Press Release
February 22 nd, 2024
ABSL: Digitalization and Technological Advancements are Reshaping the Local and National Labour Market
The Association of Business Service Leaders in Romania (ABSL) is organizing the Business Mixer “Business Services Today: Keeping Pace with the Speed of Change” in Cluj-Napoca, bringing together over 100 industry specialists from the local market.
During the event, companies discuss the impact of recent legislative and fiscal changes on the labour market, as well as the transformation of workspaces. A key topic on the agenda is the role of technology in shaping the future of work. The integration of Generative Artificial Intelligence with automation and other emerging technologies could contribute up to 3.5 percentage points annually to productivity growth. However, employees will require support in acquiring new skills, as some roles and job functions will undergo significant changes.
“In our industry, where human capital is essential, we estimate that by 2030, 60% of job requirements will focus on skills such as creativity, teamwork, proactivity, adaptability, and digital proficiency, with a strong demand for employees with a technical or economic background,” explains Ciprian Dan, ABSL President.
According to ABSL’s latest annual report, HR, financial, and procurement services are the most commonly provided services by business service companies in Cluj. The evolution of employees providing these services is closely linked to technological advancements, offering numerous opportunities for professional growth.
For those pursuing a career in HR within the business services industry, advanced digital skills will become increasingly crucial, as many processes—such as recruitment, benefits management, performance evaluation, and payroll—are expected to become almost fully automated. Financial services will continue to expand, leading to an increase in job opportunities within this field. In the coming years, demand for financial analysts specializing in Big Data analysis is set to grow significantly. Procurement services will also become increasingly automated, from market forecasting and analysis to supplier and contract management. There is also a growing demand for specialists in artificial intelligence (AI) and cybersecurity, driving the continuous development of professionals in these fields.
“We continue to recruit for a wide range of jobs particularly in finance, IT, marketing, and engineering. In Cluj, we expect to grow by approximately 10% this year. While AI will impact certain jobs, we do not expect it to lead to higher unemployment rate, because new jobs are constantly emerging— ones we couldn’t have imagined a few years ago. We have observed this trend in recent years, as technologies like RPA and machine learning have automated many tasks, yet unemployment rates have never been lower, both in Europe and Romania,” says Adrian Dincă, HR Director, Vertiv.
According to Romania’s National Institute of Statistics, the demand for highly skilled labour is increasing significantly. Between 2018 and 2030, the number of qualified professionals is expected to grow by 60%. Additionally, 42% of all working hours will involve automation and digitalization, and 1 in 2 employees will require career reskilling.
“It is estimated that in the near future, 9 out of 10 jobs will require digital skills. Lifelong learning and continuous digital upskilling will be essential. At Genpact, we provide our employees with extensive learning resources through our internal Genome platform, offering access to over 700 different skills, including 150 in the digital domain. In 2023, around 40% of our employees in Romania completed these learning modules,” says Corina Câmpean, Cluj Site Lead, Genpact Romania.
According to the ABSL report, the majority of companies (77%) achieved better results in 2023 compared to 2022, while the workforce in the industry has grown by 10% over the past two years.
“If we successfully integrate artificial intelligence into the development of our industry’s most prominent services (financial services, IT, HR, and procurement) offered by over 65% of respondent companies according to the latest ABSL study, we can maintain Romania’s competitive position in the region,” says Catalin Iorgulescu, ABSL Vice President.
Currently, approximately 200,000 professionals are employed in Romania’s business services industry, with around 10% based in Cluj. This number of employees is expected to grow by another 10% by the end of this year.