative skills that have a direct

impact on improving activities in the

workplace, as well as other types of

abilities (such as functional, communication

and interpersonal skills). These situations

are more frequently encountered in

production and maintenance areas,

especially in the case of highly qualified

specialists.

Regarding the future, the companies

covered by the survey were optimistic

when anticipating their skill needs: almost

50% of employers currently confronted with

a lack of qualified personnel consider that

this would soon cease to be an issue. This

seems over-optimistic, taking into account

the recent estimations regarding skill needs

in the EU for the next 10 years. According

to the analyses in the last Cedefop report1

on education and training policies in

Europe, it is predicted that by 2010 almost

half the new jobs in the EU will require

higher education; 40% of the new jobs will

require advanced skills at upper secondary

level and only 15% of new jobs will be for

lower-skilled workers. Moreover, 80% of

the jobs will make extensive use of IT.

Considering that only 10% of the staff in

the companies interviewed use IT and 90%

of the companies focus only on the

Romanian market, skills development

becomes a pressing issue if Romanian

companies wish to be among the winners

in the enlarged EU market.

There are various reasons for this skills

deficiency: maladjustment between the

reform measures intended for initial and

continuing vocational training

(discrepancies between training areas and

labour market demands); the absence of

salary policies designed to attract a highly

qualified workforce; employers’ focus on

the rapid introduction of new equipment

and technologies without concurrent

investment in the training of personnel. It

should, however, be pointed out that

companies seem to be very optimistic in

terms of forecasting skills deficiencies for

future activities: almost half the employers

currently confronted with a lack of

personnel anticipated that it would cease to

be an issue in the future. To solve the

current situation most employers opt for

training, revision of personnel recruitment

methods and salary adjustment.

Employee skills assessment is carried out

in 74% of the companies surveyed, but

predominantly in contextual situations,

according to changes made in the

workplace. Employee assessment is not

yet a generally accepted practice in

Romanian companies, although 92% of the

companies considered having both the

capacity and tools required to evaluate the

need for skills. A high percentage of the

companies (58%) resort to outsourced

support and assistance regarding the types

of skills needed when introducing new

products or services.

Recruitment of workforce and filling

vacancies

The development of recruitment strategies

and filling vacancies has not yet become a

major objective of human resource policies

for the companies covered by the survey.

The main underlying causes for this

situation are: the large selection pool as

the labour supply substantially exceeds the

demand; the reduced recruitment capacity

of some companies; the economic

constraints limiting investment in human

resources; and the poor development of

adequate selection techniques and tools.

Almost 46% of the companies surveyed

prefer in-company recruitment. The

occupational groups for which internal

recruitment is most frequently preferred are

those of specialists and technicians.

Internal recruitment means valuing loyalty,

mutual trust and the certainty of positive

work relationships. For top-management

positions external recruitment is generally

preferred.

Although 65% of the companies declared

they had recruited graduates in the past

two years, research data indicated a very

low proportion of graduates in the total

number of employees. On average, in the

past two years, only one graduate was

10


1 Learning for Employment, Cedefop, 2003.

hired per 100 employees in the companies

surveyed, while seven times as many

graduates entered the labour market

(estimate based on national figures). In

absolute figures, on average only twp

graduates of secondary education and one

graduate of higher education had been

recruited per company. The majority of

employers who declared that they do not

recruit graduates (34%) cited graduates’

lack of work experience and low level of

technical skills as the reason.

The largest proportion of graduates

recruited was in the category of higher

education graduates (34%), followed by

graduates of vocational schools (21%),

technical high schools (13%) and foremen

schools. The categories of less interest to

the employers queried during the survey

were graduates of theoretical high schools

(7%) and compulsory education (5%), who

have no professional qualification when

they complete their studies.

The companies surveyed are not

sufficiently interested in becoming involved

in the practical instruction of pupils and to

subsequently recruit these pupils after their

graduation. More than half the companies

investigated have no form of collaboration

whatsoever with initial training institutions

(52%).

In general the companies did not report

any major difficulties in recruiting staff and

filling vacancies in the various occupational

groups and areas. It proved more difficult

to fill vacancies for ‘managers of

socio-economic units’, ‘specialists with

intellectual and scientific occupations’ and

technicians, and in the management, sales

and IT/computing operational areas.

In terms of solutions to problems caused

by recruitment difficulties, the companies

prefer to extend the responsibilities and

working hours of existing employees,

rather than to develop and make use of

strategic measures such as investment in

training or improvement of recruitment

techniques.

Turnover of personnel

Less than 5% of the companies considered

that personnel turnover exceeded their

level of expectations, despite being much

higher than forecast, while over three

quarters considered it to be below

expectations. The same conclusion was

drawn from an analysis of turnover by

occupational groups.

The survey revealed a relatively high level

of employee turnover, mainly voluntary

turnover. The phenomenon was detected

in almost two thirds of companies and the

effects were felt mostly by small and

recently established companies. The main

occupational groups affected by voluntary

turnover are specialists in intellectual and

scientific occupations and workers in

services, trade and similar activities. These

cases occurred most frequently in

companies in the processing industry, in

the electricity, gas and water industries and

in postal and telecommunications services.

Almost half the companies surveyed

resorted to collective lay-offs, one of the

major methods used by companies

adjusting to changes in the business

environment. The phenomenon was

especially noticeable in large companies

and firms active in the market for more

than 10 years. Lay-offs occurred in the

following main operational areas:

unqualified workers, operative workers in

services, trade and similar sectors and

technicians, supervisors and similar

occupations. Temporary turnover occurred

most frequently in companies belonging to

the following sectors of activity: hotels and

restaurants, construction, trade and real

estate transactions and other services

provided to companies.

The major causes of personnel turnover

are the more attractive conditions offered

by other companies, higher salary

packages and personal/family reasons.

When competitor companies succeed in

offering employees enhanced financial

conditions, managers perceive personnel

migration as a normal phenomenon that

can be addressed by recruiting new

employees with the needed qualifications

or by retraining the existing staff.

11

Most of the companies believed that

employee turnover did not disrupt the

activity of the company. Also, individual

interviews revealed that the phenomenon

does not, as a rule, diminish the interest of

company management in developing the

skills of their own workforce. Nonetheless,

companies still seem inadequately

prepared for human resource planning and

poorly motivated in retaining their

employees in the case of shifts in demand

for the service or products offered. The

categories most heavily affected by

collective lay-offs are employees with low

qualifications and those less willing to

attend training programmes.

12


1. INTRODUCTION

In Romania, continuing vocational training

(CVT) has developed in a context where a

number of constraints have left their imprint

on results. These include: economic

constraints generated by the prolonged

economic decline; structural imbalances

affecting the allocation of resources for

development; slow progress in restructuring

and privatisation; imbalances, tensions and

misrepresentations of the labour market that

have led to a low demand for CVT on the

part of economic agents as well as various

categories of beneficiaries; the

predominance of passive measures in

labour market administration;

legal–institutional restrictions, i.e. the legal

system is insufficiently coherent in the area

of CVT (financing CVT, evaluation and

certification of skills, means of encouraging

companies to train employees); the absence

of a coherent human resource strategy for

training; the predominance of professional

retraining as a target of CVT, instead of the

acquisition of new abilities and skills; and

constraints relating to the quality of CVT

provision (such as discrepancies in the

content of CVT programmes and an

emphasis on professional skills to the

detriment of other types of skills).

As a result of these constraints CVT was

never perceived as a priority by either

companies or individuals. The same

reasons explain the difficulties relating to

investment in vocational training. In recent

years however, with the extension of the

privatisation and economic restructuring

processes, interest in CVT has grown

considerably, in parallel with the

emergence of a market of training

providers. The new economic trends have

been evolving in the same direction (a

slow-down in economic decline, the

beginnings of economic growth, a

deepening of structural reforms) and have

encouraged the development of CVT. Also

worth mentioning are the major frameworks

created for the institutional reform and

promotion of social dialogue in the area of

CVT by the establishment of bodies with

responsibility for the promotion of policies

and strategies for vocational training for

adults, the development of a new system

for the evaluation and certification of

professional skills, and the passing of laws

on vocational training for adults.

In the same context we should also

mention the National Action Plan for

13

1

Employment (NAPE), one of the major

documents of the accession strategy,

which is intended to harmonise national

employment and training policies with the

European strategy in this area. One of its

objectives (horizontal objective B –

National strategy for lifelong learning)

refers exclusively to vocational training,

and presupposes specific measures for

improving the quality of initial and

continuing vocational training. The

objectives specific to CVT enhancement

focus on: ensuring the quality of training

providers; facilitating the organisation of

practical instruction on company premises;

developing strategies of human resource

development at company level based on

employer–trade union cooperation; and

improving the legal and institutional

framework for promoting partnerships in

continuing vocational training.

The NAPE also includes at least three

guidelines referring directly to vocational

training, namely: ‘development of skills for

the new labour market, in the context of

continuing training’; ‘encouraging

adjustment as a component of lifelong

learning’; and ‘information technology

training for all citizens’. The approach,

which was set by the NAPE, is compatible

with both the priorities of the National Plan

for Development and European priorities in

the field. Set in the context of changes

occurring in the CVT institutional

framework and policies, the present study

intends, among other things, to highlight

the way in which the aforementioned

changes and the economic developments

of the past few years are reflected in

company human resource development

policies. From this perspective the study

focuses on the following areas: the

economic environment in which companies

operate and its impact on human resource

development policies; the characteristics

and trends of workforce skills; vocational

training for employees; and human

resources recruitment.

The methodology of the study – designed

by the United Kingdom Department for

Education and Employment – was

recommended by the European Training

Foundation.

14


2. RESEARCH

METHODOLOGY

2.1 SURVEY RESEARCHMETHODS

Questionnaire-based survey

The questionnaire employed is a variant of

the tool designed by the United Kingdom

Department for Education and Employment.

The purpose was to find out how

employers identify training needs and

provide training and development of

employees’ skills. The initial questionnaire

was designed for an extensive survey

coordinated by Salford University. For the

narrower purpose of the present survey,

however, the original questionnaire has

been adapted to reflect national/regional

issues and particularities, while some of

the questions have been omitted.

The questionnaire-based survey focuses

on several key areas/issues:

� operating environment and the

impact of external change on

companies (including in-company

management changes, evolution of

productivity in the context of new types

of management and their impact on

human resources, relationships of the

company with other enterprises in the

region and competitiveness at local and

international level, development of new

services and introduction of new

product lines, carrying out research and

development activities);

� workforce characteristics and staff

turnover (changes in the number of

employees, factors that affect workforce

stability in the opinion of employers and

improvement measures, the relationship

between staff turnover and training

needs, and the strategies for increasing

productivity);

� characteristics and trends of

workforce skills (including deficiencies

in workforce skills against labour market

demand, occupational/operational areas

where lack of skills is manifest, skills

evaluation at company level, the

relationship between workforce skills

and company performance, and how

companies deal with workforce

deficiencies);

� recruitment and filling vacancies

(types of recruitment, recruitment of

fresh graduates, and current and

anticipated difficulties in filling

vacancies);

15

2

� company policies in human resource

development and training activities

(evaluation of employee training needs,

training strategy and the necessary

resources, relationship of training

strategy to the general company

development plan, access to training,

main training methods and CVT

providers).

In addition to these aspects the

questionnaire also requests information on

workforce and company characteristics.

Some of these characteristics influencing

company policies on training and human

resource development have been

considered as independent variables to

explain the various aspects on which the

survey has focused.

Interview-based survey

Qualitative information collected during

individual interviews has been another

source of material used to analyse the

skills that employers require. Interviews

held with employers or their

representatives generally focused on the

same issues as those identified in the

questionnaire-based survey, with emphasis

on such areas as the evaluation of skills

and training needs, human resource

training and development strategies and

opportunities, types of skills required by

employers, procedures for employee

selection, recruitment and evaluation.

Interviews were carried out with 10

employers/employers’ representatives in

North-Eastern Romania and Bucharest.

Analysis of documents

In order to present the socio-economic

context and level of development of the

region in which the companies surveyed

are currently operating, several reports

were analysed: reports drawn up by the

National Institute for Statistics and the

United Nations Development Programme,

the regional development plan for

North-Eastern Romania, and information

provided by County Employment Agencies.

The analysis of this information is

presented in chapter 4 of this study.

2.2 SELECTION ANDCHARACTERISTICS OF THEREPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE

The representative sample included a total

of 100 companies, the majority of which

(80%) are located in the counties of

Botoºani, Suceava, Bacãu and Neamþ

which, along with the counties of Iasi and

Vaslui, are part of the North-Eastern region

of Romania. The remaining 20% of the

companies were used as pilot sample for

comparative analysis purposes, and

selected from Bucharest. No significant

differences emerged, however, between

the two development regions in terms of

the factors under analysis; the analysis

was therefore conducted on the entire set

of representative sample companies.

The criteria taken into account when

selecting the sample of companies, in

order to achieve a well-balanced

distribution, were the following:

� area of activity (company profile),

� type of company,

� company size,

� history,

� form of ownership.

In the course of the survey, in addition to

the objective selection criteria listed above

a subjective criterion emerged: the

employers’ willingness to take part in the

survey. The result was a distorted

distribution in terms of some of the

objective criteria already set (company

profile, type of company, company size).

The companies included in the sample

selection covered by the survey are

distributed as follows, according to the

abovementioned criteria.

Area of activity

In terms of their main activity, the

enterprises covered by the survey include

the following groups: 34% operate in the

processing industry, 20% carry out trading

activities, 12% are in real estate and other

services provided mainly to other

enterprises, and 8% are in construction

(figure 2.1).

16


Type of company

Company type was defined according to

the size and degree of independence

(autonomy in decision-making). Based on

this criterion, the companies covered by the

survey fall into the following categories:

company that operates in a single location;

branch of a company headquarters;

regional head office with branches in other

locations. Of the representative sample of

companies covered by the survey the

highest percentage are those that operate

in a single location (62%) and those with a

head office and branches in other locations

(24%) (figure 2.2).

17

2. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

processing industry34%

electricity, thermalenergy, gas and water

4%construction8%

trade20%

hotels andrestaurants

4%

post andtelecommunications

8%

finance/banking andinsurance activities

6%

real estate transactions andother services provided mainly to

enterprises12%

otherservices

4%

Figure 2.1: Distribution of companies by area of activity

single location62%

branch office8%

regional

4%head office

central head officewith branches

24%

other2%

Figure 2.2: Distribution of companies by type

Company size according to the number

of employees

Small enterprises (less than 50 employees)

account for 62% of the companies

surveyed, 28% are medium-sized

enterprises (50–250 employees), and 10%

are large enterprises (more than 250

employees) (figure 2.3).

History

An analysis based on the period of

operation (history) of the companies

included in the survey indicated a balanced

distribution, 36% having been operating for

5 years or less, 32% for 6 to 10 years and

32% for more than 10 years (figure 2.4).

Form of ownership according to the

type of capital

Most of the companies surveyed (88%) are

mainly or entirely privately owned and have

mixed social capital (state/public capital

below 50%, plus private capital) or entirely

private capital. The rest of the companies

(12%) are entirely or mainly state-owned

(entirely state or state social capital more

than 50%) (figure 2.5).

18


under 50 employees62%

51-250 employees28%

over 250 employees10%

Figure 2.3: Distribution of companies according to the number of employees

1-5 years

36%

6-10 years

32%

over 10 years

32%

Figure 2.4: Distribution of companies based on history

Difficulties, limitations and restrictions

� There were difficulties in identifying

employers willing to take part in the

survey.

� The selection of companies that made

up the sample depended on the

willingness of company representatives,

to the detriment of some of the set

criteria.

� The ability to draw generalised

conclusions from the survey was limited

because of the reduced size of the

representative sample and the selection

procedure.

19

2. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

state owned

12%

privately owned

88%

Figure 2.5: Distribution of companies by type of ownership

3. SURVEY RESULTS

3.1 COMPANY POLICY ONHUMAN RESOURCEDEVELOPMENT ANDVOCATIONAL TRAINING

This chapter relates to vocational training

and development activities and consists of

two sections:

� company human resource

development policies, dealing with

general aspects focusing on the

components of a coherent policy:

performance evaluation and training

needs of employees, the existence of

training strategies and necessary

resources (such as a budget expressly

allocated to training, and facilities for

employees to attend training courses),

and the relationship between the

training strategy and the general

company development plan;

� training activities and attendance

rate (implicitly reflecting company

training policies, and concrete

measures for applying the strategy),

analysing such aspects as: access to

training (including number of employees

who have attended vocational training

and development programmes, and

number of days dedicated to training

activities, by occupational groups), and

the main training methods and providers

most often used by companies.

This distinction was made for practical

reasons, to facilitate analysis as well as in

order to reveal employers’ perception of

human resource development and policy

coherence in this area.

This section is based exclusively on the

analysis of information provided by

companies declaring that they provide

vocational and training activities for their

staff, apart from the routine induction

training (which would include occupational

safety training or a minimal knowledge of

labour legislation). Such companies make

up 54% of the total, well over the 11%

identified by the National Institute for

Statistics in its survey on continuing

vocational training in Romania2. One

possible explanation for the difference – in

addition to the possible misinterpretations

due to the method used for selecting

21

3

2 Characteristics of continuing vocational training in Romania, the National Institute for Statistics, Bucharest,

2001.

companies, which are mentioned in the

section on survey methodology – could be

the growing focus of companies on CVT in

the interval of time between the reference

years of the two surveys (1999–2003), the

growing interest in training and

development of skills, and the possible

changes occurring in the way some

employers view the profitability of

investment in training.

3.1.1 COMPANY POLICIES ONHUMAN RESOURCEDEVELOPMENT

As indicated by a number of surveys on

continuing vocational training, employers’

general investment capacity is an essential

condition for human resource development.

Other characteristics that might influence

the nature of the policy include company

size, position in the market, public or

private capital, type of management, and

staff stability and motivation. Consequently,

employers’ human resource policies will be

analysed on the basis of several of these

indicators.

Employee performance evaluation

One of the aspects covered by the survey

refers to a company’s evaluation of

employee performance, which is

considered a crucial element for the

development of a human resource

strategy. In this respect, the survey

highlighted the fact that 72% of economic

units (out of the total number of companies

whose employees attend vocational

training and development activities)

evaluate the performance of a certain

percentage of employees, while 60%

evaluate the performance of the entire

staff.

Employee performance is evaluated by all

the companies surveyed in the sectors of

finance/banking, insurance, trade, hotels

and restaurants, post and

telecommunications, real estate

transactions and other services provided

mainly to companies (figure 3.1.1), and the

majority of these companies evaluate the

entire staff (figure 3.1.2).

22


0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Yes No

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

All the employees A few categories

Figure 3.1.1: Percentage of companies

evaluating employee performance, by

economic activity

Figure 3.1.2: Employees whose

performance is evaluated, by economic

activity

Legend

1. Processing industry

2. Electricity, thermal energy, gas and water

3. Construction

4. Trade

5. Hotels and restaurants

6. Post and telecommunications

7. Finance banking and insurance activities

8. Real estate transactions and other services provided mainly to enterprises

9. Other services

Small companies with less than 50

employees (figure 3.1.3) are also intensely

concerned about employee performance

evaluation, as are companies that have

been operational for less than five years

(figure 3.1.4). Over 80% of these

companies evaluate the performance of all

employees.

One criterion for which no significant

difference is noticeable with respect to

performance evaluation is the form of

ownership of the respective companies

(with entirely/mainly state capital, and

entirely/mainly private capital), the

difference being less than 4% (75% and

71.4% respectively) in favour of

state-owned companies (figure 3.1.5).

However, a much higher percentage of

companies with entirely/mainly private

capital evaluate the performance of all

employees (figure 3.1.6).

Companies that evaluate the performance

of only some of their employees mainly

focus on personnel in the following

occupational categories: specialists with

higher education, technicians, supervisory

staff and similar jobs.

23

3. SURVEY RESULTS

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

50 or less

51-250

250+

Yes No

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

less than5 years

5-10 years

over 10 years

Yes No



number of employees



length of company history

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

private

state owned

Yes No

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

private

state owned

all employees a few categories


evaluating employee performance,

by form of ownership

Figure 3.1.6: Employees whose

performance is evaluated, by form of

ownership

Identification of vocational training and

development needs of employees

Whereas almost three quarters of the

companies covered by the survey3

carry

out employee performance evaluation, a

lower percentage of companies (64%)

identify the vocational training and

development needs of their personnel. This

percentage is nonetheless higher than the

one identified by other studies4

carried out

by the Romanian National Observatory

(approximately 52%).

According to the statements of

representatives of companies covered by

the survey, interest in training needs

evaluation is visibly higher in firms

operating in the following business areas:

finance/banking and insurance; trade; real


provided mainly to companies; hotels and

restaurants; and post and

telecommunications (figure 3.1.7). Also, as

in the case of performance evaluation, it is

mostly companies that have been

operating for less than five years (figure

3.1.8) that evaluate training needs: by

meeting identified training needs they

increase competitiveness in the business

environment. The same is true for

companies with a small number of

employees (figure 3.1.9).

24


Legend

1. Processing industry2. Electricity, thermal energy, gas and water3. Construction4. Trade5. Hotels and restaurants6. Post and telecommunications7. Finance/banking and insurance activities8. Real estate transactions and other services

provided mainly to enterprises9. Other services

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Yes No

Figure 3.1.7: Evaluation of professional development needs of employees by

company profile

3 In this chapter the analysis is based on information provided by companies that organise vocational training

and development activities, representing 50% of the total number of companies included in the representative

selection covered by the survey. Consequently, the reference point is represented by the companies only.

4 The social impact of continuing vocational training, Romanian National Observatory, Afir Publishing House,

Bucharest, 2001.

This final comment5

seems to reflect a

change in the trend identified by other

studies, a trend related to the limited

interest of small companies in evaluating

the training and development needs of

employees. The situation is determined by

the fact that generally speaking SMEs

could not afford a sustained policy in this

sense, and lacked a budget allocated

expressly for this purpose; some of these

companies did not include any provisions

referring to vocational training in their

labour contracts. Until approximately two

years ago SMEs were going through an

extremely difficult period, and were forced

to adopt a ‘survival’ policy and to focus

their efforts on an essential goal – staying

afloat in the market and avoiding

bankruptcy, an attempt in which quite a few

failed.

Individual interviews held with various

representatives of the companies covered

by the survey revealed that the evaluation

of employee training needs is a process

that differs from one company to the next

according to an additional criterion – the

categories of employees evaluated. For

instance, some of the companies that are

constantly evaluating human resource

training needs limit this process to staff

with certain responsibilities or to the

management team.

Vocational training needs and the

company development plan

Although a fairly high percentage (64%) of

the companies analysed in the present

section6

have evaluated the training needs

of their employees, or at least those of staff

with certain responsibilities, only 44% of

them drew up a vocational training strategy

for the employees. A larger percentage of

companies (68%) had management

development plans. We should point out,

however, the small number of companies

(only 33% of the companies with

management development plans) that

included the training strategy in the

company development plan. (This

percentage is even lower – less than 20%

– if we take as point of reference the total

number of companies covered by the

survey). Generally speaking, the

enterprises that integrated the employee

training strategy into the general company

development plan, promoting an active

policy in human resource development, are

large companies with a high level of

performance that achieve remarkable

results in the business environment.

25

3. SURVEY RESULTS

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

less than 50

51-250

250+

Yes No

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

less than5 years

5-10 years

over10 years

Yes No

Figure 3.1.8: Evaluation of professional

training needs of employees, by length of

company history

Figure 3.1.9: Evaluation of vocational

training needs of employees, by number

of employees

5 The conclusion drawn form the present survey may be influenced by the limits imposed by the selection of

companies covered by the survey, mentioned in the section on survey methodology, as well as by the fact

that some large companies were in the course of privatisation.

