Workshop “Linking Higher Education to Labour Market Needs” – an important step towards strategic alignment between education and the labour market

The event, part of the “Internships – Success in Your Professional Career” project, brought together employers and teaching staff from the University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine in Cluj-Napoca to discuss the skills needed by future graduates.

As part of the project “Internships – Success in Professional Careers” (MySMIS code 314902, financing contract no. G2024-74676/29.10.2024), a workshop entitled Correlating the Higher Education System with Labour Market Needs was held on 30 October. The event took place at the Biodiversity Research Centre, USAMV Cluj-Napoca, and aimed to identify and promote ways of aligning higher education with the current requirements of the labour market.

The workshop, held between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m., brought together employers and teachers involved in organising internships for higher education students (ISCED 6–7). The topics covered included changes and prospects in the labour market, as well as the importance of developing socio-emotional and green skills in the professional training of young people. The event included discussion sessions and analysis of the results of satisfaction surveys conducted among employers and students after the first year of project implementation, as well as conclusions and proposals for strengthening collaboration between universities and the business community.

The main objective of the event was to promote effective partnership models between academia and employers, with a view to subsequently developing a guide to good practice for organising student internships.

The workshop ended with the presentation of participation certificates and discussions on the strategic directions for the next stages of the project.