Romania's education system fails to develop skills most required by employers

The ability to generate new ideas, to talk and speak clearly, to think independently and the ability to prioritize are all employment qualities required by those surveyed in the Romanian Talent Outlook 2013, a study conducted by the research company Solutii Avansate, in collaboration with the Griffith School of Management, from the Emanuel University in Oradea, Romania. When referring to the personal skills and abilities employers value the most, the study found that Romania's education system does virtually nothing to foster and develop them, reads a statement of Solutii Avansate. The ability to generate new ideas comes first in the employers’ list, followed by the ability to write and speak clearly and to think independently, according to the study. However, the schools in Romania don’t focus enough on these qualities. “When getting ready to start a career it is very important to have a personal development plan which takes into account the skills most wanted by the employers, followed by ways to develop these skills through extra-curricular activities,” concludes Sebastian Vaduva, dean of the Griffith School of Management. However, in addition to the skills and competences, the employers also value qualities such as work place ethics. The survey’s respondents marked honesty and integrity as the most important qualities, which not only implies telling the truth, but also acting in a company's best interests. Being focused on results and the ability to exercise self discipline and do the right thing are other important qualities searched for by employers. The employee’s attitude is also important for the surveyed experts. Some of the most wanted qualities in the attitude category are: being results orientated, pro-activeness and striving for continuous self development. When it comes to self-development, the respondents named the ability to adapt to new situations and the ability to learn new skills independently via creativity and imagination as the most important qualities in this category. The Romanian Talent Outlook 2013 study was conducted between March and April this year and analyzed the responses given by experts coming from large Romanian companies or corporations from the local market. In the first stage, the respondents were asked open-ended questions regarding their preferences when hiring, while in the second stage, they were asked to rank in order of importance the skills of “educated people” based upon scales provided by Harvard, Princeton and George Wythe University. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com