6 Reference is made to the group of firms/companies that provide vocational training and development for their

employees.

We must also draw attention to the positive

trends visible among companies with a

small number of employees. For instance,

in some of these, there seems to be a

changing perception as to the importance

of vocational training and the role it plays in

improving company performance, as well

as in terms of the possibility of investment

in human resources, changes which are

reflected in the coherence between the

training strategy of employees and the

company development plan.

As can be seen in the following table, the

companies that have developed a

vocational training strategy (as well as

those that have included the strategy in the

company development plan) predominantly

belong to the following business areas of

the national economy: finance/banking and

insurance, hotels and restaurants, real


provided mainly to companies, post and

telecommunications. The development of

such strategies was seen to a much lesser

extent in companies that were active in

construction (none of the companies

covered by the survey), the processing

industry, electricity, gas and water, and

trade.

Some of the companies included in the

survey have, however, developed a CVT

strategy for their employees for a one-year

period only, a situation that reflects the

absence of a long-term view on human

resource development.

Vocational training facilities

Financial resources. The majority of

companies (approximately 90%) that have

drawn up a CVT strategy for their

employees have also allocated a special

budget for this purpose. It should also be

noted that almost all the companies that

have a training budget have also included

the CVT strategy in the general

development plan. Although only a reduced

proportion (below 35%) of the companies

that declared they provide training

opportunities actually do include the CVT

strategy in the general development plan,

they are at least demonstrating a coherent

approach to human resource development

policy. Such a policy is noticeable in

26


Company-specific indicators

Existence of a human resource training and

development strategy (% of companies)

Yes No

Area of activity

Processing industry 50.0 50.0

Electricity, gas and water 50.0 50.0

Construction 0.0 100.0

Trade 50.0 50.0

Hotels and restaurants 100.0 0.0

Post and telecommunications 100.0 0.0

Finance/banking and insurance activities 100.0 0.0

Real estate transactions and other servicesprovided mainly to companies

100.0 0.0

Other services 0.0 100.0

Company size

50 employees or less 45.5 54.5

51–250 employees 40.0 60.0

Over 250 employees 50.0 50.0

Form of ownership

Entirely/mainly state social capital 50.0 50.0

Entirely/mainly private social capital 42.9 57.1

Table 3.1.10: Companies’ strategy for human resource training and development

and specific indicators

companies in the sectors of

finance/banking and insurance, hotels and

restaurants, and real estate transactions

and other services provided mainly to

companies, though less so in the case of

industrial and construction companies.

Human resources. Of the companies

surveyed, 85% have human resource

personnel, mostly managers of human

resource departments in charge of

vocational training for company employees.

Almost 20% of these staff spend half or

more than half of their working hours on

training and development activities, while

the other 80% spend less than half their

working time on such activities. In addition

to this category of personnel, some large

companies with investment capacity (4% of

those included in the survey) have other

resources, including full-time trainers and

even a company training centre.

3.1.2 TRAINING ACTIVITIESAND ATTENDANCE RATES

The chapter focuses on aspects related to

the provision of and access to training for

the various categories of personnel

(occupational groups, recent graduates,

new employees). It also presents the

training methods most frequently utilised

and the types of external training providers

used by employers. The analysis, based on

a series of criteria and indicators (company

characteristics), indicated more varied

provision and more frequent and longer

training programmes among competitive

companies who are in the process of

developing (i.e. who have introduced new

products or services, have updated their

technologies, or whose turnover has

grown). The companies that have updated

their technology are actually those that

provide to a greater extent training

programmes for categories of employees

other than the upper or middle

management, due to the need for new

skills. The training offer also differs

according to another criterion namely

company profile.

Access to training

General training provision. As mentioned

above, companies that provide vocational

training and development programmes for

their employees (according to the results of

the present survey) represent 54% of the

total number of companies surveyed. The

highest percentage of companies that

provide such opportunities include those in


restaurants, and electricity, gas and water,

with the lowest percentages in the case of

companies active in the processing

industry, and real estate transactions and

other services provided mainly to

companies (table 3.1.2). Other criteria that

differentiate companies in terms of

vocational training provision are company

size and form of ownership: among the

companies surveyed, large companies with

a longer history and companies with

entirely/mainly state social capital provide

more training programmes for their

employees. Although the percentages

differ, the trends indicated by other surveys

– carried out by the National Institute for

Statistics and the National Observatory –

reflect these differences between

companies in terms of training

programmes, based on the same criteria.

However, the current analysis has shown

that small companies are placing more and

more emphasis on vocational training for

their employees due to a growing

awareness of the profitability of investing in

human resource development.

27

3. SURVEY RESULTS

The training provision expressed by

percentage of employees with access to

CVT programmes7

varies from one

company to another, and ranges from

around 10% to over 50% (table 3.1.3).

28


Table 3.1.2: Companies’ human resource training and development activities and

specific indicators

Company-specific indicators

Human resource training and development

programmes (% of companies)

Yes No

Area of activity




Trade 50.0 50.0



Finance/banking and insurance 100.0 0.0

Real estate transactions and other servicesprovided mainly to companies

16.7 83.3


Company size

50 employees or less 35.5 64.5

51–250 employees 71.4 28.6


Company history

Less than 5 years 27.8 72.2

6–10 years 68.8 31.2

Over 10 years 56.3 43.7

Form of ownership



Table 3.1.3: Companies’ distribution by percentage of employees who are

beneficiaries of training programmes

Training beneficiaries Under 10% 10–25% 26–50% Over 50%

% companies surveyed 44.0 36.0 14.0 6.0

Target groups of training beneficiaries.

Training programmes are generally

designed for employees in the following

occupational categories: company

management staff, specialists with higher

education, technicians, supervisory and

similar personnel, and staff generally

included in the categories of upper and

middle management. Provision is very

limited in the case of employees working in

services, trade and similar areas, as well

as for operators of installations and

machinery, assemblers of machines,

equipment and other products; the length

of training programmes in their case is also

limited (table 3.1.4). This picture is affected

by the fact that some of the companies

covered by the survey do not have ‘strictly

manual activities’.

7 We took into account training programmes held in the past year (before the start of the survey).

The trend indicates that the better qualified

employees are, the more opportunities they

have to attend various training

programmes, which are longer and more

costly, – programmes that allow the

development of both professional and other

types of skills (such as social and

communication skills).

Training opportunities for the newly

employed. Almost half the total number of

employers include recent graduates of

higher education in various training

programmes. For some highly competitive

companies this is a regular practice

integrated into the human resource

development strategy. For other categories

of employees – those who had never had

that particular job before – only 4% of the

companies surveyed provide training for

the job. The rest either provide basic

training (or a short induction period) or limit

themselves to general guidelines on such

subjects as safety at work (depending on

the characteristics of the workplace).

Types of training programmes

Training programmes vary in terms of their

length, purpose, target group and the type

of skill they develop.

Types of programmes by occupational

group. Training opportunities for highly

qualified personnel is more systematic,

focusing on the development of skills

through classroom training courses. For

other categories of employees, especially

unqualified workers, operators of installations

and machines, assemblers of machines,

equipment and other products as well as

for people employed in services, trade and

similar, employers prefer to develop their

professional skills by means of practical

activities and on-the-job courses held

according to specific needs (table 3.1.5).

29

3. SURVEY RESULTS

Table 3.1.4: Categories of personnel benefiting from training programmes and

length of programmes

Occupational groups Average number of training days

Company management staff 18.7

Specialists in intellectual and scientific occupations 17.3

Technicians, supervisors and similar 16.2

Personnel employed in services, trade and similar 6.3

Operators of installations and machines, assemblersof machines, equipment other products

5.8

Table 3.1.5: Companies providing various types of training programmes by

occupational group

Occupational group

Types of training programmes

NonePracticalon-the-jobactivities

Flexiblecourses

organisedaccording to

jobrequirements

Regularin-housetrainingcourses

Regularclassroom

training

Company management staff - 2 4 24 2

Specialists in intellectual orscientific occupations

- 4 12 20 -

Technicians, supervisors andsimilar

7 8 14 10 2

Clerks 4 4 6 - -

Employees working inservices, trade and similar

8 2 - 2

Operators of installations,machinery and equipment

16 2 2 - 2

Unqualified workers 14 - - - -

Individual interviews held with employers’

representatives (in the course of the

present survey and other studies8)

indicated that some companies are

particularly interested in developing the

skills, professional as well as interpersonal,

of upper- and middle-management

employees, staff who play a major role in

negotiating contracts with business

partners, but also of personnel in other

departments where communication skills

are a must, including human resources,

marketing and administration, where

activity is based for the most part on client

contacts. Broadly speaking, communication

skills are required especially, though not

exclusively, in the service sector, including

hotels and trade.

Some hotel companies, for instance,

organise a train-the-trainers course (which

includes a component intended to

encourage communication with employees)

for newly hired upper- and

middle-management staff – staff for whom

communication skills are a major factor as

early as the recruitment and selection

stage. It is these employees who are

responsible for monitoring communication

skills in the front office department.

The most important communication

competencies required on the job are IT

and foreign language skills, use of

specialist vocabulary, analytical skills,

interpersonal skills with partners and

clients, consultation-based teamwork and

decision-making skills, written

communication skills (especially distance

communication), negotiation and

conflict-resolution skills, work improvement

and innovation skills, and informal

communication skills.

These skills are required to a greater or

lesser extent depending on factors such as

the category of employee and the company

profile. As has already been mentioned,

the level of development of these skills

represents an evaluation criterion, at least

for some categories of personnel,

beginning with the recruitment and

selection process. Subsequently the

company – through the human resource

department – focuses on facilitating

communication and developing the

necessary skills of these employees, as

well as on the development of such skills in

other categories of personnel. This is

achieved by organising continuing training

programmes, as well as by other methods

mentioned by interviewees in the course of

the survey. These include mentoring and

one-to-one meetings, which allow

employees regular opportunities to meet

their superiors in a formal setting and

evaluate their activities and express their

opinions on how they could make their jobs

more efficient.

As it has already been stated in the course

of this analysis, not all enterprises have

this kind of active skills development policy

(including professional and communication

skills), nor a policy for the development of

human resources in general. Although

many managers of such companies are

aware of the importance of these types of

skills (e.g. communication), they lack the

investment capacity required to train their

personnel. Also lacking are regulations

stipulating communication skills as one of

the selection criteria of job applicants. This

is generally the case for state-capital

companies. The managers of these

companies often complain about their

employees’ lack of or insufficiently

developed negotiation skills,

communication skills when dealing with

company clients and partners, language

skills and even specialist vocabulary.

On the other hand, some employers

provide training opportunities only because

of the various regulations in the field. For

example, the collective or individual labour

contract stipulates: the right of every

employee to vocational training in

accordance with job requirements (in some

cases vocational training of employees

depends on the company’s financial

resources; an employee’s request to attend

a training course is discussed by the trade

union and the employer, who then decide

on the appropriateness of the request); the

employer’s obligation to cover the full costs

of training; training-related obligations of

the parties involved; and methods of

30


8 Development of communication skills in the system of continuing vocational training in Romania, Afir

Publishing House, Bucharest, 2004.

organising and holding vocational training

courses for employees. The New Labour

Code (Law No 53/2003) brought in

additional provisions relating to vocational

training, including the goals of vocational

training; types of training courses;

employers’ obligations to provide regular

access to vocational training; and the

inclusion of the vocational training plan in

the collective labour contract.

Multi-skilling and retraining. Of the

companies surveyed that do carry out

training activities, 40% have organised

multi-qualification courses, for the purpose

of developing their employees’ capacity of

adjustment and facilitating mobility in the

organisation. Such programmes are most

often provided for technicians, specialists

with higher education, and, to a lesser

extent, operators of installations and

machinery. Fewer companies provide

retraining courses (23%), with no

significant differences existing in terms of

company size or profile. Since these

training courses are longer and costlier,

companies prefer to hire personnel who

are already trained for the specific

requirements of the job. Moreover, some

employers gave as a reason for their

limited investment in training in general and

retraining in particular the existence of an

over-supply of qualified workforce on the

labour market.

External training providers

In terms of employee training and

development, the companies used various

external providers: public training centres

(44%), private providers (33%), universities

(4%), training centres of professional

associations (4%), and other types of

providers (15%).

Some companies in Romania have their

own vocational training centres, and are

consequently independent providers for

their own needs. Most of these are large

companies with mainly or entirely private

capital. Another initiative is the one

identified in several foreign companies

which have bought former state-owned

companies and have subsequently

established their own CVT structures.

Almost without exception they invest in the

retraining and training of their human

resources either in their own training

centres or by availing themselves of the

services of local training providers. Some

large state-owned companies and

Romanian private firms also have their own

CVT centres. In addition to in-house

programmes organised by the company

itself, employers will use public training

providers (classroom training courses

organised by specialist public institutions)

and, to a lesser extent, private training

providers. The reserve that some

employers demonstrate (at least some of

those interviewed for the survey) towards

private providers is due to the fact that

these providers have not been accredited.

Many private providers, however, offer

varied provision better adjusted to current

labour market demands, and even

employment agencies utilise their services.

Training evaluation

Of the total number of companies surveyed

that provide training opportunities, only

52% evaluate training results, although the

percentage of those that declare they

‘evaluate the performance of some

employees’, with respect to ‘all employees’

is higher – 72%, and 60% respectively. The

evaluation of training results is carried out

particularly in the case of upper- and

middle-management personnel.

Some of the companies that had

exceptional economic results and high

quality standards – especially companies

with private or mixed capital – have

designed or adopted skill models that they

apply to all areas of human resource

management: recruitment and selection,

regular employee performance evaluation,

identifying training needs, personnel

development, and granting bonuses and

promotions. In addition to professional

criteria (job-specific professional skills), the

models include criteria focused on other

types of skills. Promotion is based on the

results of regular (annual) employee

performance evaluation. The evaluation is

performed by such groups as the Board of

Administration or department heads,

depending on the respective category of

personnel (upper management, middle

management, executives). In some cases

31

3. SURVEY RESULTS

a system of self-evaluation is also applied,

with the final evaluation representing the

outcome of negotiations between the

self-evaluation of each employee and the

evaluation made by his/her direct superior.

Some of the companies surveyed organise

training to help employees acquire

evaluation and self-evaluation skills. They

also strive to ensure the transparency of

evaluation criteria imposed by the

company, differentiated according to the

category of personnel.

Trends in employee vocational training

and development, and the motivation

for investment in training

Training trends. The survey identified a

positive trend in terms of CVT: 52% of

companies have increased their efforts in

this direction during the past two years,

which has led to a increase in the number

of training activities. The trend appears

even more striking in the case of

companies with a history of less than five

years, and of small firms. The change

indicates a heightened awareness in small

companies of the importance of CVT for

the development of the organisation, and of

increased investment in training. This

particular aspect has a major impact on the

sector of the economy in which the

company operates. While the number of

training activities has been growing in all

the companies surveyed in the sectors of


restaurants, real estate transactions and

other services, and post and

telecommunications, the same cannot be

said of firms in industry, construction and

trade, in which the percentages are lower

(37%, 33% and 66% respectively).

Motivation for investment in training.

The greater or lesser emphasis on CVT for

employees and the frequency of training

courses are linked to personnel and labour

productivity (reflected in financial results of

the companies), as well as to the rate and

the direction of company growth and the

process of upgrading (new installations,

machinery and equipment). In this respect

the survey data indicated that in almost

67% of companies whose turnover had

increased during the past two years, the

number of vocational training and

development activities had also grown. In

the case of the companies that have

introduced product lines or services the

proportion is lower (40%), a possible

explanation could be the development

costs that have restricted company training

investment capacity. Nonetheless, the

frequency of employee training and

development activities has not decreased

for the companies in which the two

indicators have been on the increase.

Moreover, company representatives

explicitly mentioned the diversification of

the range of products/services offered,

increased production capacity and the

upgrading of technologies and equipment

among the reasons for the growing number

of vocational training and development

activities. To these we should add the

growing competition on the local labour

market, the introduction of new

management policies and the imposition of

specific conditions (changes in legislation).

Individual interviews held with company

representatives, as well as the results of

other studies, have allowed the

identification of other reasons that have

persuaded employers to develop a long- or

short-term CVT strategy and to facilitate

training activities. The reasons given

include the following:

� the need for a well-trained workforce to

meet the current requirements of jobs in

the company, and an increase in the

general level of competence of

employees;

� the lack of a suitably qualified workforce

to meet job requirements;

� the need to adjust to the demands of

the new economic environment and the

exigencies of the system of competition;

� the wish to improve quality and increase

productivity and company profit through

human resource development, as a

necessary condition for success;

� the promotion of teamwork;

� the stimulation of employees’ motivation

for vocational training and development.

This list illustrates the fact that a significant

number of employers are aware of the role

of CVT, the profitability of investing in

human resource development, its positive

impact on employees – in terms of their

32


professional development – and company

development perspectives, and its

contribution to profit levels and success in

the business environment.

The main factors stopping company

initiatives in CVT and investment in

training, or inducing the idea that these

measures are unnecessary, include the

following:

� the company is able to recruit personnel

who are already experienced or trained,

due to the sufficient number of suitable

workforce in the labour market;

� employees trained in various CVT

programmes might then leave the

company;

� the company’s workforce is stable or

decreasing.

The existence of a qualified workforce is

the main reason employers give for not

organising training courses. They consider

that recruiting specialist, experienced

personnel is a time- and money-saving

method. In the case of graduates of various

initial training levels, this kind of reasoning

restricts their access to the labour market

and reduces their chances of professional

insertion, placing them in a vicious circle:

on the one hand they are not the preferred

candidates when applying for a job

because they have no work experience,

and on the other hand they cannot gain

work experience if they cannot find a job.

Trained personnel leaving the company

is yet another argument in favour of saving

financial resources, as employers are

sometimes confronted with this kind of

situation. To prevent such an occurrence

some companies insist on commitment (a

contract) on the part of beneficiaries of

various types of training courses, whereby

they are bound to continue working in the

company for a certain period of time, which

varies according to the cost of the

programme.

Reasons such as the fact that the

company workforce is stable or

decreasing or that the company’s

activities do not require a high skill level

indicate, aside from any financial aspects,

the persistence of outdated beliefs,

according to which initial training is

sufficient. They also reveal an ignorance of

the importance of CVT and the benefits it

might bring to its beneficiaries, that is both

employees and organisations.

Other (objective) factors preventing training

activities that were invoked during

individual interviews include:

� the company history is short, so not

enough time to design training

strategies and organise training

activities;

� the company is in the course of

privatisation, which has prevented the

process of identifying employee training

needs and the establishment of a

training strategy;

� there is a high employee turnover in the

company.

33

3. SURVEY RESULTS

Table 3.1.6: Employers’ reasons for non-provision of training

Reasons Companies surveyed (%)

A decreasing number of employees 18.0

The local market does not provide the training provision to meetcompany needs

16.0

The employees are not interested in training 6.0

The activities of the company do not require a high level of skills 16.0

The probability that employees who have attended CVT will leavethe company

20.0

The company recruits only experienced/already trained personnel 32.0

There is no possibility of finding replacements for employeesattending training courses

16.0

There is no possibility of finding replacements for employees whocould become internal trainers

12.0

This final argument may, however, hide a

series of deficiencies in the company’s

administration, operation or management,

which may have brought about personnel

turnover.

Conclusions

The results of the survey indicate that

many companies actually focus on

enhancing the quality of their workforce

and to this end provide training and

development activities. The provision is

particularly diverse and training

programmes more frequent in competitive

companies that are either planning or are

in the process of development and

technology upgrading. However, training

provision is aimed mainly at highly skilled

personnel in the categories of upper and

middle management and to a lesser extent

the executive staff. These programmes are

longer, better organised and more costly,

and are most often classroom training

courses (held outside company premises).

Training programmes more accessible to

operational staff are more readily available

in companies that have upgraded their

technology, as the purpose of these

programmes is to develop new skills.

Employers explain their focus on training

programmes for management staff or

personnel with specific responsibilities in

the company in terms of the existence of a

plentiful supply of lower-qualified workers.

The conclusions of the survey also confirm

the results of other studies, according to

which employers’ human resource

development policies are determined by a

number of factors and conditions such as

the company’s level of performance and

investment capacity, its position in the

labour market, company size, profile, and

employee stability and motivation. Other

differences in terms of company CVT

investment policies are generated, in

addition to the economic context, by a

particular mentality: in some cases

investment in human resources is

considered an expense rather than an

investment. There are also differences in

terms of management and administration

strategies. For instance, some employers

are more interested in fulfilling immediate

tasks, and focus on economic issues,

drawing up a short-term strategy. Others

are intent on reaching global company

targets and draw up a short- or

medium-term strategy. The latter are aware

of the role of CVT, the need for and

profitability of investment in human

resource development, and the positive

impact on both employees (such as the

increase in the quality of their activity) and

on the company (such as the growth in

productivity and competitiveness, the

increased development perspectives, and

the enhanced organisational cohesion).

Consequently, vocational training is

perceived as a link between individual

needs and the company development

strategy (or the organisational needs).

3.2 THE OPERATINGENVIRONMENT AND THEIMPACT OF EXTERNALCHANGE ON COMPANIES

An analysis of the determinants of human

resource development policies will show

that, in addition to internal factors, external

factors that come under the generic term

‘operating environment’ also play a major

role in the development of a company.

These conditions have a direct influence on

a company’s level of performance and an

indirect impact on the level and diversity of

skills that the company needs.

Apart from subjective perceptions relating

to the timeliness and value of investment in

the development of employee skills, human

resource management is fundamentally

dependent on the conditions in which a

company is able to reach the level of

competitiveness and productivity imposed

by a free market.

In the current chapter we will attempt to

present the way in which the companies

surveyed understand and react to the

changes occurring in their particular

business environment. To this end we have

utilised a model of analysis that

distinguishes between a defensive or

passive and an active manner of

adjustment to change and that takes into

account companies’ awareness of the need

for change and adjustment. Figure 3.2.1

shows how defensive adjustment implies

34


restructuring company activities in order to

reduce costs. This involves such measures

as a reduction in the number of products

and services offered, a decrease in the

distribution of occupational groups, a

reduction in the number of employees or a

revision of job descriptions. In the case of

active adjustment the top company priority

is to raise work quality standards, which

involves investment in new equipment and

technologies, and in human capital.

The adjustment initiatives of companies

covered by the survey were studied on the

basis of opinions expressed by

interviewees on the changes made in the

organisation, as well as according to a set

of indicators registering the effect of

changes at company level. These

indicators were market share, productivity,

profit margins, investment in research and

promotion, orientation towards the

domestic or foreign market, role of clients

in work procedures, and collaboration with

other organisations. Consequently, our

model attempts to explain the determinants

specific to the two types of adjustments

identified; to analyse the role played by the

perceptions of interviewees relating to

company performance; and to analyse

employees’ opinions as to whether

changes should be made in the company

or whether the status quo should be

maintained.

This report will show that this approach is

crucial for evaluating the human resource

policies initiated by companies. This

approach also provides a key for the

analysis of the factors relevant to this

research such as: recruitment policies,

characteristics and trends of workforce

skills, training policies and employee

coverage in training courses.

The North-Eastern development region, in

which the companies surveyed are

operating, was affected by the national

economic recession that occurred in the

period 1994–99 and by the decline of

several major industrial activities,

especially in the chemical, metallurgy and

extraction industries. The results of both

the questionnaire-based survey and the

individual interviews revealed the negative

impact of this situation on the sample of

companies included in the survey.

