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For non-English speakers, Romanian job market is much narrower
Gabriela Andrei
The majority of good jobs on the market right now require knowledge of English and students or graduates who are not fluent find themselves at a big disadvantage.
According to Laura Chilom, Human Resources Consultant of www.eJobs.com, there are over 13,500 jobs available on the website at the moment and 60 percent require English.
The “perfect candidate” most companies look for has to know the language, at least on a conversational level. This is required for jobs in Romania and compulsory for the ones they offer abroad. Most positions suitable for students on the site are in insurance, sales, trading, tourism and hospitality, sampling, Internet services and new media, Chilom said.
“For the ING Group, English is the official language and ING Bank Romania, as a subsidiary, follows the same rules,” said the company’s marketing director Cristina Micu. Most jobs in the bank require English, but having a certificate proving language knowledge isn’t mandatory since prospective employees are tested by the company.
For those who want to work in the media, English seems to be mandatory. Camelia Ionita-Manzatu, project manager of Acasa.ro, an Internet portal owned by Vodanet, said: “Because of the medium in which we work, we need employees who know English.” Students are eligible for some company jobs, such as editor, but for content administrators, they look for journalism graduates rather than students.
To get a job at the Nine O’clock English-language newspaper, applicants don’t necessarily need a certificate, but knowing the language at a high level is obviously mandatory. “There is also a translation department, because some of our colleagues write their materials in Romanian, from lack of time,” said Andra Drochioiu, the newspaper’s marketing and advertising manager.
The British Council is the place to go to get an English certificate that is internationally recognized. ”Eighty per cent of the candidates that take the Cambridge exams are teenagers, aged 16 to 18,” said Monica Dobre-Laza, the Council’s examinations services manager.
Dobre-Laza said Romanians are very competitive when it comes to foreign languages and many take the exam to prove how well they have mastered English. Asked what changes may come now that Romania is part of the European Union, Dobre-Laza said she only expected interest in English to grow as students and graduates increasingly sought opportunities in other member nations.
Anticipating increased demand, the British Council now offers more exams including the International Legal English Certificate (ILEC) and the International Certificate in Financial English (ICFE) specially designed for professionals in those areas. The ICFE was launched in Romania on March 11 at the Romanian International University Fair and the first exam session will probably be organized this autumn.
The popularity of the Cambridge exams is demonstrated by the steady annual 10-15 percent rise in the number of candidates in recent years. Last year, almost 10,000 people took one or another of the Cambridge tests.
“Some pupils take the exams because they realize their importance in the future and some because taking your Cambridge exam has become fashionable,” said Monica Bunescu, an English teacher at Nicolae Iorga High School in Bucharest.
Dobre-Laza of the British Council agreed the exams had become fashionable but said it was a positive fashion because taking the test made candidates study hard and raised their proficiency.
Bunescu has also noticed that the interest in the Cambridge examinations is higher among pupils in bilingual classes, but also among those who truly understand the importance of knowing the language. “Getting a good job, having more opportunities, getting a scholarship at a foreign university makes teenagers take these exams,” she said.
Monica Nichescu, a 12th grader from Madgearu High School, is taking the Certificate of Advanced English exam because she was accepted at three universities in England. She said the Cambridge exams have become very popular among her classmates.
Bogan Ruja a freshman studying economic management at the Economic Studies Academy in Bucharest, admits that his English is relatively weak even after four years of language studies. He said he knew he had to raise his English proficiency.
“English has an incontestable importance in any job that we choose because the foreign investors and companies are now more present in our country than ever before,” he said.
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