Varias versiones de la historia

Alternatives in case of difficulties of finding employment in a breakdown according to countries – showing what % of respondents chose each of the options (only one answer could be selected)

Source: HERD database 2012, Count=2517

The breakdown according to countries shows significant differences and, perhaps we can also add, some surprising results, which are also significant. (It should be noted, however, that we only received 103 answers from Ukraine, as opposed to 1,257 from Romania and 1,157 from Hungary)2_. The option most respondents selected was “I would wait and continue to search”. It was chosen by nearly a half (41.4% to be precise) of the respondents in Romania, and less than one-third (30.9%) in Hungary. While only 5.6% of Hungarian respondents would register as jobseekers, this proportion was 14.2% in Romania. The result and the difference may come from the fact that respondents in Hungary prefer different tools and solutions than the respondentsin Romania, but perhaps also from less confidence in the usefulness of the organization of employment agencies and the successfulness of trainings. The difference between the figures pertaining to working abroadas an option is surprising, as significantly more Hungarian youths (27.7%) indicated the possibility of using this option than their counterparts in Romania (18%). This result may be due to the unfavourable economic prospects in Hungary, as a consequence of which an unprecedented number of employers since the beginning of the economic crisis have considered working abroad as the solution (despite the fact that, earlier, such a willingness to mobility was not characteristic to the Hungarian employees) (Kofler &Ghataore 2011). On the Romanian side, the result may also be attributed to the experience of tens of thousands of transnational migrants failing to find work in Western and Southern Europe and returning to Romania.

From the point of view of our analysis, adult education, as an alternative, is also very important. There is a very significant difference in this respect between the students queried in the two countries. While only 5.6% of the respondents in the Romanian institutes of higher education thought of participatingin adult training as a solution, this proportion was 13.5% in Hungary. What factors could be behind this very significant difference? The institutional system of adult training in Hungary is more developed (aspects of this development may include marketing, a wider availability of information on the institutional system and programmes, a more positive general evaluation of the programmes, the rate of utilizing the courses, etc.). By contrast, adult training in Romania is less developed (in terms of control and support of this sector, level of development of this institutional system (access), quality of the training programmes, organizational professionalization, social embeddedness, the later level of development, etc.) 2 A signifi cant part of the Romanian sub-sample (the entire Partium Christian University), and the entirety of the Ukrainian sub-sample participated in Hungarian-language education programmes.

(Juhász, 2010). On the other hand, the phenomenon itself, of learning as an adult and the linking of the same to a formal system of institutions, is less widely known, and even less accepted as a social activity in Romania, which is partly due to cultural and historical reasons, and partly to causes related to the economic development.

THEWILLINGNESSTOPARTICIPATEINADULTEDUCATIONANDADULTTRAININGPROGRAMMES

We have reached a very important question in the research project, during the course of which we queried respondents about their willingness to participate in adult education/adult training programmes. This question was asked in such a way that we did not inquire about the willingness of adults to learn without constraints (voluntarily), but rather about the willingness of taking this path as a possible way out of joblessness.

Chart 3: The willingness to participate in adult education and adult training

The chart shows what % of respondents chose each of the options (only one answer could be selected) “If you cannot find a job in which you can use your degree, are you willing to participate in adult education/adult training programmes?”

Source: HERD database 2012, Count=2554

Unconditionalwillingness was expressed by a fifth of the respondents (20.5%). This is an important indicator because we can assume that in their subsequent careers, in different situations, these individuals will also be open and willing to participate in adult education/adult training programmes. A much higher proportion of the respondents chose the answer of participation with conditions (52.5%), meaning that they expected significant improvement within a short time, which would therefore “guarantee” an improvement in the labour market position of the individual. 11.7% of the respondents were willing to participate in adult education/adult training programmes on condition that these did not pose too big of a burden for the individual. We consider it useful to compare the two results. Half of the respondents are willing to make efforts, if these efforts yield results at the end of the process, while one-tenth of them would only take part in such programmes if it did not require them to take large sacrifices, but they did not have a preliminary condition to their participation (concerning the success of the process). The first of these attitudes is related to making sacrifices, but is successand result-oriented, while the other group is not willing to make efforts and sacrifices, but also do not necessarily expect success following the training.

About a tenth (11%) of the respondents is firmly against participation in adult education/adult training programmes. Although this is not a high proportion, the attitude cannot be regarded as

negative, since, even though adult training is not “manna”, but can be a possible solution among the limited opportunities available for improving the labour market positions. It is a proposition that cannot be analyzed at all –from the questionnaires, at least – what alternative options those choosing this negative answer had at available.

Examining this question - in a breakdown according to years -, on the whole, we can conclude that the proportion of those firmly rejecting adult education/adult training is slightly higher among the students closer to graduation (1st year: 11.2% – 4th year: 16.4%). At the same time, the willingness to participate on certain conditions is also lower (yes, in case the situation improves within a short time: 1st year: 53.7% – 4th year: 50.7%), and the willingness to make sacrifices also increases (participating in adult education/adult training if it does not mean too big of a burden: 1st year: 12.2% – 4th year: 6.2%).