This article was written by Catalin Iorgulescu for www.wall-street.ro
The importance of education and its impact on economic growth
The education of my children is one of the biggest challenges. How to guide them so that what they are learning now is valid and when they finish college? I am frequently asked this question.
Many times, as parents, we blame the education system that does not prepare our children enough for the years to come. The truth is, as always, in the middle. We are evolving at an astonishing speed, so often the information newly introduced in school textbooks loses its current status in a short time. I refer here, in particular, to the frontier sciences and to everything related to the rapid evolution of the business environment in which we operate.
I think that at home, but also at school, we should teach children a set of generally valid skills that will guide them as a compass throughout school and professional life.
For this reason, I support the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Program, dedicated to people aged 14-24. The program, established over 60 years ago, aims to teach young people the learning of a set of transcendental values, with which they can deal with a constantly changing world. Starting from the ideas of this program, I taught our three children that common sense and the idea of being honest with yourself are essential in everyday life. I think that a certain sense of balance is very important, which will help them to understand the point of view of others and to seek equitable solutions (for everyone) in the long term.
I think that at home, but also at school, we should teach children a set of generally valid skills that will guide them as a compass throughout school and professional life.
For this reason, I support the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Program, dedicated to people aged 14-24. The program, established over 60 years ago, aims to teach young people the learning of a set of transcendental values, with which they can deal with a constantly changing world. Starting from the ideas of this program, I taught our three children that common sense and the idea of being honest with yourself are essential in everyday life. I think that a certain sense of balance is very important, which will help them to understand the point of view of others and to seek equitable solutions (for everyone) in the long term.
Coming back to the macro scale, the Business Services industry in Romania did not exist at the time when most of the top management was now in the faculty, but rules that helped us to turn the industry into what it is now.
With the coming of autumn, the recruitment activity of companies in our industry is intensifying. Speaking to a number of HR leaders, or looking at the company I work for, I saw that personal skills such as creativity, adaptability, ease of operation of equipment, responsibility, desire for progress are currently the most appreciated when hiring. I am often asked what faculty to attend to work in the Business Services industry. The answer is simple: just about any faculty, as long as the candidate has the desire to evolve, advanced knowledge of English and computer operation. In addition, any other foreign language is an advantage.
According to ABSL estimates, the most important organization that represents the business services sector and brings together the most important companies in the industry, the sector offers jobs for a number of about 125,000 employees, representing about 1.5% of the active population of Romania. It is estimated that in the next 5 years, the Business Services industry can reach 200,000 people employed in Romania.
The main factor in the development of our industry, at present, is the trained workforce, in a sufficiently large number at a competitive cost compared to the countries of Central and Eastern Europe.
A study conducted by the OECD over 40 years shows how the percentage increase of GDP per capita is in direct statistical correlation with the performance of the education system – measured at the level of the entire population. This is important, as the evolution of GDP is not in correlation with the elite (the Olympians who honor us and who we are all proud of, but who reach the leading universities in other states and remain there later), but with the national average. measured in all areas of the country – of which we must also take care, if we are to prosper as a nation, between the borders of this country.
In the case of our industry, the Government could help us by supporting initiatives for the adequate training of the workforce, in accordance with the requirements of this sector. Improving an education system takes a long time, and this should be a priority for any government. Private education support initiatives cannot achieve large-scale results in the absence of a partnership with the authorities.
In large university centers, industry companies have partnered with state universities, through which students participate in extracurricular courses to improve personal skills (soft skills) or internship programs.
ABSL Romania and the Academy of Economic Studies in Bucharest launched in 2016 the Master Program of Business Services, organized within the Faculty of Accounting and Management Informatics, which is available every year for 50 students.
In the two years of the program, students participate in courses such as Financial-accounting process management, IT process management, Business process improvement (eg Lean Six Sigma), Financial analysis, Business requirements analysis, ERP systems (eg SAP), Project Management or intensive study of a foreign language (eg German). The courses are taught by teachers from ASE Bucharest, but they contain a lot of practice and workshops held by specialists of the ABSL member companies.
98% of the graduates of this year’s promotion were employed at the end of the program, which is a huge success! We aim to achieve similar results with the new series of students, which will start the program in less than a month.
For ABSL, this project is a CSR activity supported by internal funds (through scholarships) and the human and time resources of the organization. Member companies and our Association do their best to prepare or improve education for the current business environment requirements.
The partnership with ASE is a pilot project, whose achievements can be easily replicated at national level, this being possible only with the support of the state that ASBL promotes. The Romanian educational system must and can develop the workforce necessary for the current economy, which is why the state support for initiatives such as the master’s program developed with ASE Bucharest is essential.
A study by Cushman and Wakefield shows that Romania is now on the first place in the category of mature business services / outsourcing markets: with over 265 companies, a motivated workforce, well prepared, very good foreign language, competitive at cost level and culturally close to European values. These are reasons why the Romanian state could decide to actively support the development of our industry, like Poland or even Bulgaria, which through the state’s involvement have become more attractive to investors lately.
As the new year begins, we wish the new students success and we hope that by 2020 we will announce a new postgraduate program!