Internships, an ignored opportunity in Romania

Interim Minister of Education, Mihai Dimian, claims that Romanian students take too little advantage of the opportunities offered by internship programs, compared to their colleagues in the United States, where participation in practical training is almost the rule. The statements were made at the opening of the 13th edition of the Official Internship Program of the Romanian Government.

• "In the US, over 90% of students asked for recommendations for internships”

Mihai Dimian, who taught for several years in the United States, explained that the difference in mentality is obvious. "I taught in the US for many years and more than 90% of the students asked me for recommendations to participate in internships. When I returned to Romania, less than 10% of the students participated in internships. It seems that they are much poorer than us to use their vacations to gain these experiences and to help them later in their careers,” the minister said. He encouraged young people to use their vacations to gain professional experience, considering that a change of mentality is also necessary in Romania. "You are not alone: 90% of American students do this and I think a change of mentality is very useful in Romania as well,” he added.

• American companies were looking for students, not the other way around

The minister also noted the differences between the American and Romanian markets in terms of the relationship between universities and the private sector. According to him, in the United States, companies requested access to students from universities in order to promote their internship programs and recruit future employees. "In Romania, universities are criticized for not having enough internships at companies, while in America, companies were begging us to host them so they could select students for internships,” said Mihai Dimian. He appreciated the fact that the Government's Official Internship Program offers such opportunities to an increasing number of young people.

• Over 7,600 candidates for 200 places

The Secretary General of the Government, Dan Reşitnec, stated that this year's edition attracted record interest: over 7,600 candidates competed for the 200 available places.

The official emphasized that public administration needs new skills and the involvement of the younger generation, expressing his hope that the internship experience will determine some participants to choose a career in the public system. At the same time, he noted that this is the first edition in which the Presidential Administration is also participating, a sign of the institutions' openness towards programs dedicated to young people.

For his part, the head of the Prime Minister's Chancellery, Mihai Jurca, recommended that the interns learn to communicate clearly, concisely and with arguments. He said that on his first day at the Government, he was greeted with the reply: "Welcome to hell!", thus describing the intense pace of work in the central administration. "I have had days with 16-17 hours of work, difficult moments and very complicated problems, but also the greatest professional satisfactions so far. Important things are not done without effort and without difficulty", Mihai Jurca conveyed to the participants.