35

3. SURVEY RESULTS

Awareness of the need to adjust�

�

�

�

Best use of human resourcesEvaluation of causes of productivityincrease/decreaseAssessment of features crucial forcompany successChange of company profile

Passive (defensive) adjustment�

�

�

�

Reduction of production/sales costsChange in distribution of occupationalgroupsRise/fall in the number of employeesRotation of personnel/revision of thejob description

Changes in the company

Active (offensive) adjustment�

�

�

�

�

Introduction of total quality managementInvestment in new equipment, technologiesInvestment in human capital (including budgetincrease for employee training, multi-qualification)Changes in the production process, new typesof services, productsRecruitment policy focused on new skills

Effects produced at company level�

�

�

�

�

�

Increase/decrease of market shareIncrease/decrease of productivity/turnover, profit marginIncrease/decrease of resources for investment, research, advertisingOrienting production towards the domestic/foreign marketIncrease of client impact on work practices and skillsCollaboration/absence of collaboration with other organisations

General economic context�

�

�

�

Economic evolution at macro levelEconomic evolution at regional levelEconomic evolution of the industry/area ofactivityChanges in the legal framework

Figure 3.2.1: Company adjustment to changes in the operating environment

An individual analysis of the factors

presented in figure 3.2.1 will illustrate these

findings and at the same time will allow

general conclusions to be drawn

concerning the evolution and development

of the capacity of companies operating in

the North-Eastern development area to

adjust to changes occurring in their

business environment.

A first and major indicator of a company’s

adjustment to the economic context in

which it operates is the change in the

number of employees in various

occupational groups. The survey revealed

that slightly more than half of the

companies (56%) had modified the

structure of their occupational groups

during their previous two years of

operation. This percentage seems small if

we consider the period of transition through

which the Romanian economy is currently

passing and the structural changes

imposed by this period of relative

instability. Nonetheless, if we examine the

business environment in the regions

covered by the survey we can see

considerable differences between the

sample of companies in North-Eastern

Romania and the sample in Bucharest. The

fact that the business environment is less

dynamic in the North-Eastern development

region is also reflected in the tendency of a

significant percentage of companies in the

region to maintain the same structure in

various occupational groups, even if

economic results do not meet expectations.

A number of differences are also apparent

when we examine the changes occurring in

occupational groups according to the

company form of ownership. The

percentage of state-owned companies

declaring that they have changed the

structure of the occupational groups is

twice as high as the number of privately

owned companies. This can be explained,

in the first place, by the higher frequency of

the restructuring of activity in this type of

company. Rationalisation or preparation for

privatisation brought about major changes

in the type of economic activity carried out

by companies, which led to a major

restructuring of personnel.

An examination of the occupational groups

that have undergone changes indicates

that the most significant changes were

made in the following categories:

specialists in intellectual and scientific

occupations, technicians and operators.

Also noteworthy is the relatively low

number of changes made among

managers and higher executives: 76% of

the companies declared that no changes

had been made in the past two years in

these categories.

Interviews revealed the existence of

additional measures by which companies

attempted to adjust to the changes

occurring in the business environment.

Changing the structure of groups of

personnel was the main tool until the late

1990s, when an improvement in the

business environment allowed a wider use

of new ‘adjustment’ tools. The results of the

survey show that these new tools were

aimed at company personnel (revision of

job descriptions, in-house rotation,

multi-skilling and new managerial

structures) or at other areas relevant to

human resources: quality management

(total production control, total quality

initiatives) and the development of an

organisational culture.

The managers of the companies included

in the survey declared that in the past two

years more importance had been attached

to defining individual and collective job

responsibilities and revising them on a

regular basis. More than half the

companies asserted that in the period of

reference they had revised employee job

descriptions (a third of companies

considered that this was the change that

had most affected company staff). Taking

into account that this percentage was also

high in the case of companies that

maintained the same structure of

occupational groups over the past two

years, it could safely be said that this has

replaced the restructuring of occupational

groups as an adjustment measure. Another

similar measure is that of in-company staff

rotation, mentioned by 32% of the

companies. Group interviews revealed that

especially in the case of small and

medium-sized companies, job rotation is

carried out primarily within occupational

36


groups and seldom from one occupational

group to another.

Other changes that took place at company

level, especially in terms of quality

management, are for the most part

complementary to the restructuring of

occupational groups. The survey indicated

that 46% of the companies have mentioned

the total production control and 66% the

total quality management. These changes

are considered to be extremely important

for the employees of the companies

surveyed (22%) and also for the employers

(36%) and were mentioned by a sizeable

number of companies that had changed

the structure of their occupational groups in

recent years.

As already specified above, the changes

that have a direct impact on company

workforce, as well as the characteristics of

the personnel structure specific to small

and medium-sized companies, are the

most important factors in explaining the

stability or change of occupational groups

in a given company. Another indicator

tested during the survey was that of overall

considerations of the workforce. For

instance, only 2% of the companies

declared that the workforce represented a

major obstacle in the way of company

development, while 46% stated that they

were generally satisfied with their human

resources. More than half the companies

declared their human resources to be a

strong point. However, these positive

considerations did not prove to have any

direct influence on the stability of

occupational groups. This varied both in

companies that consider their workforce to

be satisfactory and those that believe it to

be the company strong point.

Nevertheless, the indicator is crucial for the

present study, as will be seen in the

following chapters.

Our analysis indicates that most of the

companies made positive comments with

regard to the level of productivity. For

example, compared to the level recorded

two years ago, 44% of companies declared

that productivity was higher, while 36%

said it was much higher. Only 2% declared

there were no differences in terms of

productivity in that interval of time, while

14% stated that the level of productivity

was lower. The questionnaire-based

survey as well as the group interviews

showed that the main elements triggering a

growth of productivity were: better

orientation within the market/niche

marketing; more efficient use of resources

(human, material, time); introduction of new

equipment and technologies; and market

development in the company’s field of

activity. A significant number of answers

also refer to the development of employee

skills. The main causes of slumps in

productivity were market decrease in the

company’s field of activity; weak economic

activity at local level; and financial

difficulties of the company.

A statistical analysis also indicates that this

indicator does not have a direct influence

on changes in occupational groups. Group

interviews showed that managers resort to

a restructuring of occupational groups in

situations of economic growth as well as

when productivity falls.

Other changes at company level that are

directly relevant for the workforce structure

are determined by the development of

company activity through new types of

services or products launched in the

market, as well as the improvement of

material resources through the acquisition

of new installations, machinery and

equipment or computer applications. Figure

3.2.2 presents a detailed picture of the

situation observed in the companies

covered by the survey.

37

3. SURVEY RESULTS

The survey results indicate a significant

increase in the level of renewal and

innovation in the sample group of

companies. For instance, in the past year

80% of the companies had launched at

least one new service or product onto the

market and 56% had bought new

installations, machinery or equipment. At

the same time, more than half the

companies stated that company activities

had been facilitated by the introduction of

new computer applications or programmes.

Also noteworthy is the relatively high

number of companies declaring that they

had introduced new types of services in the

period of reference. This type of innovation

was more complex and involved profound

changes in all company departments.

The way in which companies analyse and

respond to changes in their business

environment was also investigated, with

the aid of several indicators related to the

companies’ position in the market and

collaboration with other companies. For

instance, half the companies stated that

during the past two years the market for

their products and services had been

growing, while a quarter considered the

market to be stationary. Only 14% said that

the demand for company products and

services was declining. In the case of

public companies this percentage is almost

double (27%). The interviews held with

company managers highlighted a

significant decrease in the demand for

certain public services, and this is one of

the reasons for the situation.

Only 10% of the companies surveyed

export a proportion of their products and

services, and all of these are private firms.

A higher percentage (36%) stated that they

provide a proportion of their services and

products to other organisations. Individual

interviews showed that this particular

degree of dependence on other economic

agents was one of the main obstacles to

the process of company development.

Changes in the demand for products or

services, frequent changes of contract

terms and conditions and the constant

growth of quality standards had had a

negative impact on development

strategies. At the same time most

managers declared that the majority of

adjustment strategies initiated had not

resulted in competition with foreign

companies; the best they could do was to

compete with the products and services

provided by other local companies.

Although more than half the companies

were reluctant to provide general financial

information, the questionnaire-based

survey indicated that almost a third had

seen an increased turnover in recent years,

while 10% stated that their financial

situation had been fairly stable. The same

positive trend can be noted if the

adjustment of companies to market

changes and pressure is examined, i.e.

through broadening the range of

products/services (48%) and placing more

emphasis on quality (47%). Almost a third

of companies said that the business

environment had compelled them to put

38


80%

72%

56%

34%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90%

New products/services

New computerapplications/programs

New installations, machineryor equipment

New types of services

Figure 3.2.2: Type of change during the past 12 months

greater effort into product design and

development (32%). If this situation is

compared with the number of companies

declaring that they had launched a new

product or service onto the market during

the past two years, it can be concluded that

only some of the innovations were a result

of changes taking place in the market.

As can be seen in figure 3.2.3, many of

those companies that had launched a new

line of products or services onto the market

in the past two years had actually come up

with an entirely new product or service, or

had added a product to the existing range.

However, individual interviews did not

demonstrate that the introduction of new

products or services had made any

significant impact on the human resources

of the company. New products and

services were based on changes in

technology and were seldom accompanied

by an analysis of skill needs. The majority

of managers declared that they had

launched new products or services only

after an analysis conducted jointly with

employees. Generally, the new products or

services were launched without any prior

special training courses, and were based

solely on the skills already present in the

company.

Although almost two thirds of the economic

units surveyed are production companies,

the majority of products do not include very

advanced components or materials. For

instance, less than 5% of the companies

declared that new products included

advanced micro-processors or other

advanced micro-electronic components,

while 16% declared that the new products

were manufactured from new materials

such as advanced alloys or processed

plastic. Furthermore, only 6% of the

companies surveyed carry out research

and development activities, and these are

all small and medium-sized firms. Less

than 10% of the companies covered by the

survey have sub-contracted a part of their

production of goods or services; the main

reason for sub-contracting, managers

admitted, was that it kept costs lower,

compared to hiring additional personnel.

Some of the companies do, however,

collaborate with various institutions on the

development or improvement of company

products or services. The main

organisations involved are provider

companies (68%), other organisations

acting in partnership or associated firms

(40%), employers’ or professional

associations (30%) and consultancy

companies. Three quarters of the

companies declared these collaborations to

be important or very important for the

development of new or improved products

and services; this denotes a heightened

awareness of the strategic importance of

partnerships for the development of a

company. Furthermore, this is one of the

major indicators of active adjustment to the

changes occurring in the business

environment.

39

3. SURVEY RESULTS

in the existing range

as a step to anadjacent area

an entirely newproduct/service

Figure 3.2.3: Type of new product or service launched (% of companies surveyed)

Our survey detected a positive trend with

regard to the potential of companies to

initiate active adjustment measures. This

conclusion was drawn based on the large

number of companies that consider quality

and meeting client needs to be the main

characteristics of products and services

that ensure company competitiveness in

the market. The fact is illustrated in figure

3.2.4.

At the same time the survey revealed that

client preferences have a relatively high

influence on the company with respect to

work practices and level of specific

activities carried out. Almost 40% of the

companies stated that client opinions have

a direct impact on the company workflow,

while almost as many (38%) said that client

opinions are a major indicator of the type

and level of employee skills required.

Another relevant finding that emerged from

the survey is that in the period of reference,

the number of initiatives introduced for

raising or ensuring quality increased

relative to cost cuts and increased work

efficiency of the personnel. For example,

almost three quarters of companies stated

that in the past two years they had

attempted to change several activities in

order to raise quality, while 56% of

interviewees mentioned having made

efforts to cut costs or increase productivity.

The most important effects on the company

recorded during the interviews were

rationalisation of activities (52%),

reorganisation (46%) and a reduction in

products and services (20%).

Conclusions

Both the questionnaire-based survey and

individual interviews revealed the fact that

managers are aware of changes occurring

in the business environment and are

attempting to move quickly and take the

necessary adjustment measures. The main

changes made by companies related to

new price policies, a more rigorous control

of production costs, new management

strategies, greater focus on quality

standards and meeting client demands,

investments in new technology and

equipment, and new products or services.

In terms of human resources the main

measures were changes in the structure of

occupational groups and in the number of

employees, in-company rotation and

revision of job descriptions. There were

fewer comments on the budget allocated

for professional training, concrete initiatives

relating to management by competences,

total quality control and orientation of sales

of products and services towards foreign

markets.

This indicates that companies in the survey

sample currently resort mainly to passive

adjustment strategies, and nowhere is

this more apparent than in the case of

small and medium-sized companies, those

40


0 20 40 60 80 100

quality

meeting client demands

price

delivery on time

marketing/advertising

features of product/service

Figure 3.2.4: Percentage of companies considering various product/service

characteristics important for the success of the company

that provide a major proportion of their

production/services to other companies,

and those that do not export. An

examination of the relationship between

the companies’ adjustment strategies and

specific changes in the business

environment shows that in some cases the

actions taken to resolve market-related

pressures or changes are not the most

timely or efficient methods available. Some

medium- and long-term active strategies

are blocked by a number of constraints, the

most important of these being of a financial

nature.

Individual interviews demonstrated that

adjustments in response to the business

environment, especially in recent years,

were less a condition for success and more

a condition for survival in the market. The

majority of companies that failed to find

quick solutions to the obstacles and

changes of a stagnant economy, or to the

less than encouraging macro-economic

and fiscal policies, failed to survive in the

market. Managers interviewed in the

course of the survey gave a number of

examples of passive adjustment measures

in the context of a decreasing demand for

products or services. Flexibility and

capacity for adjustment were considered

essential for company development by

around 80% of the companies questioned.

Only a fifth of the companies declared that

the market for their products or services

was decreasing, while more than half

stated that in the past two years the

demand for products and services had

increased. The results of the survey

indicate that in the general context of

economic recovery, companies are

showing a positive development trend. A

medium-term forecast shows that the

companies surveyed are registering an

increase in general turnover (mentioned by

28% of companies), as well as in the range

of products and services offered

(mentioned by 48%). Although only 10% of

the companies exported products or

services, the majority of managers

questioned stated that they intended to

initiate projects of collaboration with foreign

partners, especially from EU member

states. This state of affairs will be directly

reflected in active adjustment initiatives

undertaken in response to the new

conditions provided by the business

environment. What is significant in this

sense is the very high number of

companies that believed the crucial factors

for market success to be the quality of

products or services provided (92%) and

meeting client demands (78%). Almost half

the companies declared that changes in

the market had led to more attention being

paid to quality in both the production

process and the products and services

provided. Investment in research and

development is still at a very low level,

especially in small and medium-sized

companies. Nonetheless, in the past two

years a significant proportion of the

companies (34%) had managed to launch

a new product or service onto the market.

The way in which a company adjusts to

changes in the business environment is a

good indicator of its capacity to anticipate

future changes and to design long-term

development strategies. This is one way in

which companies can develop one of the

essential competitive dimensions. The

managers interviewed stressed however

that a lack of funds prevented them from

using tools such as market surveys,

structured interviews and focus group-type

research in order to acquire in-depth

knowledge and anticipate evolutions and

changes in the business environment.

Furthermore, some of these managers

stated that most adjustment strategies did

indeed help them to compete, but only with

the products and services of other local

companies, not those of foreign firms. The

competitive edge of companies surveyed in

the North-Eastern development zone is

currently adequate for a market in which

the presence of foreign companies is still

limited.

As can be seen in section 3.1 all the

changes analysed above in most cases

also had a direct impact on the company

human resource policy and employee

attendance on training courses. For

instance, almost half the companies that

had introduced new equipment,

installations, machinery or computer

applications declared that they had

organised vocational training programmes

for their employees. Individual interviews

with managers indicated that these courses

are most often organised by the providers

41

3. SURVEY RESULTS

of the equipment concerned. This fact is

confirmed by the relatively high proportion

of courses held with external providers

(65%). At the same time, interviews

revealed that while more than a third of the

companies had introduced multi-skilling

courses for employees, vocational training

was used as a work rationalisation tool and

a form of adjustment to changes that occur

in the operating environment.

3.3 CHARACTERISTICS ANDTRENDS OF WORKFORCESKILLS

From a general perspective, skills are

defined as structured sets of knowledge

and abilities that allow the solving of

area-specific issues in various contexts.

For the purpose of the present study, the

term ‘skills’ denotes those employee

competencies that meet job requirements.

In Romania these skills are specified by the

occupational standards, which so far have

been defined for only a limited number of

jobs. Based on occupational standards, the

Romanian system of initial vocational

training develops vocational training

standards and outlines the curricula. The

continuing training provision is developed

on the basis of occupational standards in

only a few instances. For employment

purposes some jobs require an evaluation

based on the skills specified by

occupational standards.

The level of employee competencies has

an impact on the quality of both the

company and employee job performance.

From this perspective, awareness of a

company’s ‘skills capital’ is the premises

for its efficient operation and a starting

point for the design of human resource

development strategies.

Previous studies concerning vocational

training9

have attempted a global approach

to skills issues i.e. types of skills offered in

the training provision. The present chapter

focuses on a more detailed analysis of

employee skills in terms of how they are

actually put to use in the workplace. This

includes:

� the extent to which employers are

concerned with developing the skills of

their employees;

� the requirements of the workforce and

how this relates to the business

environment;

� the general situation regarding skills at

company level and the lack of certain

types of skills;

� skills assessment at company level.

3.3.1 THE IMPORTANCE OFSKILLS

The extent to which employers are aware

of the importance of employee skills is

directly related to their rate of investment in

human resources.

Importance of skills for company

performance. The majority of the

companies stated that they pay great

attention to employee skills, believing them

to play a crucial role in maintaining

performance and competitiveness in the

market.

All the companies operating in the sectors

of finance/banking and insurance, hotels

and restaurants, and real estate

transactions considered the level of human

resource skills to be very important;

needless to say that in these areas of

activity the quality of human resources is a

priority and has a direct impact on work

efficiency. There were very few companies

(10%) in which skills were accorded less

importance; these were mainly in

processing industries, in which the state of

equipment and technologies used are the

priorities.

In terms of company size, data indicate

that 74% of small companies had a greater

awareness of the role of the quality of their

employees in determining company

performance, compared to medium-sized

(50%) and large (60%) companies. In the

last years, in small-size companies human

resources are in most cases considered to

be the key element to company survival

and performance in the market.

42


9 Social impact of continuing vocational training, Romanian National Observatory, Bucharest, 2001;

Characteristics of continuing vocational training in Romania, National Institute for Statistics, Bucharest, 2001.

The fact that many employers believe the

quality of their workforce to be a key

element of productivity and performance

growth indicates a high awareness of the

importance of human resource investment.

Furthermore, this conclusion is confirmed

by other outcomes of the survey: almost

three quarters of companies stated that

they were concerned with raising the

general level of employee skills, and 15%

considered that improvements in their

employees’ personal and professional skills

were the crucial element leading to

productivity growth.

Responsibility for the acquisition of

skills. This conclusion is also supported by

data relating to responsibility for the

acquisition of skills. For instance, 80% of

the companies considered the acquisition

of skills to be a company responsibility;

consequently, investment in the

development of skills should be covered by

company funds and should be a priority in

development strategies. The percentage of

employers assuming the responsibility for

staff training is significant when compared

with the proportion of employers who

stated that special funds were earmarked

for CVT (40%) or that specific training

programmes for staff were initiated (54%).

Although the level of awareness of the

importance of skills was extremely high

among employers, there is still a long way

to go before the new labour code

requirements regarding training provision in

enterprises are fully put into practice.

At the same time only a minority of

employers (22%) considered that every

employee was responsible for his/her own

development.

In isolated cases skill development is

considered to be a responsibility of central

authorities, or a cost rather than a benefit

to the company. In very few cases (8%) it

is the business sector in which the

company operates that is deemed to be

responsible for the development of

employee skills. Moreover, recent

interviews and surveys10

have revealed

that Romania lacks unitary strategies for

human resource development in various

areas of activity, particularly the

sector-based interventions for the

improvement of employee skills.

3.3.2 GENERAL LEVEL OFSKILLS

The quality of human resources in general

has gained in importance. The

requirements of employers have increased

in the context of competitive economic

environment.

43

3. SURVEY RESULTS

10%

22%

68%

not very important

important

very important

Figure 3.3.1: Importance of employee skills for company performance

(% of companies surveyed)

10 Romanian Country Monograph, European Training Foundation, Romanian National Observatory, Bucharest

(in press).

Requirements for the workforce

Company requirements for the

workforce. Almost three quarters of the

companies covered by the survey stated

that in the past two years they had

diversified job-related skills. A higher

percentage (90%) forecasted a growth of

skills demand in the near future. The

growth in demand for job skills was due to

the external changes only to a smaller

extent (entailing greater attention being

paid to human resource development in

only 8% of cases). Rather, it was seen as a

reaction to changes implemented in the

workplace. Most of the companies included

in the survey (over 90%) had made at least

one change at various levels – installations

and equipment, technologies, products and

services – and as a result had a direct

interest in increasing the quality of human

resources in order to raise work efficiency.

Comparison with competitors. Most of

the companies made positive statements

regarding the skills of their personnel. For

instance, half of these companies stated

that the workforce skills of their company

are better than those of competitors, while

42% believed them to be comparable.

Companies in finance/banking and trade

have the greatest confidence in the quality

of their workforce; as already specified, the

majority of the companies in this field

considered training to be the most efficient

method of raising the quality of human

resources.

Survey data (figure 3.3.2) shows that small

companies with a shorter history

considered to a greater extent their

personnel to be more competitive in terms

of skills. This may be due on the one hand

to these companies’ higher awareness of

the efficiency of human resource

investment and to the growing emphasis

on vocational training for employees (in this

sense, see the following chapter dedicated

to vocational training activities). On the

other hand, some of these companies, due

to their limited experience, may be

suspected of not knowing their competitors

well enough to be able to make an

objective evaluation of the quality of their

own human resources.

Company ownership is another criterion for

which significant differences exist with

regard to confidence in employee

competitiveness: 17% of the companies

with entirely/mainly state capital stated that

their employees have less skills than the

staff of competitor companies, compared to

2% of entirely/mainly private capital

companies.

A correlation between the competitiveness

of employee skills and how the workforce is

perceived is quite revealing. Thus

employers who stated that the workforce is

a company strong point considered that

their employees’ skills are better than

(55%) or at least comparable with (45%)

those of competitor companies. Employers

that said that their workforce is satisfactory

44


0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

lower than thecompetition

better than thecompetition

comparable withthe competition

50

em

plo

ye

es

or

less

51

-25

0e

mp

loye

es

ove

r2

50

em

plo

ye

es

less

tha

n5

years

ofa

ctivity

5-1

0ye

ars

ofactivity

mo

reth

an

10

years

ofa

ctivity

Figure 3.3.2: Comparison of employee skills in competitor companies depending on

company size and history (% of companies)

believed to a great extent, however, that it

is comparable to that of the competition,

while the quality of skills is not necessarily

compared with that of competitors but with

their own requirements.

Differences in job promotion

opportunities between males and

females. In the opinion of employers, 90%

of men and 84% of women encounter no

obstacles in their professional progression

through various positions. The difference of

7 percentage points in favour of men is

small in terms of the general context.

For instance, some country-level

documents11

highlight the fact that in terms

of the degree to which women participate

in social life Romania ranks low on the

scale of countries, compared to both

countries with a developed economy and

several of the new Member States.

� The percentage of female high

executives or managers in trade

companies surveyed is on average 26%

compared to the figure for EU member

countries, which is approximately 30%.

� Women’s income in Romania is on

average 82% that of men.

� During the period 1992–98 the

unemployment rate among women

showed a sharp increase, and

subsequently returned to a percentage

similar to or even lower than that of

men.

To reduce the discrepancy in access

between men and women a number of

nationwide measures are currently being

applied; these are intended to provide both

men and women with equal opportunities in

all areas of public life.

