Survey:Almost half Romanian students positive about professional future

Almost half of the Romanian students surveyed in a study conducted by Save the Children Romania and the Bucharest City Educational Resources and Assistance Centre (CMBRAE) have an optimistic view of their professional future (45.2%), while the majority of the others (46.4% of the sample) fall into a category of uncertainty or moderate optimism.According to a press release from Save the Children sent on Tuesday, just over five percent (5.4%) are pessimistic and almost 3% do not have a clear impression about this aspect.Regarding the people they trust for guidance in choosing their careers, the responses in the survey conducted between September 30 and October 13, 2024, among 7th and 11th-grade students from selected educational institutions for the pilot phase of the career orientation and counseling project "What's next?," organised by Save the Children and CMBRAE, confirm the high degree of trust placed in parents for exploring personal inclinations and abilities. A percentage of 74.7% of respondents believe that parents help them to a large or very large extent in this direction. Following them, with a significant difference, are digital resources and applications (45.8%) and teachers of preferred subjects (41.4%).The survey also reveals that nearly two out of five students (38.5%), although they have heard of career orientation and counseling, say they have not participated in such activities, and less than a quarter of the respondents indicated that they had previous experience in this field.Two-thirds of students (66.3%) would be willing to dedicate at least two hours per month to participate in career counseling and guidance activities.Among the specialists at the school level, the most frequently mentioned interlocutors are the school counselors, followed by class teachers with a small difference. On the other hand, the percentage of those who have discussed these topics with other teachers from the school is relatively high.Regarding the difficulties students face when choosing a career, the fear of failure is ranked first - 67.9%, followed by uncertainty about the future - 54%.Save the Children and CMBRAE are running, with the support of a bank, the pilot project of vocational orientation and career counseling "What's next?" in the 2024-2025 school year, whose goal is to contribute to ensuring access for students in Bucharest to a quality career counseling and orientation process by training specialists and developing modern tools for informing students/parents/specialists, ensuring that students have an academic and professional path adapted to each one's potential.