Many countries in the European Union are faced with the
\nproblem of youth unemployment, and going to university does not guarantee a job
\nfor young graduates. More than one third, of Romania’s young graduates aged
\nbetween 20 and 34 have not managed to find a job in the first three years after
\ngraduation, according to data provided by Eurostat, the European Commission’s
\nstatistics bureau. A journalist working for the Ziarul Financiar financial
\npaper, Adelina Mihai has made a comparison between the situation in Romania and
\nthat in other European Union states: <\/p>\n
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Romania has some of
\nthe highest youth unemployment rates, but not the highest in the Union. Things
\nare worse in Bulgaria, Spain, Croatia, Italy and Greece, countries that have
\nbeen harder hit by the crisis. <\/p>\n
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While youth unemployment, including among university
\ngraduates has many deep and complex causes, the more immediate ones are easy to
\nidentify. A human resources manager working for a private company, Camelia
\nSlivneanu told us about an employer’s expectations when interviewing young
\npersons for a job: <\/p>\n
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Their attitude is very important. We also look at
\nwhat they wear for the job interview, but are also interested in their
\nself-awareness skills. Many young people don’t know how to promote some of
\ntheir skills and abilities that would compensate for their lack of professional
\nexperience. As employers. we’re also interested in their patience in learning a
\nnew trade. <\/p>\n
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Also, many young
\npeople are not sure what they want to do when they graduate. Adelina Mihai once
\nagain: <\/p>\n
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Employers say career counselling programmes should
\nbe provided for in schools to guide young people towards study areas that would
\nhelp them find a job easier after graduation. Employers have also criticised,
\nfor example, the existence of too many programmes for European Studies, given
\nthat foreign language and IT programmes are in higher demand on the employment
\nmarket. A job applicant’s volunteer experience is also welcomed by employers in
\nthe case of a person without much job experience. Any such activity is a plus.
\nCareer counselling programmes consist of meetings between human resources
\nspecialists and pupils in their final years of gymnasium and high school. This
\nis a crucial time for pupils as they have to choose between the humanities and
\nscience, in the case of the former, or to decide which university they wish to
\ngo to in the case of the latter.<\/p>\n
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Many employers do not
\nagree with the Eurostat statistics. Camelia Slivneanu explains:<\/p>\n
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We hire at least 3 out of 6 or 7 young graduates
\napplying for a job. So the employment rate in the case of young people is at
\naround 50% in my company. From what I know from my colleagues in the field,
\nabout 65% of the people they hire are from among young graduates or even
\nstudents. We stay in close contact with universities and often advertise new
\njobs there. From what we have seen ourselves, the percentage of students in
\ntheir final years of university and MA students who get hired is even higher,
\nat 70%.<\/p>\n
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It should be said, however, that the job market is
\nbetter for young people in Bucharest and a few other big cities, where the
\ncountry’s main economic activities are concentrated. Camelia Slivneanu:<\/p>\n
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There is a major difference in terms of employment
\nrates for young graduates between the rural areas and the urban areas. An
\nincreasing number of graduates living in the countryside move to towns to find
\njobs. I must admit that Bucharest is an attraction for most graduates. The west
\nof Romania is also an attraction because an increasing number of foreign
\ninvestors have opened businesses there, particularly call centres.<\/p>\n
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However, the official figures refer to the employment
\nof young graduates for jobs compatible with their academic training. The lack
\nof such jobs is one of the problems. There seems to be a vicious circle in
\nplace. Employers blame the lack of job experience, but then young graduates
\ncannot acquire such experience while in school. The existence of this vicious
\ncircle is confirmed by human resources experts. Camelia Slivneanu:<\/p>\n
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I must admit that the blame should be shared by
\nemployers or the recruitment staff and the job applicants. As an employer, you
\nshouldn’t select for a job interview a young person with no experience if the
\njob you’re advertising requires professional experience. And, as a job seeker,
\nyou shouldn’t apply for a job that requires experience. If we don’t take into
\naccount these two factors, we will be stuck in this vicious circle and both
\nparties will be frustrated: employers, as well as young people, who will grow
\nmore and more demotivated.<\/p>\n
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Statistics also say that we have not yet returned to
\nthe rates prior to the crisis. In 2014, the employment rate for young
\nuniversity graduates in Romania stood at 66% compared with 85% in 2008, the
\nyear with the highest youth employment rates in Romania’s recent past. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
While the economic crisis seems to be over, youth unemployment remains a problem.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":139589,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[42997],"tags":[43482],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-141656","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-society-today","tag-youth-unemployment"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n