3.3.3 SKILLS SHORTAGE

The shortage of skills signifies, on the one

hand, insufficiently developed employee

abilities and on the other hand, a lack of

personnel with specific skills required by

the job. It is necessary to analyse the

current and potential shortage of skills in

order to reorganise the company

development strategy.

Current skills shortage

Skills shortage as a problem. Of the

companies surveyed, 38% asserted that

they are confronted with a shortage of

personnel qualified to perform certain work

tasks and that various types of skills are

hard to find on the labour market. The

shortage of skills is more common in the

following fields of activity: electricity, gas

and water, hotels and restaurants, and

trade. In the past few years a large number

of the companies surveyed in these sectors

have implemented new technologies,

equipment or services that require new

skills. The lack of qualified personnel is not

an issue for the companies in

finance/banking where we find an

adequate supply of highly qualified

workers. Neither did companies providing

export services complain of any shortage

of skills; to ensure competitiveness on the

international labour market these

companies have invested continuously in

the quality of their workforce.

Companies that have been operating for

only a short period of time are the ones

confronted with a shortage of qualified

personnel. Either their recruitment

strategies have not been tested on the

labour market and are implicitly less

efficient, or they may be using

state-of-the-art equipment and

technologies for which it is hard to find

personnel with specific qualifications. Large

companies that have a wide range of

products and employees with varied

qualifications also find it hard to identify

employees qualified to perform certain

tasks.

45

3. SURVEY RESULTS

11 National Action Plan for Employment, Government of Romania, 2002.

Shortage of skills by type of occupation

and operational area. A large number of

the companies complained of a shortage of

highly qualified personnel: specialists in

intellectual and scientific occupations (58%

of companies reported a skills shortage),

technicians, supervisors and similar (26%).

The skills shortage is mentioned less often

with regard to the following occupations:

qualified workers employed in the

adjustment and maintenance of machinery

and installations (21%), managers (11%),

installation and machinery operators

(11%), personnel in services, trade and

similar (11%). The lack of qualified

personnel is particularly noticeable in

production and maintenance operational

areas.

One possible explanation of the shortage

of skills being higher for the high-qualified

workers (i.e. specialists in intellectual and

scientific occupations) than for

medium-qualified workers (i.e. technicians,

operators) might be related to the reform of

vocational and technical education that has

led to a more efficient matching between

the existing specialisations and the labour

market needs (compared to the changes

implemented in the higher education), and

has thus succeeded in meeting employers’

demands for skills.

Types of skill shortages

The questionnaire referred to both basic

skills – numeracy, literacy, computer

literacy – and related skills. It should be

pointed out that these considerations are

the subjective opinions of employers, most

often without the backing of objective

evaluations of skills.

Basic skills. Most respondents stated that

most of their employees possess functional

numeracy skills (88% of companies) and

the practical abilities to use the written and

spoken language required by work

46


Table 3.3.1: Shortage of skills and company-specific indicators (% of the total

number of companies surveyed)

Company-specific indicatorsSkills deficit

Yes No

National economy sectors




Trade 65.0 35.0



Finance/banking and insurance activities 0.0 100.0

Real-estate transactions and other servicesprovided to companies

33.3 66.7


Company size

Under 50 employees 37.1 62.9

51–250 employees 42.9 57.1


Company history

5 years or less 47.2 52.8

6–10 years 37.5 62.5

More than 10 years 31.3 68.7

Form of ownership



assignments (82%). The results should,

however, be analysed taking into account

the fact that assessment at company level

is focused on professional skills and only in

rare cases on basic skills.

At the same time, in 81% of the companies

the employers have stated that their

employees posses IT skills. The above

figure seems to differ substantially in the

employees’ opinion. Almost a third of the

companies stated that less than 10% are

computer literate, in 40% of companies

only 10 to 50% of employees have IT skills,

and only in a quarter of the companies

most employees think that they have the

computer skills required for their jobs.

Computer skills are becoming a must in the

workplace, particularly if the simple fact

that more than half the production

companies included in the survey have

implemented new computer

applications/programs in the past year is

taken into account.

Specific skills. The employee competence

profile is completed by the range of specific

abilities. The highest demands are for

technical skills (30% of companies), client

relationship skills (20%), and management

and supervisory skills (18%). It should be

noted that most of the companies that drew

attention to a shortage of skills are

confronted with the lack of classic,

traditional-type skills on the job. Other

surveys (previously quoted) that evaluated

the training areas and skills developed by

the CVT provision came up with the same

conclusion: employers place more

emphasis on skills that have a direct

impact on raising work efficiency.

Other types of skills. Quite a number of

the employers surveyed also have a

demand for other types of skills such as

computer literacy, creativity and initiative

on the job, ability to implement total quality

management, teamwork skills,

interpersonal skills and language skills.

These new types of skills are required

especially in the case of occupational

categories with high qualifications:


occupations, technicians, supervisors and

similar and managers. These skills are

particularly scarce in state capital

companies where personnel recruitment

and training is focused on strictly

professional skills. Even if the impact of

these abilities on company performance

seems indirect, its importance in providing

a positive and motivating work environment

was openly admitted by most employers

during group discussions. Nevertheless (as

will be demonstrated in the chapter which

deals with vocational training), few of these

employers invest in employee training

programmes focused on such skills or use

any evaluation tools to assess these skills

in personnel recruitment/selection.

47

3. SURVEY RESULTS

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%Managers in socioeconomic units

Specialists in intellectual and scientificoccupations

Technicians, supervisors and assimilated

Administrative clerks

Personnel in services, trade and similar

Qualified workers in adjustment and maintenanceof machinery and installations

Operators of intallations and machinery,assemblers of machinery, equipment and otherproducts

Figure 3.3.3: Shortage of skills by type of occupation (% of companies surveyed)

Methods used to deal with skills gaps

Companies mentioned various methods

used to deal with skills gap. Over two thirds

of the companies surveyed chose to

provide continuing vocational training for

employees, organised in various forms,

such as classroom or on-the-job training,

delivered during or after working hours.

Other efficient ways of meeting the skill

requirements included providing financial

and logistical support to companies

carrying out in-company training of

employees, more rigorous methods of

employee recruitment, dismissal of

incompetent personnel, hiring auxiliary staff

or part-timers in deficient areas, and

motivating highly trained personnel by

means of differentiated salary policies.

Quite a number of small companies,

private capital companies and companies

operating in finance/banking and trade

indicated modern methods of meeting the

demand for skills, focused on training and

encouraging competitiveness.

Expected skills shortage

Expected changes in skills shortage.

The companies included in the survey were

optimistic when it came to evaluating skills

shortages for their future activities. Thus,

almost half of the employers currently

confronted with a lack of qualified

personnel anticipated that they would no

longer have this problem in the future.

48


0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Do notknow

No

Yes

Pro

ce

ssin

gin

du

str

y

Ele

ctr

icity,

ga

sa

nd

wa

ter

Co

nstr

uctio

n

Tra

de

Ho

tels

an

dre

sta

ura

nts

Po

sta

nd

tele

co

mm

un

ica

tio

ns

Fin

an

ce

/ba

nkin

ga

ctivitie

s

Re

ale

sta

tetr

an

sa

ctio

ns

Oth

er

serv

ices

Figure 3.3.4 (a): Employers’ views on current skills shortage, by field of activity


0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

No

Yes

Pro

ce

ssin

gin

du

str

y

Ele

ctr

icity,

ga

sa

nd

wa

ter

Co

nstr

uctio

n

Tra

de

Ho

tels

an

dre

sta

ura

nts

Po

sta

nd

tele

co

mm

un

ica

tio

ns

Fin

an

ce

/ba

nkin

ga

ctivitie

s

Re

ale

sta

tetr

an

sa

ctio

ns

Oth

er

serv

ices

Figure 3.3.4 (b): Employers’ views on expected skills shortage, by field of activity


By area of activity, the most optimistic

seem to be the employers in the sectors of

hotels and restaurants and trade, who

asserted that they anticipate no major

problems relating to skills shortages in the

future. The companies in the electricity,

gas and water sectors stated that the skills

shortage is bound to continue in the future;

companies providing services also said

that they will be confronted with a shortage

of qualified personnel in the very near

future, although they did not currently have

to cope with this issue. A future shortage of

skills was forecasted for the same occupation

groups and operational areas that currently

have skills shortages. Only 9% of the

companies surveyed expect a shortage of

skills in the case of other job tasks.

3.3.4 SKILLS ASSESSMENT

The interest of companies in evaluating

human resources is crucial for the

development of related strategies.

Assessment, whether internal or external,

provides the feedback necessary for the

implementation of any organisational change.

Assessment of employee skills

Assessment by the companies. Of the

companies surveyed, 74% carry out

employee performance assessment. The

areas of activity with the highest

percentage of companies carrying out

performance assessment programmes

were as follows: finance/banking and

insurance, trade, hotels and restaurants,

post and telecommunications, real estate

transactions, other services. Small

companies and firms with a 6 to 10-year

history in the market are more intensely

preoccupied with employee assessment.

Companies that have these characteristics

are, moreover, those that pay close

attention to the employee skills required for

high production performance.

Frequency of evaluation. Some 46% of

the companies surveyed assess their

employees on a regular basis, as part of

the company human resource policy. More

than half the companies carry out

employee assessment in special situations

such as changes in technology,

introduction of new products/services,

development of products/services now sold

by the company, and other changes

implemented at company level.

Data indicate that personnel assessment is

mainly context-driven, i.e. in response to

changes brought about in the workplace.

Although most of the companies

considered competencies to be a crucial

factor for performance, assessment has

not yet become common practice in

Romanian firms. There are various reasons

for this situation: financial issues (any

employee assessment – internal or

external – involved high costs for the

company), the lack of skill self-evaluation

tools, the absence of occupational

standards for certain types of jobs, and the

limited use of tools already designed for

recruitment and job performance

assessment.

49

3. SURVEY RESULTS

changes in technology (57%)

introduction of new products/services (54%)

development of products/services now on sale (49%)

implementation of other changes (5%)

regularly

in some cases

other situations

Figure 3.3.5: Evaluation of company personnel (% of companies surveyed)

Skills assessment methods

Companies’ capacity to evaluate their

skill needs. A high percentage of

companies stated that they have the

capacity and tools necessary to evaluate

their skill needs, 92% for the assessment

of current needs and 82% for analysis of

future needs. With the exception of

companies in constructions and the

processing industry, companies in all fields

of activity rely on their capacities for

employee analysis and assessment. These

percentages are quite high, compared to

the share of companies that are regularly

assessing their employees.

External support for skill assessment. A

significant number of the companies (58%)

admitted that they receive external support

and assistance for the types of skills they

need when introducing new

products/services. Furthermore, the

majority of companies surveyed (90%)

develop relationships with national

organisations, professional groups or

employers’ associations.

The issues most frequently discussed with

external partners are those relating to

salaries (e.g. salary levels and new

regulations in the field). Another area of

contact between firms and other

organisations is that relating to recruitment

(availability of qualified workers, job

requirements and conditions, providing

financial support for the integration of

young graduates, other opportunities in the

field). A considerable number of the

companies resort to outsourced information

and counselling services relating to

vocational training (opportunities, forms of

organisation, costs).

Types of external links. The companies

surveyed have developed relationships

with various types of organisations for the

purpose of evaluating and analysing skills

needs. Listed in order of frequency of

contact, these include employment

agencies, chambers of commerce, other

companies in the same fields of activity,

professional associations, relevant

ministries (Ministry of Labour, Social

Solidarity and Family, Ministry of

Education), local authorities, universities

and research institutes.

Conclusions

The majority of employers consider

workforce skills to be absolutely crucial in

ensuring company performance, a fact that

indicates a high level of awareness of the

importance of human resource investment.

From this perspective, the acquisition of

skills is considered primarily to be a

company responsibility. Small companies

in particular pay more attention to skills;

human resources are often the crucial

element of the company’s strength and

competitiveness in the market.

Referring to the current context, most of

the companies made positive comments on

the skills of their employees, in comparison

with competitor companies, and stated that

they consider them to be better or at least

comparable with the workforce skills of the

competitors. The changes made in recent

years by companies (new installations and

equipment, technologies, products and

services) have required a diversification of

workforce skills. An even greater growth of

demand is foreseen for the future.

In this context of changes in the labour

market and business environment, as well

as in-company changes, more than a third

of the firms covered by the survey declared

that they were currently confronted with a

lack of personnel qualified to perform

certain tasks. This type of situation was

encountered most often in production and

50


Table 3.3.2: Areas in which companies use outsourcing for information and

counselling services (% of companies surveyed)

Using outsourcing

Areas

Recruitment-relatedaspects

Salary-relatedaspects

Vocational trainingopportunities

Yes 38 40 36

No 52 50 54

operational areas and in the case of highly

qualified personnel. The majority of

companies mentioned the shortage of

classic, traditional-type skills, which leads

to the conclusion (also supported by

previous studies) that employers place

special emphasis on those skills that have

a direct impact on the improvement of

activity in the workplace. However, a

growing demand for skills other than those

that are strictly professional was also

noticed.

When asked to evaluate skills shortages

for future activities, companies seemed

quite optimistic. Consequently, nearly half

the employers currently confronted with a

lack of personnel anticipated that it would

cease to be an issue in the future. To solve

the current situation most employers opt for

training and revision of personnel

recruitment methods.

Three quarters of the companies surveyed

carried out employee assessment. The

data analysis revealed that employee

assessment is carried out in particular in

contextual situations, in response to the

implementation of changes in the

workplace (such as the introduction of new

technologies, new products/services,

development of products/services that the

company is currently selling). Although the

majority of companies consider skills to be

the crucial element behind performance,

evaluation of skills is not yet common

practice among Romanian companies.

3.4 WORKFORCERECRUITMENT AND FILLINGVACANCIES

Job descriptions for vacancies and the

choice of recruitment strategies and tools

are the major elements of a company’s

human resource policy. The recruitment

strategy that a company applies has at

least two types of consequences:

� effects on company performance,

through the diversification and increase

of the ‘skills capital’;

� impact on the market in terms of how

the demand for labour meets available

workforce skills, expectations and

needs.

For example, the way recruitment is

actually carried out may influence both a

company’s future performance and the

quality and structure of the workforce

seeking a job either locally or regionally.

By taking into account this double

perspective, the present study has

attempted to identify the most important

aspects of recruitment policies in the

companies surveyed and the manner in

which they relate to various workforce

categories, such as internal or external,

graduates of secondary or higher

education, and highly qualified or trainees.

The survey also focused on investigating

the main motivations and reasons

underlying options of recruitment

strategies.

3.4.1 RECRUITMENTSTRATEGIES

Internal versus external recruitment

In terms of the recruitment source, the data

from the survey show that companies

resort to both internal and external

recruitment. While 8% of the companies

surveyed had drawn up an exclusive policy

in this respect, almost 46% preferred to fill

vacancies by recruiting staff from inside the

company for specific occupational groups.

The occupational groups for which internal

recruitment is most often preferred are

those of specialists and technicians. For

top-management positions this particular

type of recruitment is used less often.

The motivation behind internal recruitment

is that company employees know one

another. For instance, over 60% of

employers that prefer this alternative

consider it to be advantageous because

company employees are aware of the

company policy and its particularities, and

their professional skills and experience are

already proven. Also valued are the loyalty

and mutual trust gained previously in the

company and the certainty of good working

relationships as a result of employees’

familiarity with the company’s social and

professional environment. At the same

time, the use of promotion as a stimulus for

work motivation for employees is a strong

argument for the companies that recruit

51

3. SURVEY RESULTS

from their existing staff; 13% of companies

mentioned this option.

In the context of the economic restructuring

of the past few years, staff downsizing

policies have led several of the companies

to opt for recruitment from company

personnel, by changing or extending their

job responsibilities, thus reducing the rate

of lay-offs. The lower costs of internal

recruitment were an additional factor for

companies undergoing restructuring. In the

present study, almost 13% of companies

that opted for internal recruitment

mentioned that they had taken into account

these issues.

Only 4.3% of the companies that opted for

internal recruitment resorted to this

alternative because of the shortage of

qualified workers in the labour market, in

the area of skills required.

Recruitment of graduates

Most of the companies investigated

declared they had not as yet established a

long-term relationship with initial training

institutions with a view to filling specific

positions in the company. As a result,

recruitment of graduates is an occasional

option rather than a strategically planned

one, depending most often on the extent to

which graduates’ skills on completion of

their studies meet the requirements of

vacant positions.

Although 65% of the companies declared

they had recruited graduates during the

past two years, research data indicated a

very low percentage of graduates in the

total number of employees. On average,

during the past two years, only one

graduate was hired per 100 employees in

the companies surveyed, while seven

times as many graduates entered the

labour market (estimate based on national

figures). In absolute figures, on average

only two graduates of secondary education

and one graduate of higher education had

been recruited per company. The majority

of employers who declared that they do not

recruit graduates (34%) cited graduates’

lack of work experience and low level of

technical skills.

By level of education, the most important

group for recruitment are graduates of

higher education (34%), followed by

graduates of vocational schools (21%),

technical high schools (13%) and foremen

schools. The categories of less interest to

the employers queried in the course of the

survey were graduates of theoretical high

schools (7%) and compulsory education

(5%) who have no qualification on

completion of their studies (table 3.4.1).

The main occupational group for which

graduates are recruited is that of


occupations (25%) where graduates of

higher education are exclusively preferred.

The next category is that of ‘craftsmen and

qualified workers’ (21%), for which

graduates of apprenticeship, vocational

and technical high school are recruited.

Almost 19% of these graduates are in

demand for technician and supervisor

positions. Management positions are very

seldom filled with graduates (9%), and in

this case the majority have completed

higher education.

Opportunities for practical instruction

and apprenticeship in enterprises

The system of practical instruction that

companies organise for pupils as part of

their initial vocational training is generally

an efficient method of training and

recruiting the candidates most suitable for

certain positions. It also enables

companies to select potential employees

more carefully while making sure they

become familiar with actual work conditions

within the company.

According with the regulations in force in

Romania, practical instruction in

enterprises for pupils attending the

secondary level of vocational education

(apprenticeship, vocational school and

technical high schools) is based on a

school–enterprises contract. An individual

contract between the student and the

company is required in the case of

post-high school, supervisory and higher

education.

52


The data of the present investigation show

that a considerable number of companies

provide training opportunities for students,

but in terms of the overall number of

companies surveyed, this figure is

relatively low (table 3.4.2). Nonetheless,

companies included in the survey were

definitely more interested in providing

practical instruction opportunities for higher

education students in comparison with

secondary education ones. In absolute

terms, the picture could be distorted, since

school–enterprise agreements ensure

access to practical vocational instruction to

a larger number of students in the same

company, while higher education students

must individually identify a company that

agrees to accept them as trainees.

Interviews held with employers revealed

that although several companies provide

practical instruction for students they do

not take advantage of these opportunities

to recruit workers from the trained

graduates. Furthermore, the relatively high

percentage of companies that have no

collaboration whatsoever with initial training

institutions (52%) indicates the still limited

interest in the development of a long-term

relationship with a view to training and

recruiting graduates. Individual discussions

with employers also showed that most of

them consider it more efficient to recruit

already qualified personnel from the labour

market, mainly because by so doing they

can cover immediate shortages of human

resources. Employers also mentioned the

high costs in terms of time and resources

involved in organising practical instruction

on company premises.

53

3. SURVEY RESULTS

Table 3.4.1: Structure of recruited graduates by level of education and occupational category (%)

Managers

of socio-

economic

units

Specialists Technicians ClerksOperative

workers

Craft

workers

and

qualified

workers

Operators

of

machinery

and

installations

Unqualified

workersTotal

Compulsoryeducation

- - - - - 0.9 2.9 0.9 4.8

Apprenticeshipschool

- - - - 0.9 4.8 4.8 0.9 11.5

Vocationalschool

- - 4.8 - 3.8 7.6 3.8 0.9 20.9

Post-highschool andsupervisoryschool

4.5 2.1 0.9 7.6

Technical highschool

- 0.9 4.2 0.9 - 5.5 0.9 0.9 13.4

Theoreticalhigh school

0.9 0.9 1.8 0.9 - - 1.9 0.9 7.4

Highereducation

7.6 22.9 2.9 0.9 - - - - 34.4

Total 8.5 24.9 18.4 2.8 4.7 20.9 14.3 5.5 100.0

Table 3.4.2: Offer of traineeship for graduates (%)

For secondary education

graduates

For higher education

graduates

Companies that provide trainingopportunities

32 48

Companies that do not providetraining opportunities

58 38

No answer 10 14

Therefore, it may be concluded that many

employers do not make the most of the

opportunity to recruit young people

participating in initial training. Only a few of

the companies surveyed have a long-term

relationship with education institutions.

Individual interviews revealed that there

are some companies in which students

attending practical instruction subsequently

became permanent employees as a result

of their proven skills.

In terms of company characteristics, survey

data indicate that the enterprises which

organise frequent practical instruction for

young people in initial training are generally

companies with a large number of

employees and a history in the market of

more than five years. Small and recently

established companies are less open to

collaboration with secondary-level initial

training institutions, although they do

provide training opportunities for students

in higher education.

3.4.2 FILLING VACANCIES

Difficulties encountered in filling

vacancies

A successful process of filling vacancies

depends on both the efficiency of

recruitment strategies as well as on the

nature and structure of the labour force.

In terms of the various occupational

groups, the companies did not report any

major difficulties. It is easiest to recruit

unqualified workers, operators of machines

and installations, and clerks. The most

difficult positions to recruit for are in the

categories of upper and middle

management (company managers),


occupations, and technicians and

supervisors. The explanation can be found,

on the one hand, in the structure of labour

supply, where the highly qualified

individuals are poorly represented. On the

other hand, employers’ requirements in the

case of upper-management positions tend

to focus on skills other than those that are

technical (such as communication,

managerial and teamwork skills). Since

these skills are usually developed during

continuing training courses, they are more

difficult to identify, given the generally low

attendance rate for adult education in

Romania.

Similarly, there were no reports of major

difficulties in the case of operational areas.

Only 18% of the companies encountered

difficulties in recruiting for positions in

technical management, sales and

IT/computers. Underlying reasons for the

difficulties relate to the poor supply of

available workers in these operational

areas.

Overcoming difficulties in personnel

recruitment

Overall, no major recruitment-related

difficulties were reported; only 16% of the

companies declared that they had had to

cope with several issues caused by a

shortage of personnel meeting job

requirements. The most significant

negative effects mentioned refer to

stagnation in production development, a

decrease in the quality of services

provided, and a demotivation of company

staff and management.

To prevent or remove such effects most of

the companies included in the survey had

resorted to the strategies of utilising

existing resources more efficiently. Almost

a third of the employers preferred to give

additional responsibilities to existing

personnel; this often involved working

overtime. They thus took measures that

had immediate positive results, but that in

the long run risked producing undesired

effects, such as demotivation, turnover of

personnel and a decrease in work

efficiency.

The data presented in figure 3.4.1 indicate

a relatively low degree of confidence in

long-term strategic measures intended to

resolve recruitment-related issues. Only

20% of employers considered the

alternative of investment in continuing

training for employees to be a viable

measure for minimising the difficulties of

recruitment. Other passive remedial

measures for difficulties in filling vacancies

include recruitment of temporary workers

and outsourcing.

54


Measures for increasing a company

recruitment capacity

In order to make recruitment strategies

more efficient, employers will resort to

immediate solutions such as offering more

attractive salaries or bonuses, and

increasing the number of persons called for

interview (figure 3.4.2). Long-term

measures requiring more careful planning

are mentioned less frequently. For

instance, only 10% of interviewees

contemplated developing a steady

partnership with institutions of initial

training in the near future. Furthermore, the

improvement of recruitment techniques and

tools represents a strategic goal for just

10% of the companies. Interviews held

during the survey revealed that only 5% of

the enterprises included in the research

possess or plan to use shortly an online

recruitment system.

