What solutions exist for linking closely the school and the dynamic economic environment of XXI century? How can we perform education for career and life with noticeable results outside the school hours?

The “Diversity in Education and Orientation in Career” conference organized by the Center for Institutional Analysis and Development together with the Romanian Training Institute, answers to the problem of the lack of correlation between education and the labour market demands.

On 26th November, at Kolping Hotel from Brașov, the “Click on Your Career” project’s coordinators, participants and partners have presented the project’ results during May 2014 – November 2015. “What do I do after I graduate from high- school?” it is the most important question that youth people have before graduating from high- school, and it is a question without a definite answer for many of them. If for the school is becoming harder to handle the labour market dynamic, the need of counselling and alternative education is coming as a necessary answer: the “Click on Your Career” project has brought students, from different high- schools, in non-formal places, during some group counselling workshops, where the students discovered their own aptitudes, abilities, values, interests, habits, obstacles, and they fixed their own criteria for choosing their careers, career’s objectives and the steps towards the objectives.

The project involved 470 eleventh and twelfth grade students from 45 high-schools from Brașov and Mureș, who created their plan of action that will help them to do their first steps in career. “Click on Your Career” contains a personal development and orientation process that included: 66 group counselling sessions, 34 study visits at the desired work place, at local partners – institutions and companies from a variety of industries -, 18 online seminaries on topics of interest for students, informative articles with over 30 professions explained in such way that students could understand them, 15 clips with professionals from more career domains and 1200 personalized counselling sessions, one-to-one.

The main gains for students were the fact that they learned to believe in themselves, clarity, flexibility in thinking, the relevant information from the articles on the platform, webinars or those information received right from the professionals, but the students also understood that success is a continuous journey, where perseverance and the integration of the obstacles is what it matters the most.

“If in the last centuries, the formal education could keep up with the changes from the economic environment, nowadays we have to deal with an amazing dynamic which forces the educational system to become more flexible. This means that we can have well-prepared people for careers and life only in the context of a diverse educational supply, adapted to the true needs of those becoming economic and political actors.” stated Horia Terpe, Executive Director of the CADI-Eleutheria Foundation.

At the end, a few participants expressing their opinions, sharing honestly their own experience of the project: “The most important was to get used with the failure idea. Even if I like Informatics, my wish is to do acting in the future, and the next year I will try again to the university in England, where I want to study, with more belief in myself and more determination.” mentioned Tiberiu Șipoș, now student at Faculty of Informatics from University of Transilvania in Brașov, participant in the project. “The counselling, advices and visits at employers were very helpful for me, there I met amazing people who inspired me to lead myself groups of people.” said Rebeca Luican, another participant, student at Economic Sciences and Business Administration Faculty at University of Transilvania from Brașov.

The local partners who received until now the students during the study practice visits are:

• IT: Siemens (Brașov), Reea (Târgu Mureș)

• Public Institutions: County Police Inspectorate Brașov, County Police Inspectorate Mureș, Brașov Court of Law, Mureș Court of Law, National Anti-corruption Division (DNA-Brașov)

• Medicine: Clinical Emergency Hospital (Târgu Mureș), St. Constantin’s Hospital (Brașov)

• Media: Realitatea TV (Brașov)

• Auto: Gerom Service (Târgu Mureș)

• Educațion: Bambi Kindergarten (Târgu Mureș)

• Tourism/HORECA: Hotel Carpați (Predeal), Hotel Cavaler (Sighișoara)

• Dental Medicine: Private Dental Medicine Practice dr. Moarcăș Anișoara (Brașov), Private Dental Medicine Practice dr. Daniela Muscă (Târgu Mureș), Dental Technique Laboratory Cameleon Dent (Târgu Mureș)

• Psychology: Private Psychology Practice Gabriela Popescu (Brașov), Psy Way (Private Psychology Practice – Raluca Cueșdeanu)

• Commerce: METRO Cash&Carry, Billa, Stefani-boutique.ro (Brașov)

• Communication/Branding: Firestarter (Brașov), Inkomm PR (București)

• Pharmacy: A&D Pharma – Sensiblu (Brașov and Târgu Mureș)

• Banking: BRD – Groupe Société Générale (Brașov and Târgu Mureș)

• Photography: Foto Smiley (Târgu Mureș)

• Automotive: Continental Powertrain Romania (Brașov)

The project is co-financed by the European Social Fund, through the Sectorial Operational Program Human Resources Development 2007-2013 (POSDRU/161/2.1/G/140846)