40% of managers of budget funds believe that the monthly income should be between 1,500-2,000 euros, and 21% mention more than 2,000 euros, according to a study by the APSAP Training Center based on a survey conducted among budget employees.

The majority of state employees (43%) answered that they have a monthly income of 700-1000 euros. More than a quarter of them fall into the category of monthly incomes between €1,000 and €1,500, and almost 13% of them have incomes between €400 and €700.

Only 0.1% of civil servants are interested in digital skills and IT&C courses.

“Regarding the areas of improvement desired by civil servants, it was observed that they do not show interest in improving their skills in digitalization and IT&C. From this point of view, it is possible to understand why most of the processes carried out by citizens in contact with state institutions require physical presence and bureaucracy,” says Bohdan-Kostin Farsirotu, founder and president of the Center.

What skills do budget workers want to develop, given that they don’t want digital

When asked about the skills they would like to develop, more than 36% of civil servants said they are targeting HR courses, 33% want courses to access European funds, and a quarter want courses in ethics, integrity and anti-corruption , 27% of accounting courses and 12.5% ​​of social assistance, the release states.

At the opposite pole, only 2 respondents out of almost 4,000, less than 0.1% of the total number of respondents, said they would like to develop their digital skills, IT&C, psychology, discrimination and equal opportunities, internal communication, food safety, information security or others

As for the level of digital skills possessed by the respondents, according to the received answers, the level is average.

Although 63% of participants report that they often use Excel, around 78% have only an average knowledge of digital skills.

According to the source, employees of city halls and other rural institutions are the least interested in training.

How many government employees participated in the study and how old they are

The APSAP Training Center survey was conducted on a sample of 3,985 public sector employees, from urban and rural areas of Romania, after their participation in a free vocational training program.

More than 80% of participants in the survey of the APSAP Training Center, conducted as part of the free training program, are women, and 83% of all respondents live in an urban environment. At the same time, according to the level of education, 52% have a master’s degree, and 40% have a bachelor’s degree. Also, 80% of survey respondents do not hold managerial positions.

In terms of age, the majority of respondents, 55.6%, belong to the category over 45 years old, and 30% to the age category 36-45 years old, which indicates that the interest in training courses is low for young people employed in the budget system. Only 14% of respondents are between 18 and 35 years old. This is a worrying aspect that may indicate a complex hiring process with multiple requirements and competitive tests, bureaucracy, low levels of digitalization and innovation, or difficult promotion opportunities.

“As for the level of experience of the interviewed participants, it is noted that almost half (47%) have been working at the institution for more than 10 years, 21% – 5-10 years, 23% – 1-5 years, and 8.3% less than a year. This finding, together with the fact that the majority are over 45, suggests that public sector workers prefer to remain in the same institution until they reach retirement age,” the study said.

According to the quoted source, another aspect to consider is the fact that more than 70% of public sector workers prefer to attend training courses in the early part of the day, which overlaps this participation with the work schedule.

“From this point of view, we can conclude that there is a possibility that they are neglecting one of the two activities that they are supposed to perform,” the statement said.

“Thus, there appear to be multiple barriers to the effective participation of civil servants and other civil servants in vocational training programmes, including lack of interest, accessibility difficulties and conflicting participant preferences. These aspects must be considered and addressed to ensure adequate professional development and meet the ever-changing demands of public administration in Romania,” says APSAP.

According to the law, state institutions are obliged to invest in continuous training of employees to improve the efficiency of public administration.

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