Forecast for filling vacancies

With respect to vacancies that will be more

difficult to fill in the future, employers

foresee the same kinds of difficulties as

those they are encountering at present. To

be precise, in the opinion of interviewees,

recruitment-related issues will persist for

company management positions,


occupations, and technicians, and in the

areas of technical management, sales and

IT/computers. At a general level, however,

55

3. SURVEY RESULTS

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

Exte

nd

ing

the

ran

ge

ofa

ctivitie

so

fe

xis

tin

gp

ers

on

ne

l

Me

asu

res

take

nto

ma

ke

the

activity

of

exis

tin

gp

ers

on

ne

lm

ore

effic

ien

t

Exte

nd

ing

wo

rkin

gh

ou

rsfo

re

xis

tin

gp

ers

on

ne

lre

su

ltin

gin

ove

rtim

e

Tra

inin

gp

rog

ram

me

sfo

re

xis

tin

gp

ers

on

ne

l

Ch

an

ge

sin

the

org

an

isa

tio

na

lch

art

ofth

eco

mpa

ny

Re

cru

itm

en

to

fp

ers

on

ne

lw

ith

fle

xib

leco

nd

itio

ns

(tem

pora

rysta

ff,part

-tim

econtr

acts

,etc

.)

Su

bco

ntr

actin

gce

rta

ina

ctivitie

sto

qu

alif

ied

/sp

ecia

lise

dp

eo

ple

ou

tsid

eth

ecom

pany

(outs

ourc

ing)

Oth

er

me

asu

res

Figure 3.4.1: Remedies to address recruitment-related difficulties

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

50%

Hig

he

rsa

larie

so

ro

the

rb

on

use

s(in

ce

ntive

s,d

ays

off,

etc

.)

La

rge

rn

um

be

ro

fp

eo

ple

ca

lled

for

inte

rvie

w

Tra

inin

gp

rog

ram

me

sfo

re

mp

loye

es

wh

ose

qu

alif

ica

tio

ns

do

no

tm

ee

tjo

bre

qu

ire

me

nts

Esta

blis

hin

gco

nta

cts

with

sch

oo

ls/c

olle

ge

s

Use

ofa

bro

ad

er

ran

ge

ofre

cru

itm

en

tch

an

ne

ls

Em

plo

yin

gm

ore

pa

rt-t

ime

rs

Hig

he

rb

ud

ge

tfo

rre

cru

itm

en

to

ru

se

of

mo

reco

stly

recru

itm

en

tm

eth

od

s

Lo

we

rin

gth

ele

ve

lo

fq

ua

lific

atio

nre

qu

ire

do

fn

ew

em

plo

ye

es

by

tra

nsfe

rin

gre

sp

on

sib

i-lit

ies

too

the

rsta

ff

Lo

we

rin

gth

ele

ve

lo

fq

ua

lific

atio

nb

ym

akin

gso

me

wo

rkta

sks

au

tom

atic

Do

no

tkn

ow

Oth

ers

Figure 3.4.2: Measures for increasing a company’s recruitment capacity

companies do not foresee any major

difficulties in filling vacancies. Almost 75%

of managers mentioned that the

recruitment and employment of appropriate

staff would not be a problem for the

company during the following two years.

Conclusions

To conclude, the results of the survey

emphasise that in general, developing

recruitment strategies and filling vacancies

has not yet become a priority in the human

resource policy of companies surveyed.

There are several causes for this situation.

� Compared to workforce demand, the

supply is generally quite high, thus

providing employers with a wide

selection range.

� In the opinion of employers, the

economic constraints with which they

are confronted do not allow an increase

in the number of employees. Rather,

they require measures aimed at making

the work of existing personnel more

efficient.

� A reduced recruitment capacity and the

poor development of adequate selection

tools do not appear to represent a major

cause of difficulty in terms of company

development.

Therefore the employers surveyed prefer to

recruit staff already working in the

company. The recruitment of graduates is

made to a lesser extent and represents the

isolated result of planned strategies, based

on systematic and long-term collaborations

with institutions of initial training.

Consequently, opportunities for practical

instruction and apprenticeship on company

premises are relatively few. The mutual

benefits for companies and trainees alike

resulting from such training are

insufficiently exploited.

In terms of the various occupational groups

and corresponding operational areas, the

companies investigated did not, in general,

mention any major difficulties in recruitment

or filling vacancies. The vacancies most

difficult to fill are those for company

management posts, specialists in

intellectual and scientific occupations, and

technicians, and in the occupational areas

of technical management, sales and

IT/computers.

As remedial measures for recruitment

difficulties, employers prefer to extend the

job responsibilities and working hours of

existing employees, rather than introducing

strategic long-term measures such as

investment in training or improvement of

recruitment techniques.

3.5 TURNOVER OFPERSONNEL

A company’s development strategy and

human resource policies are directly

influenced by its rate of personnel turnover,

just as the phenomenon of turnover

depends on everyday management

decisions. A large number of personnel

leaving the company may lead to serious

difficulties, especially when this happens

over a short period of time or within a

particular occupational group, or among

employees in key positions.

The survey attempted to detect the level of

turnover in the companies included in the

research, including future trends as well as

the manner in which personnel turnover

stimulates managers’ motivation to raise

the level of skills in the company. The

survey made separate analyses of the

turnover caused by employees’ decisions

to leave the company (voluntary turnover)

and the turnover caused by personnel

restructuring (enforced turnover). At the

same time an endeavour was made to

identify the types of institutions (by profile,

size, etc.) and occupational groups most

affected by personnel turnover, as well as

the opinions of managers in companies

with high turnover rates, in order to

determine the causes.

Voluntary turnover

Personnel turnover was recorded over a

12-month period of reference. In this

interval of time 40% of the companies

investigated declared that no employee

willingly left the company, while 22% said

the turnover had been between 5 and 10%

(figure 3.5.1).

56


The highest level of personnel turnover is

manifest in the processing industry,

electricity, gas and water, and postal and

telecommunication services. The smallest

variations of personnel occur in companies

in banking and insurance, real estate

transactions and services provided to

enterprises.

Survey results also indicate a high

employee turnover rate in companies with

a history of less than five years in the

market and firms with less than 50

employees. The reason is that these

companies are more vulnerable to changes

occurring in the business environment due

to the major impact of modifications in

salary policies and motivation of

employees. The situation could explain the

growing interest of these companies in

developing their human resources and

investing in training. It is interesting to note

that there are no significant differences

between state and private companies in

terms of personnel turnover at the level of

the organisation or in certain occupational

groups.

Even in cases where a considerable

number of personnel have left the company

the questionnaire-based survey and

individual interviews revealed that the

respective companies considered these to

be normal turnover rates. For example,

three quarters of the companies declared

that employee turnover had been in line

with forecasts, while only 5% believed the

rate had gone far beyond predicted levels.

The situation was similar in terms of

occupational groups, only 14% of

companies stating that personnel turnover

is an issue for one or several occupational

groups.

The managers questioned declared that

the turnover recorded at company level

and in the various occupational groups is

considered relatively normal given the

realities of the labour market. An

organisation cannot meet the expectations

of all employees, and even if their mobility

has a negative impact on the company, the

managers seemed to perceive this state of

affairs as unavoidable. When competitor

companies offer more attractive salary

packages and bonuses to employees,

managers perceive migration of personnel

as a normal occurrence, the effects of

which can be counterbalanced by recruiting

new people with the desired qualifications

or by encouraging the multi-skilling of the

existing employees. The chapters dealing

with staff recruitment and employee skills

will provide a more detailed view of these

strategies.

The occupational groups most affected by

personnel turnover (see figure 3.5.2) are

those of operative workers in services,

trade and similar (43%) and specialists in

intellectual and scientific occupations

(42%).

57

3. SURVEY RESULTS

none

5.1-10%

30.1- 50%

0.1- 5%

10.1-30%

Figure 3.5.1: Personnel who willingly left the company (% of the total workforce)

Personnel being attracted by other

employers offering higher salaries (29%) or

better working conditions (43%) is the

cause most frequently cited by companies

when referring to the high personnel

turnover rates of the past few months.

Other reasons given were personal/family

matters (28%), lack of motivation for a

particular job (14%), employees’ desire to

work in a new area of activity (13%), the

company’s human resource policy (12%)

and economic issues confronting the

company (12%). Interviews revealed that in

many cases employers were not

sufficiently aware of employees’ reasons

for leaving, even though understanding

them is a major element in analysing

training needs and the company’s active

involvement in the professional and

personal development of company staff.

Enforced turnover

Rigorous planning of workforce needs is

extremely important for the success of a

company and an essential component for

any development strategy. As shown in the

previous chapter, the restructuring of

personnel is one of the main tools that the

companies surveyed use in order to adjust

to changes in the market. In addition to

voluntary turnover, the survey focused on

enforced turnover, in other words, lay-offs.

Almost 40% of the companies declared

that they had resorted to this particular

measure in recent years, with the highest

frequency in the following areas: hotels and

restaurants, construction, trade, and real


provided to companies. Companies in

banking and insurance and post and

telecommunications witnessed the lowest

turnover rates due to lay-offs.

According to the survey results, private

companies had downsized their workforce

more often than state firms. Large

companies and those with more than 10

years of history in the market gave similar

reports. The main occupational groups in

which lay-offs were made are unqualified

workers, technicians, supervisors and

similar, and operative workers in services,

trade and similar (figure 3.5.3). This last

category witnessed the highest rate of both

voluntary and enforced turnover.

The managers interviewed gave optimistic

forecasts for the near future, with almost

75% declaring that they did not intend to

make any lay-offs during the next two

years, and only 6% stating their intention to

do so. None of the companies that had

already laid off personnel expressed any

intention of repeating the procedure during

the next two years.

58


0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

Ma

na

ge

rsin

so

cio

eco

no

mic

un

its

Sp

ecia

lists

inin

telle

ctu

al

an

dscie

ntific

occu

pa

tio

ns

Te

ch

nic

ian

s,su

pe

rvis

ors

an

dsim

ilar

Adm

inis

trative

cle

rks

Pe

rso

nn

elin

se

rvic

es,

tra

de

an

dsim

ilar

Qu

alif

ied

wo

rke

rsin

ad

justm

en

ta

nd

ma

inte

na

nce

ofm

ach

ine

sa

nd

insta

llatio

n

Op

era

tors

ofm

ach

ine

sa

nd

insta

llatio

ns,a

sse

mb

lers

of

ma

ch

ine

s,e

qu

ipm

en

ta

nd

oth

er

pro

du

cts

Un

qu

alif

ied

wo

rke

rs

Figure 3.5.2: Occupational groups for which personnel turnover is an issue for the

company

Most of the companies that believed they

would lay off personnel in the future

declared that the figure would not exceed

5% of the total number of company staff.

The answers given did not allow an

analysis of lay-offs by occupational groups,

though individual interviews suggested that

these will in all probability affect unqualified

workers as well as workers qualified in jobs

such as cottage industries and the

adjustment and maintenance of machines

and installations. Interviews also

highlighted the idea of retaining personnel

according to their openness to training.

Conclusions

The survey indicated a relatively high

employee turnover rate, especially

voluntary turnover. The occurrence is

common in almost two thirds of the

companies and mainly affects prevailingly

small companies and those with a shorter

history on the market. Managers consider

that the main occupational groups affected

by voluntary turnover are specialists in

intellectual and scientific occupations and

workers in services, trade and similar. The

frequency is higher in the processing

industry, electricity, gas and water, and

post and telecommunications.

Almost half of the companies investigated

resorted to lay-offs, one of the main tools

used to adjust the organisation to changes

in the business environment. The

phenomenon was reported mainly in large

companies and those with a history of

more than 10 years in the market. The

main operational groups in which lay-offs

took place are unqualified workers,

operative workers in services, trade and

similar and technicians, supervisors and

similar. The highest enforced turnover

rates occurred in the following areas:

hotels and restaurants, construction, trade,

and real estate transactions and other

services provided to companies.

According to the employers interviewed the

main causes of personnel turnover are

better conditions offered by other

companies, higher salaries, and

personal/family reasons. When competitor

companies offer more appealing financial

rewards to employees, managers perceive

migration of personnel as a normal

occurrence, the effects of which can be

adjusted by recruiting new people with the

desired qualifications or by encouraging

multi-skilling of the existing employees.

Survey results did not allow an

investigation into possible deficiencies of

company organisation, operation and

management, deficiencies that might also

generate personnel turnover.

Most of the companies surveyed consider

that the level of personnel turnover is within

normal limits, and that work carries on as

usual despite the voluntary departure of a

59

3. SURVEY RESULTS

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

Ma

na

ge

rsin

so

cio

eco

no

mic

un

its

Sp

ecia

lists

inin

telle

ctu

ala

nd

scie

ntific

occu

pa

tio

ns

Te

ch

nic

ian

s,

su

pe

rvis

ors

an

dsim

ilar

Ad

min

istr

ative

cle

rks

Op

era

tive

wo

rke

rsin

se

rvic

es,tr

ad

ea

nd

sim

ilar

Qu

alif

ied

wo

rke

rsin

ad

justm

en

ta

nd

ma

inte

na

nce

of

ma

ch

ine

sa

nd

insta

llatio

n

Op

era

tors

ofm

ach

ine

sa

nd

insta

llatio

ns,

asse

mb

lers

of

ma

ch

ine

s,e

qu

ipm

en

ta

nd

oth

er

pro

du

cts

Un

qu

alif

ied

wo

rke

rs

Figure 3.5.3: The main occupational groups in which lay-offs took place during the

past two years

proportion of the company’s personnel.

The occurrence does not generally cause

company management to lose motivation

in developing the skills of company human

resources. Nonetheless, the companies

seem less prepared to plan human

resources, and make little effort to retain

their workforce, the categories most

affected being employees with a low level

of qualification and those less willing to

attend training programmes.

60


ANNEXES

ANNEX 1: SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONTEXT

1. NATIONAL CONTEXT

1.1. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Evolution of the main macroeconomic indicators. Economic decline came to a halt as

early as 2000. During the following year, gross domestic product registered a growth of

5.3% (in real terms). Agriculture continued to contribute the largest proportion of this,

namely 21.2% (table 1 – statistical data). Inflation has been decreasing steadily since

1997, reaching a value of 30.3% in 2001 compared to 40.7% in the previous year. In 2002

the inflation rate was 22.0%.

Privatisation. The private sector has grown constantly. Its contribution to GDP rose to

67.1% in 2001 compared to only 16.4% in 1990. In terms of economic sectors, contribution

of the private sector to GDP developed as follows during this period of time (table 2 –

statistical data):

� in agriculture, from 61.3% to 97.8%;

� in construction, from 1.9% to 81.1%;

� in services, from 2% to over 78%;

� in industry, from 5.7% to 57.7%.

Small and medium-sized enterprises. The SME sector was one of the main beneficiaries

of the Action Plan applied in order to eliminate administrative barriers and improve the

business environment. The following measures provided the background:

� establishment of the Joint Office of the Chambers of Trade and Industry;

61

� simplification of the legal framework (more favourable to investors);

� granting credit facilities.

As a result, according to statistics provided by the Register of Trade, in 2001 61,256 new

economic agents were registered (almost 7% more than in the previous year). During the

first quarter of 2002 17,227 entrepreneurs registered (authorised natural persons, family

associations and limited liability companies). Due to the number of SME employees as a

percentage of the total number of employees (approximately 40% in 2001), it is to be

expected that the share of the SME sector in terms of its contribution to GDP will continue

to grow.

1.2 LABOUR MARKET

Workforce characteristics

Structure by age. During the 1990s the pre-active population decreased by 800,000, a

trend that continued after 2000. Consequently the ratio of inactive population (under and

over the working age) to active population is still declining, from 53.4% in 1990 to 45.2% in

the fourth quarter of 2002 (table 3 – statistical data).

The quality of the workforce. During the period 2000–02 the structure of the active

population by ISCED levels of education improved. The percentage of the population with

a higher level of education (ISCED 5–6) increased from 8.7% in to 9.1% in 2001 and to

around 10% in the fourth quarter of 200212

. On the other hand, the same period registered

a decrease in the percentage of the population with a minimal level of instruction (ISCED

0–2), from around 35% to 30% (table 4 – statistical data).

Several other trends have relevance for employment and education and lifelong vocational

training. There is still a significant proportion of the active population who have a low level

of education (ISCED 0–2); a wide gap between the rural and urban population in terms of

level of education; and wide differences in the levels of education and training by age

group (table 5 – statistical data).

Employment

Structural changes in employment. The employment rate of the population aged 15 and

over in the fourth quarter of 2002 was 51.7% (table 6 – statistical data). Out of the total

employed population, the highest proportion (54.4%) is those with an ISCED 3 level of

education (high school and vocational school education), followed by those with levels

ISCED 0–2 (30.6%), ISCED 5–6 (10.2%) and ISCED 4 (4.7%)13

.

The following observations can be made regarding the population distribution by economic

sector.

� Compared with the European average, only a small percentage of the population is

employed in services, a little over 35%.

� A relatively high percentage of the population is employed in agriculture (approximately

36%).

62


12 Beginning with the first quarter of 2002, as a result of the revision of definitions and their coverage area, the

data on the main population categories are no longer comparable to the series of data of previous years.

Consequently, all the information presented in the current report for the year 2002 should be interpreted from

this new perspective.

13 Survey on labour force in households (AMIGO) 2002, 2ndnd quarter, NIS, 2002.

Certain structural changes became apparent in 2002: the agricultural sector lost

approximately 6% of the employed population in favour of industry (3%) and services (3%)

(table 7 – statistical data).

Unemployment

Situation at national and sector level. The number of people registered unemployed as

at 30 June 2002 was 929,700, with 828,500 ILO unemployed in the fourth quarter of the

same year. The registered unemployment rate was 9.6%, an increase compared to the

rate in 2001, while the ILO unemployment rate was 8.0%, which was also an increase

compared to the previous year (6.6%) (table 11 – statistical data).

By economic sector, the workers most severely affected by unemployment were those

employed in the industrial sector (extraction and processing industries), construction,

commerce and hotels (table 12 – statistical data).

Unemployment by age bracket and level of education. Young people aged 15 to 24

remain the category most affected by unemployment: the youth unemployment rate in

2001 was 17.5%, much higher than the total unemployment rate of 6.6% (table 13 –

statistical data).

The ILO unemployment rates also differ according to the level of education and training: in

general it is lower in the case of those with a higher level of training, and increases as

levels of education decrease. However, the percentage of unemployed people with an

ISCED 0–2 level of education is usually below the total average value for all education

levels (table 14 – statistical data).

1.3 DEMOGRAPHIC TRENDS

Over the past 10 years the population of Romania has been falling steeply and steadily

(table 10 – statistical data). The negative values of the natural growth rate coupled with the

emigration rate (especially in the first half of this period) led to a decrease of close to 1

million people (-4.2%). According to the preliminary results of the census of 18 March

2002, the population of Romania was 21,698,100. Of these, 54.4% were in urban areas

and 45.6% in rural areas. If the current demographic trends continue, the estimate is that

the population of Romania will fall below 20 million in the coming years.

An analysis of the population by age groups reveals, on the one hand, an ageing

population and, on the other hand, a decrease in the school-age population. These

tendencies have direct effects on the labour market: growing pressure on the market as a

result of the population growth in the 20 to 24 and 25 to 29 age groups; a contraction of the

labour market will occur when the population now aged 0 to 14 reaches active age.

1.4 VOCATIONAL TRAINING IN ENTERPRISES

Studies carried out over the past few years have revealed a range of information relevant

to the issue of training needs in enterprises.

‘Characteristics of continuing vocational training in Romania’, a survey carried out by

the National Institute for Statistics, for which 1999 was the period of reference, presents

details including the number of participants in vocational training by type of training,

training costs, and length of training stages. Survey results relating to vocational training in

enterprises reveal the following.

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ANNEXES

� Only 11% of the enterprises provided access to continuing training for their employees.

� Only 5.4% of the enterprises drew up a human resource development strategy and only

4.6% allocated a special budget for CVT.

� The overall rate of access to CVT was 7.6%.

� The highest attendance rates in continuing training were recorded in transport,

finance/banking and insurance activities, while the lowest were recorded in construction

and trade activities.

� Access to CVT courses was higher for employees with higher education holding

management or administrative positions and lower for employees employed as

technicians and supervisors.

‘Social impact of continuing vocational training’, a study carried out by the Romanian

National Observatory in 2001, with 2000 as the point of reference, focused on designing a

methodology for the evaluation of the social impact of CVT from the point of view of those

involved (employees, employers, training providers, social partners), based on several

criteria and indicators specific to lifelong education. The study emphasised the following

points.

� It is mostly large private companies that develop active CVT policies, and less so the

state-owned and SMEs. This difference is determined by the economic context as well

as by mentality: public employers often regard investment in human resources as an

expense rather than an investment.

� Generally speaking, SMEs are less in favour of human resource development policies

either because they have not yet become aware of the importance of CVT and its

positive effects on company development, or because they cannot afford to invest in

human resource development at a time of economic constraints during which it is

difficult for them to maintain their position and continue to develop.

� Despite the growing interest of employers in the development of skills other than those

that are strictly professional (such as social, entrepreneurial and communication skills),

in the opinion of the majority of the employers covered by the survey the most important

training programmes are those that develop professional skills specifically related to the

job.

2. REGIONAL CONTEXT

2.1 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

The North-Eastern development region from which companies were selected for the

present survey, like the other development regions in Romania, is an administrative unit

established as a result of an agreement between local public administrations of the

counties that make up the region (Bacãu, Botoºani, Iaºi, Neamþ, Suceava, Vaslui). It is not

an administrative territorial unit officially recognised as a legal entity. Consequently, the

constituent counties have varying levels of socio-economic development. This

development region has the largest number of inhabitants and widest geographical area of

all such regions in Romania.

In the period 1965–85 a forced industrialisation took place in the counties in the

North-Eastern region in order to narrow the considerable socio-economic gap that existed

at the time relative to other areas in the country. Massive investments in modern

equipment, machines and technological lines, at levels similar to those in advanced

countries, led to a reduction of the predominantly agrarian character of the region and the

establishment of an industrial culture and well-qualified workforce. The industrial

development, however, failed to take into account the existing natural and energy

resources as well as the environment. Furthermore, there was no interest in maintaining

64


the technological advantage, and the exported production output was oriented mainly to

countries in the former communist block. Consequently, when the old strongly centralised

economic system was replaced by a market economy in 1989, the economic development

of the North-Eastern region faced a severe crisis.

For instance, in 1999 economic decline in the North-Eastern region was approximately

40% more acute than national rate. The great disparity between this region and the rest of

the country remained even in 2000: national economic growth was 4.1%, while the rate in

the North-Eastern region continued to follow the negative trend of previous years (-0.6%).

Table 1: GDP evolution at national and regional level (billion lei current prices),

according to the 1995 European system of accounts (ESA)

GDP

1998 1999 2000

North-Eastern region 50,385.4 68,522.3 96,348.4

National level 373,798.2 545,730.2 803,773.1

North-Eastern region (million USD) 5,677 4,469 4,442

National level (million USD) 42,118 35,594 37,054

North-Eastern region (%) change - -21.3 -0.6

National level (%) change - -15.5 4.1

Source: Romanian Statistics Annual 2002.

The same major gaps are recorded in terms of the regional gross domestic product per

capita (RGDP/inhabitant). In 2000 the North-Eastern region recorded the lowest value of

all regions, representing only 70% of the RGDP/inhabitant at national level and only a third

of the RGDP/inhabitant corresponding to the Bucureºti-Ilfov region (table 2).

