Internship - tool for improving the employability of Economic Science graduates

• Author: Sumedrea S., Tecau A.S.
• Pages: 247-256

Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Braşov

Series V: Economic Sciences • Vol. 9 (58) No. 1 - 2016

Internship – tool for improving the employability of

Economic Science graduates

Silvia SUMEDREA1, Alina Simona TECĂU2

Abstract: Romania's economy has undergone major changes as a result of various

technological, economic and social factors, so that the labor market has undergone major

changes too, which puts more acute the problem of youth employability. The article presents

the results of a project to develop human resources financed by European Union funds

aimed at improving the way students realize internship, the ultimate goal of implementation

of the project being to accustom students with employers' demands and rigors of a job to

thus contribute to increasing the employability of future graduates of economic studies.

Internship results are presented by taking into account the students’ opinions and some

suggestions are made in order to improve this activity in the future.

Key-words: internship, employability, learning, competencies, business graduates

1. Introduction

In the last decade, the Romanian economy has undergone major changes as a result

of various technological, economic and social factors. Accession to the EU, the

economic crisis of 2008, the trend of accelerated growth of Internet access and

digital technologies, as well as frequent changes of tax legislation led to changes in

the rate of economic development and, on this basis, the way to do business. Figure

1 shows the evolution of Romania's GDP compared with the EU, the graphic

noticing a sharp decrease experienced by Romanian economy in the years following

the crisis, when the growth rate of GDP recorded a low of -7.1% (vs. only -4.4% EU

average). Only 2013 saw a significant increase in GDP of Romania (3.5% versus

0.2% the EU average), yet under the level recorded in the years before the crisis.

1 Transilvania University of Braşov, silvia.sumedrea@unitbv.ro

2 Transilvania University of Braşov, alina.tecau@yahoo.com