SKILLS FOR THE BANKING SECTOR. A PERSPECTIVE FROM ROMANIAN GRADUATE STUDENTS

Abstract

Due to the current nature of jobs and the labour market landscape, jobs themselves change much more rapidly today for many reasons, one of them being the increased digitization of life and the economy. We use digital technologies for social interactions and online transactions, but we increasingly use digital technologies at work as well. Universities prepare the next generation for the workforce and deliver graduates according to the needs of employers. However, in many cases, employers need to train or re-train their newly employed graduates according to the real and specific needs of the job. In some cases, this may be justified by the specific nature of the job. Here, we attempted to understand the mismatch between university specializations and the requirements of jobs in a certain field.

The paper analyses the perception of students and graduates of the way in which university programmes help them become well-trained professionals that match job requirements in the field of economics and finance. Between March 2018 and March 2019, 500 surveys were distributed to students and graduates in the fields of economics, business administration, finance and banking, and 396 completed questionnaires were analysed. In the course of our research, we also interviewed employers in the banking sector to obtain their thoughts and opinions on the correspondence between jobs and university specializations and programmes.

Based on our research, an increased collaboration between universities and employers would be beneficial. The involvement of students and graduates in collaborative projects between universities and employers and the direct participation of employers in delivering courses and seminars are some examples of implementing these ideas.