Table 2: Regional GDP in 2000 (billion lei current prices), according to the 1995 ESA

methodology

NationalNorth-

Eastern

South-

EasternSouthern

South-

WesternWestern

North-

WesternCentral Bucharest

GDP 803,773 96,348 92,868 98,070 74,888 75,267 95,009 101,775 168,791

GDP/percapita(thousandlei)

35,826 25,067 31,852 29,207 30,009 36,767 33,313 38,386 74,082

GDP/percapita (%)

100 70.00 88.90 81.50 83.80 102.60 93.00 107.10 206.80


The SWOT analysis performed by the North-Eastern development region14

indicates

several major issues that affect the socio-economic development of this particular region:

� weak development of infrastructure in rural areas, especially utilities;

� concentration of main private investments in county seats and several other towns

(Oneºti, Roman, Dorohoi, Paºcani), to the detriment of other settlements in the area;

� high level of poverty affecting a significant proportion of the population, and a large

number of at-risk groups;

� severe industrial decline, especially in the chemical and machine-building industries;

� existence of mono-industrial centres (Darabani, Sãveni, Vatra Dornei, Târgu Neamþ,

Oneºti, Paºcani, Huºi, Buhuºi);

65

ANNEXES

14 Regional Development Plan 2002–05, North-Eastern Regional Development Agency, 2001.

� poorly developed east–west road links within the region;

� technologies and equipment that are obsolescent or insufficient, or have fallen into

disrepair, resulting in low productivity levels;

� loss of commodity markets, and the fact that products are less competitive;

� insufficient development of information channels and guidance facilities for local

entrepreneurs and citizens;

� lack of promotion of the region and low investment potential.

Faulty management was another cause of the industrial slump, having grave effects on

regional development. The outward signs included a reluctance to implement a quality

assurance system for products and the production process, the lack of company

development strategies, the failure to apply marketing principles and the inability to

allocate resources for maintaining investments and penetrating external markets.

In the North-Eastern region the shifts in the contribution of different sectors to gross added

value (GAV) were minimum in the last three years. The most important change was in

construction from 4.3% in 1998 to 6.2% in 2000 (table 3). This boost is explained by the

surge in civil construction projects during 2000.

Table 3: Gross added value total and by sector (billion lei) for the period 1998–2000,

according to the 1995 ESA methodology

1998 1999 2000

North-Eastern region 50,385 68,522 96,348

Industry 13,576 15,956 25,577

Agriculture 9,381 12,570 15,404

Construction 2,192 2,512 4,370

Transport 2,822 4,021 6,000

Trade 5,770 8,416 10,124

Other 16,644 25,047 34,873

National level 373,798 545,730 803,773

Industry 98,213 135,344 219,480

Agriculture 52,212 70,456 85,101

Construction 19,029 27,377 39,287

Transport 23,862 33,983 50,048

Trade 50,403 74,599 101,407

Other 130,079 203,971 308,450

Source: Romanian Statistics Yearbook 2002.

During the period 1998–2000, productivity per employed individual – another indicator

relevant in determining the economic situation of the region – was below the national

average for all sectors of the economy with the exception of transport (table 16 – statistical

data). However, there was constant annual growth in productivity in all areas of activity.

An examination of the business environment provides support for the idea that the

North-Eastern region has been going through a process of economic recovery during the

past few years. During the period 1998–2000 the number of SMEs fell steadily to 36,668,

then rose in 2001 to 37,199 units. The growth may be explained by the main strengths of

this type of economic organisation (such as greater flexibility and receptivity to market

demand), thus becoming a vital segment of economy in the region.

66


In 2001 the business and staff turnover grew in micro-companies, and in medium- and

large-sized companies, but dropped in small enterprises. Even during the industrial decline

(1996–99), both the turnover and the number of employees remained high in companies

with mainly state capital and over 250 employees (table 17 – statistical data).

Micro-companies make up a high percentage of the total number of active economic units

(86%), followed by SMEs (13.15%); these are close to the national figures. A similar

situation was recorded for the number of companies by area of activity. For example, in all

areas of activity micro-companies are the most numerous, with the exception of the

electricity and extraction industries. The largest numbers are to be found in trade (92.4%),

hotels and restaurants (86.2%) and transport (86.4%). Of the total number of

micro-companies active in the region, the majority operate in trade, car repairs and

consumer goods (68.6%), followed by the processing industry (12.7%). The lowest

percentages are in hotels and restaurants (3.4%) and transport (3.5%).

SMEs are more numerous in electricity and thermal energy, gas and water (47.1%) and

the extraction industry (42.6%). Significant numbers operate in the processing industry

(37.3%), trade (32.7%) and construction (10.8%), and the fewest can be found in hotels

and restaurants (3.5%) and transport (3.2%). Large companies operate mainly in the

processing industry (62%), higher than the national average (54%) (table 18 – statistical

data).

An examination of the contribution of economic units to regional turnover by area of activity

indicates that large companies and SMEs contribute the largest shares (42% and 40%

respectively). Micro-companies make the largest contributions, however, in trade (37.7%)

and real estate transactions (30.9%) (table 4).

Table 4: Distribution of business turnover of active companies in the region and

nationally, by profile and number of employees in 2000 (billion lei at current prices)

Number of employees

0–9 10–49 50–249 >250

Business turnover (%) – National level 17.95 20.94 20.75 40.36

Extraction 1.50 3.17 6.02 89.32

Processing 4.27 11.66 21.63 62.44

Electricity and thermal energy, water and gas 0.07 0.37 6.27 93.29

Construction 7.52 18.30 39.51 34.67

Trade, car repairs, consumer goods andhousehold appliances

36.43 33.87 19.82 9.88

Hotels and restaurants 17.21 22.43 27.99 32.37

Transport and warehousing 7.98 16.37 22.91 52.74

Post and telecommunications 3.09 4.16 9.06 83.70

Real estate transactions, rentals and provision ofservices

22.61 37.06 29.37 10.96

Other collective, social and individual services 11.97 13.07 42.54 32.41

Business turnover (%) – North-Eastern region 17.47 19.79 20.56 42.17

Extraction 0.80 3.62 11.11 84.47

Processing 4.63 11.47 20.41 63.49

Electricity and thermal energy, water and gas 0.02 0.22 3.31 96.46

Construction 9.79 17.06 43.30 29.84

Trade, car repairs, consumer goods andhousehold appliances

37.79 35.03 18.38 8.79

Hotels and restaurants 26.25 39.42 34.33 0.00

67

ANNEXES

Number of employees

0–9 10–49 50–249 >250

Transport and warehousing 4.96 8.78 39.56 46.70

Post and telecommunications 22.29 6.85 5.29 65.57

Real estate transactions, rentals and provision ofservices

30.90 39.60 27.74 1.76

Other collective, social and individual services 7.59 29.62 57.97 4.81


An analysis of the sectors of the economy indicates that the North-Eastern region makes

the greatest contribution to national agricultural production (18.1% in 2000), which reflects

the predominantly farming character of the regional economy (table 19 – Statistical data).

In 2001 agriculture contributed by 19.9% to the regional GDP, a greater percentage than

the contribution of the sector at national level (14.0%). The contribution made by

agriculture to the regional gross added value was 18.1%, once again higher than the

contribution at national level (12.0%).

Although the North-Eastern region has extensive farming land (14.3% of the total farmland

of the country), this resource is not exploited efficiently, so productivity is low for all types

of crops owing to several factors:

� type of farmland, with a marked diversity in terms of soil categories, soil fragmentation

compared to farmland in the rest of the country;

� small farm plots (1–3 ha);

� severe poverty of farmland owners, who encounter major difficulties in cultivating crops

and raising livestock;

� shortage of capital for restructuring and modernisation;

� instability and soil erosion, producing many landslides;

� poorly developed irrigation systems (water conveyance and pumping).

Private farming through Law No 18/1991 has resulted in excessive fragmentation of

farmland. Each owner has an area ranging from one to three hectares, though profitable

exploitation can only take place on a plot of land of at least 50ha/tractor. Out of the total

farmland area in the private sector, the land held by landowners’ associations represents

around 3.5% in Bacãu county, 10.8% in Botoºani county, 7.5% in Neamþ county and 9% in

Suceava county. Across the region the landowners’ associations own 8% of farmland and

3% of livestock.

In animal husbandry the data reported indicate that private producers hold over 90% of

livestock. The state sector, which operated an industrial type of animal husbandry system,

has been practically destroyed as a result of the breaking up of most poultry breeding

centres, livestock breeding centres and farms.

Timber exploitation is also a significant resource in the North-Eastern region. In 2001 it

contributed 26.3% to the total timber volume in Romania. In the absence of investment

programmes and poor technological upgrading in the wood processing and furniture

industry, exports consist mainly of raw materials (timber and profiles) rather than finite

products (table 20 – statistical data).

In 2000 the North-Eastern region contributed 11.6% of national industrial production (table

19 – statistical data). The contribution of industry to the regional GDP is 26.5%, a value

which is close to the contribution of the sector to the national GDP (27.3%).

Companies in the region with high turnover and a large number of employees are active

almost exclusively in the large cities (Iaºi, Bacãu, Piatra Neamþ, Suceava, Botoºani).

68


Successful companies mentioned in the Top Companies list drawn up by county

Chambers of Trade and Industry are operational in the following market areas:

� machine-building, installations and equipment;

� food;

� wood processing, pulp and paper, and furniture;

� light industry (spinning mills, knitwear, ready-to-wear, footwear);

� pharmaceuticals;

� tourism;

� transport.

The service sector of the North-Eastern region’s economy is smaller in percentage terms

than the national average and is concentrated mainly in the developed areas of the region

(Iaºi and Bacãu), with a modest share in the rest of the territory. This sector is focused on

general trade and food trade. Direct services provided to the population are insufficient and

do not meet required quality standards (including public health services and social

welfare). Tourism services are not fully developed.

The total value of foreign investment in the North-Eastern region is still modest compared

to the volume of investment at national level. Moreover, it is unevenly distributed, with high

levels in the counties of Iaºi and Bacãu and very low levels in the counties of Vaslui and

Botoºani.

Credit programmes with community co-financing for SMEs play a vital role in the

economic development of the region. These include the following:

� Phare ESC 2000 Programme – credit line for SMEs totalling �8.1 million for four

regions, among them the North-Eastern, with a maximum Phare contribution of 20% of

the project’s value;

� European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) – SME Finance Facility

Programme totalling �75 million, launched in 1999;

� EBRD Trade Facilities – programme providing support to importers and exporters

carrying out transactions in the EBRD operational zone;

� Rural Credit Guarantee Fund (in Romanian, FGCR), which guarantees a bank loan of

up to 70% for the food industry and agriculture;

� credits for micro-companies and SMEs from Phare sources with at least 20%

Romanian capital totalling a maximum of �500,000 over a six-year period, up to a

maximum of 85% of the investment value;

� capital credits with EBRD financing for SMEs with a turnover of less than �2 million to

finance the need for circulating capital for production, trade or provision of services

totalling a maximum of �125,000.

2.2 LABOUR MARKET

Workforce age structure

During the period 2001–02 (fourth quarter) the following occurred in the North-Eastern

region: the pre-active population fell by 0.5% (the decline was steeper in urban areas –

0.9%); the post-active population rose by 0.3%, with equal growth in urban and rural areas;

and the active population remained constant.

The inactive population per 100 individuals of working age fell by 0.4% (to 50.1% in the

fourth quarter of 2002), yet was still way above the national average (which was 45.2% in

the fourth quarter of 2002) (tables 21 and 22 – statistical data).

69

ANNEXES

In terms of this indicator the North-Eastern region comes first at national level, followed by

the South-Western (48.4%) and Southern (47.6%). The lowest positions are held by

Bucharest (38%), the Central and Western regions (each with 43.1%) and the

North-Western region (44%) (table 22 – statistical data). The highest values for this

indicator are found in rural areas (64.7%). Other regions with high values for this indicator

in rural areas are the South-Western, South-Eastern and Southern. In the case of urban

areas the corresponding value for this indicator in the North-Eastern region is 34.4%,

compared to the national average of 34.8% (table 22 – statistical data).

Employment

In the past decade across the North-Eastern region the percentage of the population who

were employed fell steadily. For instance, in the period 2001–02 (fourth quarter) only, the

employment rate at the national level fell from 50.7% to 44.5% (table 23 – statistical data).

The decrease in the employed population is the result of economic decline: many

companies with mainly state funding (with the largest number of employees) underwent

restructuring. This resulted in the cessation of certain activities and massive employee

lay-offs.

The rate of employment in the population aged 15 and over was 55.8% in the fourth

quarter of 2002, above the national average (51.7%). Compared to 2001 the rate

decreased by 8.1%. At national level in the same period (2001–02, fourth quarter), the

decrease in the employment rate in the population aged 15 and over was 6.4%. The

highest value for this indicator was registered in the fourth quarter of 2002 in the

South-Western region (56.4%), with the North-Eastern region in second place. The lowest

values during this period of time were recorded in Bucharest and the Central region of

Romania (table 23 – statistical data).

Of the total employed population (fourth quarter of 2002), the highest percentage (25.1%)

were those with education level ISCED 3C (vocational and apprenticeship schools),

followed by ISCED 2 (lower secondary education – 24.5%), ISCED 3A (high school and

the first stage, including technical education – 23.7%), ISCED 0–1 (primary school and

non-graduates of compulsory education – 16.4%), ISCED 5–6 (long- and short-term higher

education – 6.5%), ISCED 4 (post-high school and foremen education – 3.7%) (table 24 –

statistical data).

The distribution of the employed population in 2002 (fourth quarter) was as follows:

50.4% of the population were working in agriculture, the region ranking first at national

level (table 25 – statistical data). It was followed in order of percentage by the

South-Western and Southern regions, with the lowest position being held by the Central

region (26.3%); the national average of the population working in agriculture was 35.9%.

Compared to the situation in 2001, the percentage fell in all regions and at national level.

The percentage of the population working in industry was 23.2% in the North-Eastern

region, with this and the South-Western region (23.6%) ranking lowest in the country

overall. The highest positions were held by the Central region (40.6%), Bucharest (34.6%)

and the North-Western region (32.7%); the national average of the population working in

industry was 29.5%. Indicator values rose compared to those of 2001, both at national

level and in the development regions.

The percentage of the population working in services was 26.4%, with the North-Eastern

region holding the last but one position, just ahead of the South-Western region (26.3%).

The highest positions were held by Bucharest (63.3%), the Western region (38.7%) and

the South-Eastern region (38.2%); the national average of the population working in

services was 34.6%. The indicator values registered a growth at both national and regional

levels compared with the percentages for 2001.

70


Compared to the situation in 2001, the fourth quarter of 2002 showed structural changes in

terms of employment by sectors of the economy: agriculture lost 5.2% of the employed

population in favour of industry (2.8%) and services (2.4%).

Unemployment

The North-Eastern region is confronted with serious unemployment issues. The past

decade witnessed a constant rise in the number of people unemployed, as well as the

more and more acute incapacity of the mainly state-financed companies to adjust to the

demands of a market economy. Given the severe shortage of funds required for

technological upgrading and investment, many managers opted for an increase in

productivity through employee lay-offs. In areas with a mono-industrial structure (such as

the counties of Botoºani and Vaslui, and the mining areas of the counties of Bacãu and

Suceava), unemployment is still rising.

The unemployment trends in the period 1991–2001 indicate the existence of two cycles of

increase–decrease, with an inflexion point in 1996 (figure 1).

The rate of ILO unemployment in the North-Eastern region is above the national average

and has the highest value (10.6%) of all the regions. It is followed by the South-Western,

South-Eastern and Western regions. The lowest ILO unemployment rates are in Bucharest

and the North-Western region (table 5).

71

ANNEXES

Figure 1: Trends in the umemployment rate (%) by region

Table 5: ILO unemployed and the unemployment rate by regions, as of 1 January

2002

Civil active

population

(thousands)

Number of

unemployed

(thousands)

Unemployment rate

(%)

Total 9,389.4 826.9 8.8

North-Eastern 1,568.0 166.2 10.6

South-Eastern 1,187.5 116.8 9.8

Southern 1,393.9 123.5 8.9

South-Western 1,053.9 109.6 10.4

Western 893.6 84.8 9.5

North-Western 1,263.1 86.2 6.8

Central 1,143.1 98.3 8.6

Bucharest 886.3 41.5 4.7

Source: Balance of workforce as of 1 January 2002, NIS, 2002.

As of 1 January 2002 the unemployment average for the country was 8.8%, and for the

North-Eastern region 10.6%. The lowest rate within these regions was in Bacãu county

(8.2%), and the highest in Neamþ county (14.1%).

ANNEX 2: STATISTICAL DATA ON THE NATIONAL ANDREGIONAL CONTEXTS

Table 1: Main macro-economic trends, 1997–2002 (annual % change)

Indicators 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002

GDP -6.1 -4.8 -1.2 1.8 5.3 4.9

of which:

� Industry -8.0 -5.3 -1.5 6.2 7.9 -

� Agriculture -1.3 -10.4 3.3 -18.2 21.2 -

� Construction -19.3 -4.5 -2.3 6.3 5.2 -

� Transport -11.7 -13.7 -4.9 3.1 1.4 -

� Commerce -10.8 4.1 0.4 4.8 1.8 -

Gross fixed capital formation 1.7 -5.7 -4.8 4.6 6.6 -

Import (free-on-board) -1.4 5.0 -10.8 23.7 19.1 -

Export 4.3 -1.5 2.2 22.1 9.8 -

Inflation (%)

� end of the year 151.4 40.6 54.8 40.7 30.3 22.0

� average 154.8 59.1 45.8 45.7 34.5 -

Source: National Institute of Statistics.

72


Tab

le2:

Co

ntr

ibu

tio

no

fth

ep

rivate

secto

rto

eco

no

mic

acti

vit

y,tr

en

ds

by

secto

r(%

)

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

To

talco

ntr

ibu

tio

no

fp

rivate

secto

rto

GD

P16.4

23.6

26.4

34.8

38.9

45.3

54.9

60.6

61.4

63.7

65.5

67.1

Industr

y5.7

9.2

11.8

17.4

23.3

29.9

38.5

42.1

46.0

53.7

57.5

57.7

Agriculture

61.3

73.9

81.7

83.5

89.3

89.0

90.1

96.8

96.3

96.7

97.2

97.8

Constr

uction

1.9

16.1

21.0

26.8

51.6

57.8

69.3

76.6

79.3

81.9

80.9

81.1

Serv

ices

2.0

16.8

18.8

29.3

39.1

58.1

66.7

71.5

76.1

76.6

78.3

78.4

Export

free-o

n-b

oard

0.2

15.9

27.5

27.9

40.3

41.2

51.4

54.8

48.9

65.7

65.7

66.7

Import

free-o

n-b

oard

0.4

16.1

32.8

27.2

39.2

45.4

48.3

52.4

48.3

72.1

70.1

69.6

Investm

ents

4.3

8.1

15.6

26.0

36.8

39.3

39.7

35.4

40.5

50.5

58.3

…

Sourc

e:O

EC

DR

eport

,2002.

Tab

le3:

Str

uctu

reo

fp

op

ula

tio

nb

yw

ork

ing

ag

ean

dare

aat

1Ju

ly(i

nth

ou

san

ds)

1990

1994

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

(fo

urt

hq

uart

er)

To

tal

23,2

06.7

22,6

39.2

22,5

02.8

22,4

58.0

22,4

35.2

22,4

19.4

22,3

91.6

Pre

-work

ing

age*

5,8

67.3

4,8

02.7

4,3

00.2

4,2

15.0

4,0

98.1

4,0

16.5

3,8

94.6

Urb

an

are

a3,1

62.9

2,7

46.6

2,2

94.2

2,2

01.8

2,0

85.9

2,0

06.2

1,9

14.4

Rura

lare

a2,7

04.4

2,0

56.1

2,0

06.0

2,0

13.2

2,0

12.2

2,0

10.3

1,9

80.2

Work

ing

age**

15,0

69.9

15,2

71.0

15,3

18.5

15,3

15.2

15,3

51.6

15,3

70.4

15,4

18.1

Urb

an

are

a8,6

53.6

8,6

62.0

8,9

16.1

8,9

38.5

8,9

68.5

8,9

80.6

9,0

44.1

Rura

lare

a6,4

16.3

6,6

09.0

6,4

02.4

6,3

76.7

6,3

83.1

6,3

89.8

6,3

74.0

Post-

work

ing

age**

*2,2

69.5

2,5

65.5

2,8

84.1

2,9

27.8

2,9

85.5

3,0

32.5

3,0

78.9

73

ANNEXES

74


1990

1994

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

(fo

urt

hq

uart

er)

Urb

an

are

a784.8

1,0

18.9

1,1

37.6

1,1

62.4

1,1

90.2

1,2

13.9

1,2

30.9

Rura

lare

a1,4

84.7

1,6

37.6

1,7

46.5

1,7

65.4

1,7

95.3

1,8

18.6

1,8

47.9

Non-w

ork

ing

popula

tion

per

100

pers

ons

of

work

ing

age**

53.4

48.8

46.9

46.6

46.1

45.9

45.2

*0–14

years

**15–64

years

***

65

years

and

over

Sourc

e:D

ata

calc

ula

ted

usin

gth

esta

tistics

availa

ble

in:R

om

ania

nS

tatisticalY

earb

ook,

NIS

,B

uchare

st,

1991,1995,1999,2000;D

em

ogra

phic

Sta

tistics,

NIS

,2001;H

ousehold

Labour

Forc

e

Surv

ey

(AM

IGO

),N

IS,2001,2002

(fourt

hquart

er)

,2003.

Tab

le4:

Acti

ve

po

pu

lati

on

by

ag

eg

rou

pan

ded

ucati

on

alatt

ain

men

tin

2002,fo

urt

hq

uart

er

(in

tho

usan

ds)

ISC

ED

/

ag

eg

rou

p

To

tal

5–6

43A

3C

0–2

No

%N

o%

No

%N

o%

No

%N

o%

15–60+

10,3

88.5

100

1,0

31.4

9.9

471.6

4.5

3,1

63.4

30.5

2,5

84.8

24.9

3,1

37.2

30.2

15–24

1,2

99.6

100

56.4

4.3

32.1

2.5

409.9

31.5

344.9

26.5

456.2

35.1

25–34

3,0

61.1

100

367.2

12.0

150.0

4.9

1,2

93.4

42.3

825.2

27.0

425.4

13.9

35–49

3,5

43.7

100

411.0

11.6

170.8

4.8

1,2

57.1

35.5

1,0

59.9

29.9

644.9

18.2

50+

2,4

84.1

100

196.8

7.9

118.8

4.8

203.0

8.2

354.8

14.3

1,6

10.7

64.8

ISC

ED

level5–6:lo

ng-

and

short

-term

univ

ers

ity

(inclu

din

gM

BA

and

PhD

)

ISC

ED

level4:post-

hig

hschoolor

sim

ilar

ISC

ED

level3A

:hig

hschooland

hig

hschoolfirs

tcycle

(inclu

din

gte

chnolo

gic

alpro

file

s)

ISC

ED

level3C

:vocational,

com

ple

menta

ryor

appre

nticeship

schools

ISC

ED

level0–2:gym

nasia

,prim

ary

and

those

who

did

notgra

duate

from

school

Sourc

e:D

ata

calc

ula

ted

usin

gth

esta

tistics

availa

ble

inH

ousehold

Labour

Forc

eS

urv

ey

(AM

IGO

),2002,fo

urt

hquart

er,

NIS

,2003.

Tab

le5:

Acti

vit

yra

teb

yag

eg

rou

p,g

en

der

an

dare

ain

2002,fo

urt

hq

uart

er

(%)

Gen

der

an

dare

a

Ag

eg

rou

p

To

talp

op

ula

tio

no

ver

15

15–24

25–34

35–49

50–64

65

an

do

ver

To

tal

56.2

36.6

79.5

80.8

47.5

24.7

Male

63.9

41.8

87.5

88.2

55.7

28.6

Fem

ale

49.0

31.2

71.3

73.4

40.0

22.0

Urb

an

53.3

30.4

81.6

81.0

36.9

2.6

Rura

l59.8

45.4

76.7

80.3

59.3

39.5

Sourc

e:H

ousehold

Labour

Forc

eS

urv

ey

(AM

IGO

),2002,fo

urt

hquart

er,

NIS

,2003.

Tab

le6:

Em

plo

ym

en

tra

teb

yag

eg

rou

p,g

en

der

an

dare

ain

2002,fo

urt

hq

uart

er

(%)

Gen

der

an

dare

a

Ag

eg

rou

p

To

talp

op

ula

tio

no

ver

15

15–24

25–34

35–49

50–64

65

an

do

ver

To

tal

51.7

28.8

72.7

75.4

45.9

24.7

Male

58.4

32.6

79.8

82.2

53.1

28.5

Fem

ale

45.4

29.9

65.4

68.7

39.3

22.0

Urb

an

47.5

21.3

73.5

74.6

34.6

2.6

Rura

l56.9

39.5

71.6

76.9

58.4

39.5

Sourc

e:H

ousehold

Labour

Forc

eS

urv

ey

(AM

IGO

),2002,fo

urt

hquart

er,

NIS

,2003.

75

ANNEXES

Tab

le7:

Em

plo

yed

po

pu

lati

on

by

secto

ro

fth

eeco

no

my,2000–02,fo

urt

hq

uart

er

(%)

Secto

ro

feco

no

my

2000

2001

2002

fou

rth

qu

art

er

Agriculture

42.8

42.3

35.9

Industr

y26.2

26.2

29.5

Serv

ice

31.0

31.5

34.6

Sourc

e:D

ata

calc

ula

ted

usin

gth

esta

tistics

availa

ble

inH

ousehold

Labour

Forc

eS

urv

ey

(AM

IGO

),2000,2001,2002,fo

urt

hquart

er,

NIS

,2001,2002,2003.

Tab

le8:

Civ

ilem

plo

yed

po

pu

lati

on

by

secto

ro

fth

eeco

no

my,1990–2002,fo

urt

hq

uart

er

(%o

fto

talem

plo

yed

po

pu

lati

on

)

Secto

ro

feco

no

my

1990

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

fou

rth

qu

art

er

Agriculture

,fishin

gand

fore

str

y29.0

34.4

35.4

37.5

38.0

41.2

41.4

41.5

35.9

Industr

y,ofw

hic

h:

36.9

28.6

29.2

27.1

26.3

24.4

23.2

23.2

24.8

�M

inin

gand

quarr

yin

g2.4

2.6

2.7

2.0

1.9

1.7

1.6

1.6

1.4

�M

anufa

ctu

ring

33.3

24.2

24.5

23.0

22.3

20.6

19.6

19.6

21.4

�E

lectr

icity

and

therm

alenerg

y,

gas

and

wate

r1.2

1.8

2.0

2.1

2.1

2.1

2.0

2.0

2.0

Constr

uction

6.5

5.1

5.1

4.9

4.4

4.0

4.1

4.1

4.6

Com

merc

e5.0

9.1

8.2

8.9

9.5

9.0

9.0

9.1

10.0

Hote

lsand

resta

ura

nts

1.7

1.3

1.2

1.5

1.1

1.2

1.1

0.9

1.2

Tra

nsport

and

com

munic

ation

7.1

5.8

5.9

5.6

5.2

4.8

4.8

4.8

5.0

Fin

ance/b

ankin

gand

insura

nce

activitie

s0.4

0.7

0.8

0.8

0.9

0.8

0.9

0.8

0.8

Realesta

teand

oth

er

serv

ices

3.6

3.4

2.7

2.2

2.8

2.8

3.1

3.3

1.5

Public

adm

inis

tration

and

arm

y0.8

1.4

1.3

1.4

1.5

1.7

1.7

1.7

6.1

76


Secto

ro

feco

no

my

1990

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

fou

rth

qu

art

er

Education

3.8

4.6

4.7

4.7

4.8

5.1

4.9

4.8

4.2

Health

and

socia

lassis

tance

3.0

3.5

3.6

3.5

3.6

3.3

4.0

3.9

3.7

Oth

er

serv

ices

*2.3

2.1

1.9

1.9

1.9

1.7

1.8

1.9

2.1

*In

clu

din

gfishin

g

Sourc

es:D

ata

calc

ula

ted

usin

gth

esta

tistics

availa

ble

inR

om

ania

nS

tatisticalY

earb

ook,1991–99,W

ork

forc

ebala

nce

at1

January

2000,2002;H

ousehold

Labour

Forc

eS

urv

ey

(AM

IGO

),N

IS,

2000,2003.

Tab

le9:

Dis

trib

uti

on

of

em

plo

yed

po

pu

lati

on

by

occu

pati

on

alg

rou

p,2000–02

Occu

pati

on

alg

rou

p2000

2001

2002

fou

rth

qu

art

er

No

%N

o%

No

%

To

talem

plo

yed

po

pu

lati

on

10,7

63,7

61

100.0

9,8

08,2

12

100.0

9,5

59,6

93

100.0

Managers

and

hig

her

executives

inpublic

adm

inis

tration

and

socio

-econom

icunits

233,4

52

2.2

232,5

64

2.2

253,1

80

2.6

Specia

lists

inin

telle

ctu

aland

scie

ntific

occupations

687,6

31

6.4

684,9

25

6.4

680,9

11

7.1

Technic

ians,superv

isors

and

sim

ilar

873,5

94

8.1

888,7

10

8.3

860,0

17

9.0

Adm

inis

trative

cle

rks

418,1

01

3.9

400,1

46

3.7

394,3

09

4.1

Opera

tors

inserv

ices,tr

ade

and

sim

ilar

730,9

17

6.8

768,2

08

7.2

802,4

24

8.4

Qualif

ied

work

ers

inagriculture

,fo

restr

yand

fishin

g4,2

72,7

59

39.7

4,0

91,2

42

38.2

3,1

01,2

25

32.4

Cra

fts

work

ers

and

those

qualif

ied

incottage

industr

ycra

fts,adju

stm

entand

main

tenance

ofm

achin

ery

and

insta

llations

1,7

72,7

42

16.5

1,7

19,4

39

16.1

1,7

21,4

54

18.1

Oth

ers

1,7

74,5

65

16.5

1,9

11,6

88

17.9

1,7

46,1

72

18.2

Sourc

e:H

ousehold

Labour

Surv

ey

(AM

IGO

),2000,2001,2002,fo

urt

hquart

er,

NIS

,2001,2003.

77

ANNEXES

Tab

le10:

Em

plo

ym

en

tstr

uctu

reb

yp

rofe

ssio

nalsta

tus,1996–2002

(%)

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

fou

rth

qu

art

er

Em

plo

yee

62.4

61.1

59.7

57.8

56.1

55.8

62.3

Em

plo

yer

1.3

1.3

1.2

1.0

1.1

1.2

1.4

Self-e

mplo

yed

19.8

20.1

21.0

22.1

23.1

23.6

21.9

Unpaid

fam

ilyw

ork

er

16.0

17.1

17.8

18.7

19.3

19.1

14.2

Mem

ber

ofan

agricultura

lhold

ing

or

of

acoopera

tive

0.5

0.4

0.3

0.4

0.4

0.3

0.1

Sourc

e:D

ata

calc

ula

ted

usin

gth

esta

tistics

availa

ble

inH

ousehold

Labour

Forc

eS

urv

ey

(AM

IGO

),1996–2002,fo

urt

hquart

er,

NIS

,1997–2003.

Tab

le11:

Reg

iste

red

un

em

plo

yed

an

dIL

Ou

nem

plo

ym

en

t,1991–2002,fo

urt

hq

uart

er

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

fou

rth

qu

art

er

Reg

iste

red

un

em

plo

ym

en

t

Unem

plo

yed

(thousands)

337.4

929.0

1,1

64.7

1,2

23.9

998.4

657.6

881.4

1,0

25.1

1,1

30.3

1,0

07.1

826.9

929.7

Unem

plo

ym

entra

te(%

)3.0

8.2

10.4

10.9

9.5

6.6

8.9

10.4

11.8

10.5

8.6

9.6

Un

em

plo

ym

en

tacco

rdin

gto

LF

S–IL

Od

efi

nit

ion

Unem

plo

yed

(thousands)

--

-971.0

967.9

790.8

706.4

732.4

790

821.2

750.0

828.8

ILO

unem

plo

ym

entra

te(%

)-

--

8.2

8.0

6.7

6.0

6.3

6.8

7.1

6.6

8.0

Sourc

e:D

ata

calc

ula

ted

usin

gth

esta

tistics

availa

ble

inR

om

ania

nN

ationalR

eport

on

Hum

an

Develo

pm

ent2001–02,U

ND

P,2002;H

ousehold

Labour

Forc

eS

urv

ey

(AM

IGO

)2001,2002,fourt

h

quart

er,

NIS

,2002;S

tatisticalB

ulle

tin

inth

efield

ofla

bour

and

socia

lsolid

arity

No

3/2

002,M

inis

try

ofLabour,

Socia

lS

olid

arity

and

Fam

ily,2001.

78


79

ANNEXES

Tab

le12:

ILO

un

em

plo

yed

(pre

vio

usly

em

plo

yed

)an

du

nem

plo

ym

en

tra

te,b

yeco

no

mic

secto

ro

fth

ela

st

wo

rkp

lace,2000–01

Eco

no

mic

secto

r

2000

2001

Acti

ve

po

pu

lati

on

(in

tho

usan

ds)

ILO

un

em

plo

yed

(pre

vio

usly

em

plo

yed

)1

(in

tho

usan

ds)

Un

em

plo

ym

en

tra

te(%

)A

cti

ve

po

pu

lati

on

(in

tho

usan

ds)

ILO

un

em

plo

yed

(pre

vio

usly

em

plo

yed

)1

(in

tho

usan

ds)

Un

em

plo

ym

en

tra

te(%

)

To

tal

11,2

64.3

500.5

4.3

11,1

48.5

451.5

3.9

Agriculture

4,6

04.8

59.9

1.3

4,5

35.0

63.8

1.4

Silv

iculture

,fo

restr

yand

hunting

55.2

**

53.6

**

Fis

hin

g8.8

**

4.0

**

Min

ing

and

quarr

yin

g177.3

14.0

7.9

160.9

11.0

6.8

Manufa

ctu

ring

2,2

54.6

200.8

8.9

2,1

99.7

174.9

7.9

Ele

ctr

icity

and

therm

alenerg

y,gas

and

wate

r208.2

12.4

6.0

206.7

7.8

3.8

Constr

uction

446.5

43.0

9.6

468.7

38.7

8.2

Com

merc

e1,0

02.0

73.6

7.3

1,0

11.4

59.5

8.3

Hote

lsand

resta

ura

nts

137.6

14.8

10.7

146.6

15.7

10.7

Tra

nsport

and

sto

rage

423.8

23.4

5.5

432.2

23.0

5.3

Postand

tele

com

munic

ation

113.2

2.4

2.1

112.9

2.6

2.3

Fin

ance/b

ankin

gand

insura

nce

activitie

s95.5

2.9

3.0

79.5

3.6

4.5

Realesta

teand

oth

er

serv

ices

137.0

4.5

3.3

131.0

6.8

5.2

Public

adm

inis

tration

584.0

20.9

3.6

600.1

18.7

3.1

Education

422.8

7.7

1.8

416.5

7.2

1.7

Health

and

socia

lassis

tance

352.6

6.8

1.9

356.5

5.9

1.6

Oth

er

activitie

sofnationaleconom

y240.4

10.8

4.5

233.2

10.3

4.4

1E

xclu

din

gunem

plo

yed

people

who

sto

pped

work

ing

atle

asteig

htyears

ago.

Sourc

e:D

ata

calc

ula

ted

usin

gth

esta

tistics

availa

ble

inH

ousehold

Labour

Forc

eS

urv

ey

(AM

IGO

),2000,2001,N

IS,2001,2002.

79

ANNEXES

80


Tab

le13:

ILO

un

em

plo

ym

en

tra

teb

yag

eg

rou

p,1996–2002,fo

urt

hq

uart

er

(%)

Year

To

tal

Ag

eg

rou

p

15–24

25–34

35–49

50

an

do

ver

1996

6.7

20.2

7.1

4.4

1.1

1997

6.0

18.0

6.6

4.1

1.0

1998

6.3

18.3

6.8

4.9

1.0

1999

6.8

18.8

7.5

5.7

1.3

2000

7.1

18.6

7.8

6.3

1.6

2001

6.6

17.5

7.2

5.9

1.5

2002

(fourt

hquart

er)

8.0

21.2

8.5

6.6

2.4

Sourc

e:D

ata

calc

ula

ted

usin

gth

esta

tistics

availa

ble

inH

ousehold

Labour

Forc

eS

urv

ey

(AM

IGO

),2001,2002,fo

urt

hquart

er,

NIS

,2002,2003.

Tab

le14:

ILO

un

em

plo

ym

en

tra

teb

yag

eg

rou

pan

datt

ain

men

tle

velin

2002,fo

urt

hq

uart

er

(in

tho

usan

ds)

To

tal

ISC

ED

5–6

ISC

ED

4IS

CE

D3A

ISC

ED

3C

ISC

ED

2–0

Acti

ve

po

pu

lati

on

Un

em

plo

ym

en

t

Un

em

plo

ym

en

tra

te(%

)

Acti

ve

po

pu

lati

on

Un

em

plo

ym

en

t

Un

em

plo

ym

en

tra

te(%

)

Acti

ve

po

pu

lati

on

Un

em

plo

ym

en

t

Un

em

plo

ym

en

tra

te(%

)

Acti

ve

po

pu

lati

on

Un

em

plo

ym

en

t

Un

em

plo

ym

en

tra

te(%

)

Acti

ve

po

pu

lati

on

Un

em

plo

ym

en

t

Un

em

plo

ym

en

tra

te(%

)

Acti

ve

po

pu

lati

on

Un

em

plo

ym

en

t

Un

em

plo

ym

en

tra

te(%

)

15–60+

10,3

88.5

828.8

8.0

1,0

31.4

53.1

5.1

471.7

22.9

4.9

3,1

63.4

285.0

9.0

2,5

84.8

260.8

10.1

3,1

37.2

207.0

6.6

15–24

1,2

99.6

276.1

21.2

56.4

17.3

30.6

32.1

6.6

20.6

409.9

94.8

23.1

344.9

81.5

23.6

456.2

75.9

16.6

25–34

3,0

61.1

260.5

8.5

367.2

24.6

6.7

150.0

5.6

3.7

1,2

93.4

96.3

7.4

825.2

79.0

9.3

425.4

55.0

12.9

35–49

3,5

43.7

233.8

6.6

411.0

10.7

2.6

170.8

7.2

4.2

1,2

57.1

82.7

6.6

1,0

59.9

82.3

7.8

644.9

50.8

7.9

50+

2,4

84.1

58.4

2.4

196.8

0.5

0.3

118.8

3.5

2.9

203.0

11.1

5.5

354.8

18.0

5.1

1,6

10.7

25.3

1.6

ISC

ED

level5–6:lo

ng-

and

short

-term

univ

ers

ity

(inclu

din

gM

BA

and

PhD

)

level4:post-

hig

hschoolor

sim

ilar

level3A

:hig

hschooland

hig

hschoolfirs

tcycle

(inclu

din

gte

chnolo

gic

alpro

file

s)

level3C

:vocational,

com

ple

menta

ryor

appre

nticeship

schools

level0–2:gym

nasia

,prim

ary

and

those

who

did

notgra

duate

from

school

Sourc

e:D

ata

calc

ula

ted

usin

gth

esta

tistics

availa

ble

inH

ousehold

Labour

Forc

eS

urv

ey

(AM

IGO

),2002,fo

urt

hquart

er,

NIS

,2003.

81

ANNEXES

Tab

le15:

Po

pu

lati

on

by

gen

der

an

dare

a–

at

1Ju

ly,1990–2002

(in

tho

usan

ds)

To

tal

Urb

an

Ru

ral

To

tal

MF

To

tal

MF

To

tal

MF

1990

23,2

06.7

11,4

49.1

11,7

57.6

12,6

08.8

6,1

84.8

6,4

24.0

10,5

97.9

5,2

64.4

5,3

33.5

1994

22,7

30.6

11,1

56.8

11,5

73.8

12,4

27.6

6,0

37.1

6,3

90.5

10,3

03.0

5,1

19.7

5,1

83.3

1999

22,4

58.0

10,9

84.5

11,4

73.5

12,3

02.7

5,9

43.7

6,3

59.0

10,1

55.3

5,0

40.8

5,1

14.5

2000

22,4

35.2

10,9

68.9

11,4

66.4

12,2

44.6

5,9

07.8

6,3

36.8

10,1

90.6

5,0

61.0

5,1

29.6

2001

22,4

08.4

10,9

49.5

11,4

58.9

12,1

95.0

5,8

77.4

6,3

17.6

10,2

13.4

5,0

72.1

5,1

41.3

2002*

21,6

80.9

10,5

68.7

11,1

12.2

11,4

35.0

5,4

93.3

5,9

41.6

10,2

45.8

5,0

75.3

5,1

70.5

*P

relim

inary

data

from

popula

tion

census

as

at18

Marc

h2002

Sourc

e:N

ationalIn

stitu

teofS

tatistics,2002.

Tab

le16:

Gro

ss

ad

ded

valu

ean

dp

rod

ucti

vit

y/e

mp

loyed

pers

on

at

reg

ion

alan

dn

ati

on

alle

vels

,1998–2000

(1995

ES

Am

eth

od

olo

gy)

1998

1999

2000

GA

VP

rod

ucti

vit

y/e

mp

loyed

pers

on

(millio

nle

i)G

AV

Pro

du

cti

vit

y/e

mp

loyed

pers

on

(millio

nle

i)G

AV

Pro

du

cti

vit

y/e

mp

loyed

pers

on

(millio

nle

i)

Reg

ion

alle

vel

Industr

y13,5

75.0

4.4

115,9

56

5.6

025,5

77

9.4

8

Agriculture

9,3

80.7

1.4

312,5

70

1.8

315,4

04

2.1

7

Constr

uction

2,1

92.0

4.4

92,5

11

5.8

74,3

70

9.3

0

Tra

nsport

2,8

22.1

7.2

44,0

21

12.7

26,0

00

17.7

0

Nati

on

alle

vel

Industr

y98,2

13

4.2

4135,3

44

6.5

9219,4

80

10.9

5

Agriculture

52,2

12

1.5

870,4

56

2.0

685,1

01

2.4

2

Constr

uction

19,0

29

4.8

727,3

77

8.0

939,2

87

11.1

2

Tra

nsport

23,8

62

6.6

133,9

83

10.9

750,0

48

15.3

6

Sourc

e:R

om

ania

nS

tatisticalY

earb

ook,N

IS,2002.

Tab

le17:

Dis

trib

uti

on

of

co

mp

an

ies

inth

eN

ort

h-E

aste

rnre

gio

nb

yg

ross

investm

en

ts,b

usin

ess

an

dsta

fftu

rno

ver,

2000–01

Siz

eo

fth

eco

mp

an

y

(em

plo

yees)

0–9

10–49

50–249

over

249

To

tal

2000

2001

2000

2001

2000

2001

2000

2001

2000

2001

Num

ber

ofunits

31,6

66

32,0

07

3,7

21

3,8

45

994

1,0

45

307

302

36,6

88

37,1

99

Busin

ess

turn

over

(bill

ion

leicurr

entprices)

18,9

89

31,3

54

29,2

00

35,5

19

21,8

87

36,9

06

48,3

00

75,6

86

118,3

76

179,4

65

Busin

ess

turn

over

(mill

ion

US

D)

875

1,0

78

1,3

46

1,2

22

1,0

08

1,2

69

2,2

26

2,6

04

5,4

57

6,1

75

Sta

fftu

rnover

64,5

75

71,4

93

76,4

50

74,8

02

105,2

09

110,6

23

241,1

95

235,4

21

487,4

29

492,3

39

Gro

ss

investm

ents

(bill

ion

leicurr

entprices)

1,1

52

2,0

44

2,3

21

2,9

47

2,6

47

3,8

12

8,2

45

12,5

21

14,3

65

21,3

24

Gro

ss

investm

ents

(mill

ion

EU

RO

)50.9

58.6

583.5

954.9

8119.7

3107.7

11,1

96.4

11,3

00.1

51,4

50.6

81,4

71.4

9

%ofto

talnum

ber

ofunits

inth

ere

gio

n86.3

086.0

010.1

010.3

02.7

02.8

00.8

00.8

0100.0

0100.0

0

%ofto

taltu

rnover

ofre

gio

n16.0

017.5

024.7

019.8

018.5

020.6

040.8

042.2

0100.0

0100.0

0

%ofto

talem

plo

yees

inre

gio

n13.2

014.5

015.7

015.2

021.6

022.5

049.5

047.8

0100.0

0100.0

0

%ofto

talgro

ss

investm

ents

inre

gio

n8.0

29.5

916.1

613.8

218.4

317.8

857.4

058.7

2100.0

0100.0

0

Sourc

e:R

om

ania

nS

tatisticalY

earb

ook,N

IS,2001,2002.

82


Tab

le18:

Str

uctu

reo

flo

calu

nit

sb

yeco

no

mic

acti

vit

yan

dsiz

e,in

2001

Eco

no

my

acti

vit

yT

ota

lN

um

ber

of

em

plo

yees

Sh

are

of

un

its

(%)

0–9

10–49

50–249

>250

0–9

10–249

>250

No

rth

-Easte

rn37,1

99

32,0

07

3,8

45

1,0

45

302

100.0

0100.0

0100.0

0

Min

ing

and

quarr

yin

g61

25

14

12

10

0.0

80.5

33.3

1

Manufa

ctu

ring

6,0

68

4,0

57

1,2

81

543

187

12.6

837.3

061.9

2

Ele

ctr

icity

and

therm

alenerg

y,gas

and

wate

r51

38

16

24

0.0

10.4

97.9

5

Constr

uction

1,4

50

896

352

175

27

2.8

010.7

88.9

4

Com

merc

e,re

pair

and

main

tenance

23,7

70

21,9

60

1,6

56

145

968.6

136.8

32.9

8

Hote

lsand

resta

ura

nts

1,2

50

1,0

77

139

34

03.3

63.5

40.0

0

Tra

nsport

and

sto

rage

1,3

11

1,1

33

112

42

24

3.5

43.1

57.9

5

Postand

tele

com

munic

ations

150

99

32

613

0.3

10.7

84.3

0

Realesta

tetr

ansactions,re

nting

and

serv

ice

activitie

spro

vid

ed

toente

rprises

1,9

57

1,7

36

168

47

65.4

24.4

01.9

9

Education

71

60

11

00

0.1

90.2

20.0

0

Health

and

socia

lassis

tance

395

382

13

00

1.1

90.2

70.0

0

Oth

er

colle

ctive,socia

land

pers

onal

serv

ices

665

579

59

25

21.8

11.7

20.6

6

Nati

on

alle

vel

317,5

55

275,4

10

31,5

73

8,1

66

2,4

06

100.0

0100.0

0100.0

0

Min

ing

and

quarr

yin

g550

192

148

82

128

0.0

70.5

85.3

2

Manufa

ctu

ring

43,8

39

29,5

36

9,2

30

3,7

82

1,2

91

10.7

232.7

453.6

6

Ele

ctr

icity

and

therm

alenerg

y,gas

and

wate

r465

72

81

143

169

0.0

30.5

67.0

2

Constr

uction

14,7

96

10,0

87

3,1

89

1,2

86

234

3.6

611.2

69.7

3

Com

merc

e,re

pair

and

main

tenance

195,6

40

180,8

92

13,3

15

1,3

29

104

65.6

836.8

54.3

2

Hote

lsand

resta

ura

nts

10,5

68

9,0

80

1,3

27

226

25

3.3

03.9

11.0

4

83

ANNEXES

84


Eco

no

my

acti

vit

yT

ota

lN

um

ber

of

em

plo

yees

Sh

are

of

un

its

(%)

0–9

10–49

50–249

>250

0–9

10–249

>250

Tra

nsport

and

sto

rage

14,7

33

12,7

48

1,3

40

431

214

4.6

34.4

68.8

9

Postand

tele

com

munic

ations

1,4

42

1,0

49

244

56

93

0.3

80.7

53.8

7

Realesta

tetr

ansactions,re

nting

and

serv

ice

activitie

spro

vid

ed

toente

rprises

24,3

47

21,6

09

2,0

36

588

114

7.8

56.6

04.7

4

Education

643

575

62

60

0.2

10.1

70.0

0

Health

and

socia

lassis

tance

4,0

69

3,9

20

135

13

11.4

20.3

70.0

4

Oth

er

colle

ctive,socia

land

pers

onal

serv

ices

6,4

63

5,6

50

556

224

33

2.0

51.9

61.3

7

Sourc

e:

Rom

ania

nS

tatisticalY

earb

ook,N

IS,2002.

Tab

le19:

Levelo

fp

rod

ucti

on

by

develo

pm

en

tre

gio

nan

deco

no

mic

acti

vit

y,in

2000

To

tal

No

rth

-

Easte

rn

So

uth

-

Easte

rnS

ou

thern

So

uth

-

Weste

rnW

este

rnN

ort

h-

Weste

rnC

en

tral

Bu

ch

are

st

Ag

ricu

ltu

re

bill

ion

lei

85,1

00

15,4

03

12,8

32

13,1

92

10,0

89

8,4

88

12,6

55

11,2

52

1,1

87

%100.0

018.1

015.0

815.5

011.8

69.9

714.8

713.2

21.3

9

Ind

ustr

y

bill

ion

lei

219,0

54

25,5

77

25,5

47

30,7

33

24,6

97

20,7

38

23,7

28

33,5

35

34,4

99

%100.0

011.6

511.6

414.0

011.2

59.4

510.8

115.2

815.7

2

Co

nstr

ucti

on

bill

ion

lei

39,2

87

4,3

69

5,6

48

4,4

83

4,1

30

3,9

60

3,9

27

4,1

68

8,5

98

%100.0

011.1

214.3

811.4

110.5

110.0

810.0

010.6

121.8

9

To

tal

No

rth

-

Easte

rn

So

uth

-

Easte

rnS

ou

thern

So

uth

-

Weste

rnW

este

rnN

ort

h-

Weste

rnC

en

tral

Bu

ch

are

st

Co

mm

erc

e,h

ote

lsan

dre

sta

ura

nts

bill

ion

lei

101,4

06

10,1

24

11,0

84

10,6

96

7,2

69

8,4

73

10,7

69

12,5

80

30,4

09

%100.0

09.9

810.9

310.5

57.1

78.3

610.6

212.4

129.9

9

Tra

nsp

ort

bill

ion

lei

50,0

47

6,0

00

6,3

18

6,4

09

4,2

79

5,9

01

6,6

27

6,0

32

8,4

79

%100.0

011.9

912.6

212.8

18.5

511.7

913.2

412.0

516.9

4

Po

st

an

dte

leco

mm

un

icati

on

bill

ion

lei

30,3

05

2,8

71

2,8

88

2,5

25

1,7

26

2,3

55

2,8

64

2,8

46

12,2

26

%100.0

09.4

79.5

38.3

35.7

07.7

79.4

59.3

940.3

4

Fin

an

cia

l,b

an

kin

gan

din

su

ran

ce

acti

vit

ies

bill

ion

lei

12,3

63

1,0

49

1,0

39

1,0

26

721

834

1,1

79

1,2

94

5,2

19

%100.0

08.4

88.4

08.3

05.8

36.7

59.5

410.4

742.2

1

Realesta

tean

do

ther

serv

ices

bill

ion

lei

104,3

78

9,4

73

9,2

78

9,3

59

6,8

84

9,5

02

14,1

37

10,3

54

35,3

88

%100.0

09.0

88.8

98.9

76.6

09.1

013.5

49.9

233.9

0

Pu

blic

ad

min

istr

ati

on

bill

ion

lei

34,3

48

3,8

80

3,6

37

4,2

66

3,4

34

3,0

78

3,5

70

3,3

88

9,0

95

%100.0

011.2

110.5

112.3

39.9

38.9

010.3

29.7

926.2

9

Ed

ucati

on

bill

ion

lei

23,2

60

4,0

11

2,5

36

2,7

34

2,4

12

2,1

64

3,3

79

2,9

85

3,0

36

%100.0

017.2

410.9

011.7

510.3

79.3

014.5

312.8

313.0

5

Healt

han

dso

cia

lassis

tan

ce

bill

ion

lei

15,7

64

2,4

09

1,9

63

1,8

98

1,6

23

1,5

32

2,0

87

1,9

42

2,3

09

%100.0

015.2

812.4

512.0

410.3

09.7

213.2

412.3

214.6

5

Sourc

e:R

om

ania

nS

tatistic

Yearb

ook,N

IS,2002.

85

ANNEXES

Tab

le20:

Vo

lum

eo

fw

oo

dh

arv

este

dat

nati

on

alan

dN

ort

h-E

aste

rnre

gio

nle

vels

,in

2001

(in

tho

usan

dcu

bic

metr

es)

Terr

ito

rialu

nit

To

tal

Co

nif

ero

us

Beech

Oak

Vari

ou

sh

ard

sp

ecie

s

Vari

ou

sso

ft

sp

ecie

s

Nationalle

vel

13,4

10

4,9

15

4,2

60

1,2

87

1,6

73

1,2

73

Nort

h-E

ast

3,5

21

1,8

52

909

123

349

296

Bacãu

694

237

328

24

60

44

Boto

ºani

128

121

23

47

36

Iaºi

251

3.4

32

25

89

101

Neam

þ854

480

274

17

50

33

Suceava

1,4

33

1,1

30

229

19

47

16

Vaslu

i160

022

15

56

69

Sourc

es:R

om

ania

nS

tatisticalY

earb

ook,N

IS,2002.

Tab

le21:

Str

uctu

reo

fth

ep

op

ula

tio

nb

yw

ork

ing

ag

eat

nati

on

alan

dre

gio

nalle

vels

,b

yare

a,in

2001

To

tal

Pre

-wo

rkin

gag

eW

ork

ing

ag

eP

ost-

wo

rkin

gag

eN

on

-wo

rkin

gp

op

ula

tio

n/

100

pers

on

so

fw

ork

ing

ag

e

No

inth

ou

san

ds

%N

oin

tho

usan

ds

%N

oin

tho

usan

ds

%N

oin

tho

usan

ds

%N

oin

tho

usan

ds

%

Nationalle

vel

22,4

19.4

100.0

4,0

16.5

17.9

15,3

70.4

68.6

3,0

32.5

13.5

7,0

49.0

45.9

Urb

an

12,2

00.8

54.4

2,0

06.3

16.4

8,9

80.6

73.6

1,2

13.9

9.9

3,2

20.1

35.9

Rura

l10,2

18.7

45.6

2,0

10.3

19.7

6,3

89.8

62.5

1,8

18.6

17.8

3,8

28.9

59.9

Nort

h-E

aste

rn3,8

48.3

100.0

795.0

20.7

2,5

57.3

66.5

496.0

12.9

1,2

91.0

50.5

Urb

an

1,6

61.6

43.2

303.8

18.3

1,2

25.8

73.8

131.9

7.9

435.8

17.0

Rura

l2,1

86.8

56.8

491.2

22.5

1,3

31.5

60.9

364.1

16.7

855.3

64.2

86


To

tal

Pre

-wo

rkin

gag

eW

ork

ing

ag

eP

ost-

wo

rkin

gag

eN

on

-wo

rkin

gp

op

ula

tio

n/

100

pers

on

so

fw

ork

ing

ag

e

No

inth

ou

san

ds

%N

oin

tho

usan

ds

%N

oin

tho

usan

ds

%N

oin

tho

usan

ds

%N

oin

tho

usan

ds

%

South

-Easte

rn2,9

43.5

100.0

530.5

18.0

2,0

30.0

69.0

382.0

13.0

912.4

44.9

Urb

an

1,6

66.6

56.6

274.7

16.5

1,2

38.5

74.3

153.5

9.2

428.2

34.6

Rura

l1,2

75.8

43.3

255.8

20.0

791.6

62.0

228.5

17.9

484.3

61.2

South

ern

3,4

75.3

100.0

611.9

17.6

2,3

44.2

67.5

519.2

14.9

1,1

31.1

48.3

Urb

an

1,4

47.7

41.7

241.7

16.7

1,0

73.4

74.1

132.6

9.2

374.3

34.9

Rura

l2,0

27.6

58.3

370.2

18.3

1,2

70.8

62.7

386.6

19.1

756.8

59.6

South

-Weste

rn2,4

06.9

100.0

429.2

17.8

1,6

16.2

67.1

361.4

15.0

790.7

48.9

Urb

an

1,0

90.2

45.3

187.3

17.2

812.2

74.5

90.5

8.3

277.9

34.2

Rura

l1,3

16.7

54.7

241.9

18.4

803.8

61.1

270.9

20.6

512.8

63.8

Weste

rn2,0

21.8

100.0

346.9

17.2

1,4

06.9

69.6

268.0

13.3

614.9

43.7

Urb

an

1,2

62.4

62.4

211.3

16.7

917.6

72.7

133.5

10.6

344.8

37.6

Rura

l759.4

37.6

135.6

17.9

489.3

64.4

134.6

17.7

270.1

55.2

Nort

h-W

este

rn2,8

38.4

100.0

523.5

18.4

1,9

57.1

69.0

357.8

12.6

881.3

45.0

Urb

an

1,4

85.1

52.3

258.4

17.4

1,0

92.9

73.6

133.8

9.0

392.2

35.9

Rura

l1,3

53.3

47.7

265.0

19.6

864.2

63.9

224.1

16.6

489.1

56.6

Centr

al

2,6

37.6

100.0

471.0

17.9

1,8

35.7

69.6

330.8

12.5

801.8

43.7

Urb

an

1,5

84.5

60.1

261.5

16.5

1,1

65.4

73.6

157.6

9.9

419.1

36.0

Rura

l1,0

53.1

39.9

209.5

19.9

670.3

63.7

173.2

16.5

382.8

57.1

Buchare

st

2,2

48.7

100.0

308.5

13.7

1,6

23.0

72.2

317.2

14.1

625.7

38.6

Urb

an

2,0

02.7

89.1

267.4

13.4

1,4

54.6

72.6

280.6

14.0

548.0

37.7

Rura

l246.0

10.9

41.1

16.7

168.4

68.4

36.6

14.9

77.7

46.1

Sourc

e:D

ata

calc

ula

ted

usin

gth

ein

form

ation

from

Household

Labour

Forc

eS

urv

ey

(AM

IGO

),2001,N

IS,2002.

87

ANNEXES

Tab

le22:

Str

uctu

reo

fp

op

ula

tio

nb

yw

ork

ing

ag

eat

nati

on

alan

dre

gio

nalle

vels

,b

yare

a,in

2002

(fo

urt

hq

uart

er)

To

tal

Pre

-wo

rkin

gag

eW

ork

ing

ag

eP

ost-

wo

rkin

gag

eN

on

-wo

rkin

gp

op

ula

tio

n/

100

pers

on

so

fw

ork

ing

ag

e

No

inth

ou

san

ds

%N

oin

tho

usan

ds

%N

oin

tho

usan

ds

%N

oin

tho

usan

ds

%N

oin

tho

usan

ds

%

Nationalle

vel

22,3

91.7

100.0

3,8

94.6

17.4

15,4

18.1

68.9

3,0

78.9

13.8

6,9

73.5

45.2

Urb

an

12,1

89.5

54.4

1,9

14.4

15.7

9,0

44.1

74.2

1,2

30.9

10.1

3,1

45.4

34.8

Rura

l10,2

02.2

45.6

1,9

80.2

19.4

6,3

74.0

62.5

1,8

48.0

18.1

3,8

28.1

60.1

Nort

h-E

aste

rn3,8

51.9

100.0

778.0

20.2

2,5

66.5

66.6

507.4

13.2

1,2

85.4

50.1

Urb

an

1,6

61.2

43.1

289.3

17.4

1,2

36.1

74.4

135.8

8.2

425.1

34.4

Rura

l2,1

90.7

56.9

488.7

22.3

1,3

30.4

60.7

371.6

17.0

860.3

64.7

South

-Easte

rn2,9

39.4

100.0

514.4

17.5

2,0

36.1

69.3

388.8

13.2

903.2

44.4

Urb

an

1,6

64.7

56.6

262.6

15.8

1,2

42.8

74.7

159.3

9.6

421.9

33.9

Rura

l1,2

74.6

43.4

251.8

19.8

793.3

62.2

229.5

18.0

481.3

60.7

South

ern

3,4

64.5

100.0

587.3

17.0

2,3

47.9

67.8

529.3

15.3

1,1

16.6

47.6

Urb

an

1,4

44.2

41.7

223.6

15.5

1,0

89.9

75.5

130.7

9.1

354.3

32.5

Rura

l2,0

20.2

58.3

363.7

18.0

1,2

57.9

62.3

398.6

19.7

762.3

60.6

South

-Weste

rn2,4

00.5

100.0

417.2

17.4

1,6

17.4

67.4

365.9

15.2

783.0

48.4

Urb

an

1,0

90.5

45.4

180.0

16.5

817.5

75.0

92.9

8.5

273.0

33.4

Rura

l1,3

10.0

54.6

237.1

18.1

799.9

61.1

272.9

20.8

510.1

63.8

Weste

rn2,0

18.8

100.0

337.2

16.7

1,4

10.9

69.9

270.8

13.4

607.9

43.1

Urb

an

1,2

60.9

62.5

204.3

16.2

921.3

73.1

135.3

10.7

339.6

36.9

Rura

l757.9

37.5

132.9

17.5

489.6

64.6

135.4

17.9

268.3

54.8

Nort

h-W

este

rn2,8

31.8

100.0

504.6

17.8

1,9

66.9

69.5

360.3

12.7

864.9

44.0

Urb

an

1,4

82.7

52.4

245.4

16.5

1,1

05.3

74.5

132.0

8.9

377.4

34.1

88


89

ANNEXES

To

tal

Pre

-wo

rkin

gag

eW

ork

ing

ag

eP

ost-

wo

rkin

gag

eN

on

-wo

rkin

gp

op

ula

tio

n/

100

pers

on

so

fw

ork

ing

ag

e

No

inth

ou

san

ds

%N

oin

tho

usan

ds

%N

oin

tho

usan

ds

%N

oin

tho

usan

ds

%N

oin

tho

usan

ds

%

Rura

l1,3

49.1

47.6

259.2

19.2

861.6

63.9

228.3

16.9

487.5

56.6

Centr

al

2,6

36.0

100.0

458.5

17.4

1,8

42.3

69.9

335.2

12.7

793.7

43.1

Urb

an

1,5

81.7

60.0

251.4

15.9

1,1

69.4

73.9

160.9

10.2

412.3

35.3

Rura

l1,0

54.3

40.0

207.0

19.6

672.9

63.8

174.4

16.5

381.4

56.7

Buchare

st

2,2

48.9

100.0

297.5

13.2

1,6

30.2

72.5

321.2

14.3

618.8

38.0

Urb

an

2,0

03.6

89.1

257.8

12.9

1,4

61.8

73.0

284.0

14.2

541.8

37.1

Rura

l245.4

10.9

39.7

16.2

168.4

68.6

37.3

15.2

77.0

45.7

Sourc

e:D

ata

calc

ula

ted

usin

gth

ein

form

ation

from

Household

Labour

Forc

eS

urv

ey

(AM

IGO

),2002,fourt

hquart

er,

NIS

2003.

Tab

le23:

Em

plo

yed

po

pu

lati

on

an

dem

plo

ym

en

tra

teb

yre

gio

n,2001–02

Reg

ion

To

talp

op

ula

tio

n

(in

tho

usan

ds)

Po

pu

lati

on

ag

ed

15

an

do

ver

Em

plo

yed

po

pu

lati

on

(in

tho

usan

ds)

Em

plo

ym

en

tra

te*

Em

plo

ym

en

tra

teo

f

po

pu

lati

on

ag

ed

15

an

do

ver

2001

All

regio

ns

22,4

19.4

18,4

02.9

10,6

96.9

47.7

58.1

Nort

h-E

aste

rn3,8

48.3

3,0

53.3

1,9

51.4

50.7

63.9

South

-Easte

rn2,9

42.5

2,4

12.0

1,3

17.6

44.8

54.6

South

ern

3,4

75.3

2,8

63.4

1,7

07.9

49.2

59.6

South

-Weste

rn2,4

06.9

1,9

77.6

1,3

16.0

54.7

66.5

Weste

rn2,0

21.8

1,6

74.9

929.2

46.0

55.5

Nort

h-W

este

rn2,8

38.4

2,3

14.9

1,3

77.1

48.5

59.5

Centr

al

2,6

37.6

2,1

66.5

1,1

62.1

44.0

53.6

Buchare

st

2,2

48.7

1,9

40.2

935.6

41.6

48.2

Reg

ion

To

talp

op

ula

tio

n

(in

tho

usan

ds)

Po

pu

lati

on

ag

ed

15

an

do

ver

Em

plo

yed

po

pu

lati

on

(in

tho

usan

ds)

Em

plo

ym

en

tra

te*

Em

plo

ym

en

tra

teo

f

po

pu

lati

on

ag

ed

15

an

do

ver

2002

(fo

urt

hq

uart

er)

All

regio

ns

22,3

91.7

18,4

97.0

9,5

59.7

42.7

51.7

Nort

h-E

aste

rn3,8

51.9

3,0

73.9

1,7

15.5

44.5

55.8

South

-Easte

rn2,9

39.4

2,4

24.9

1,1

65.0

39.6

48

South

ern

3,4

64.5

2,8

77.2

1,5

24.4

44

53.0

South

-Weste

rn2,4

00.5

1,9

83.3

1,1

19.0

46.6

56.4

Weste

rn2,0

18.8

1,6

81.6

849.6

42.1

50.5

Nort

h-W

este

rn2,8

31.8

2,3

27.2

1,2

13.2

42.8

52.1

Centr

al

2,6

36.0

2,1

77.5

1,0

38.7

39.4

47.7

Buchare

st

2,2

48.9

1,9

51.4

934.3

41.5

47.9

*C

alc

ula

ted

from

tota

lpopula

tion

Sourc

e:H

ousehold

Labour

Forc

eS

urv

ey

(AM

IGO

),2001,fo

urt

hquart

er,

2002,N

IS,2002

and

2003.

Tab

le24:

Em

plo

yed

po

pu

lati

on

inth

eN

ort

h-E

aste

rnre

gio

n,b

yag

eg

rou

pan

ded

ucati

on

alatt

ain

men

t,2001–02

(fo

urt

hq

uart

er)

ISC

ED

Level

To

tal

5–6

43A

13C

22

0–1

No

%N

o%

No

%N

o%

No

%N

o%

No

%

2001

To

tal

100.0

5.8

3.0

471.7

24.2

440.1

22.6

475.9

24.4

391.4

20.1

15–24

13.4

3.0

6.6

13.0

15.9

21.4

5.2

25–34

24.9

34.5

32.5

46.6

29.6

14.5

2.1

35–49

28.1

44.9

33.2

34.1

41.5

23.7

5.8

50–64

19.4

16.6

26.7

5.8

11.3

27.2

35.4

65

+14.2

1.0

1.0

0.5

1.7

13.2

51.5

90


91

ANNEXES

ISC

ED

Level

To

tal

5–6

43A

13C

22

0–1

No

%N

o%

No

%N

o%

No

%N

o%

No

%

2002

(fo

urt

hq

uart

er)

To

tal

1,7

15.5

100.0

112.2

6.5

62.8

3.7

406.4

23.7

431.0

25.1

420.3

24.5

282.7

16.4

15–24

13.5

5.0

7.8

12.1

14.5

22.9

4.7

25–34

27.0

36.6

40.5

40.2

35.3

16.8

3.9

35–49

29.8

45.8

26.2

41.3

38.1

24.1

3.8

50–64

17.5

11.4

25.5

6.2

10.8

25.9

31.7

65

+12.2

1.2

-0.2

1.3

10.3

55.9

Sourc

e:H

ousehold

Labour

Forc

eS

urv

ey

(AM

IGO

),2001,2002,fo

urt

hquart

er,

NIS

,2002,2003.

Tab

le25:

Em

plo

yed

po

pu

lati

on

by

reg

ion

,are

aan

deco

no

mic

secto

r,2001–02

2001

2002

(fo

urt

hq

uart

er)

To

talem

plo

yed

po

pu

lati

on

Ag

ricu

ltu

reIn

du

str

yS

erv

ices

To

talem

plo

yed

po

pu

lati

on

Ag

ricu

ltu

reIn

du

str

yS

erv

ices

No

(th

ou

san

ds)

%%

%%

No

(th

ou

san

ds)

%%

%%

Rom

ania

10,6

96.9

100

42.3

26.2

31.5

9,5

59.7

100

35.9

29.5

34.6

Nort

h-E

aste

rn1,9

51.4

100

55.6

20.4

24.0

1,7

15.5

100

50.4

23.2

26.4

South

-Easte

rn1,3

17.6

100

43.3

22.6

34.2

1,1

65.0

100

35.6

26.2

38.2

South

ern

1,7

07.9

100

49.1

24.6

26.3

1,5

24.4

100

42.8

28.1

29.2

South

-Weste

rn1,3

16.0

100

57.4

20.7

21.9

1,1

19.0

100

50.1

23.6

26.3

Weste

rn929.2

100

34.6

29.4

36.0

849.6

100

28.7

32.6

38.7

Nort

h-W

este

rn1,3

77.1

100

41.1

27.2

31.7

1,2

13.2

100

33.6

32.7

33.7

Centr

al

1,1

62.2

100

29.8

38.1

32.1

1,0

38.7

100

26.3

40.6

33.1

Buchare

st

935.6

100

4.7

34.8

60.5

934.3

100

2.1

34.6

63.3

Sourc

e:D

ata

calc

ula

ted

usin

gth

ein

form

ation

from

Household

Labour

Forc

eS

urv

ey

(AM

IGO

),2001,fo

urt

hquart

er,

2002,N

IS,2002,2003.

LIST OF ACRONYMS

CVT Continuing vocational training

EBRD European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

ESA European system of accounts

GAV Gross added value

GDP Gross domestic product

ISCED International standard classification of education

IT Information technologies

NAPE National Action Plan for Employment

RGDP Regional gross domestic product

SME Small and medium-sized enterprise

SWOT Strenghs, weaknesses, opportunities, threats

UNDP United Nations Development Programme

93

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SKILLS AUDIT SURVEY ROMANIA - Europa · skills audit survey romania. the european training foundation is the european union’s centre of expertise supporting vocational education