The Business Community To Support The Training Of Prospective Students/Employees

Abstract In the past years, theoretical high-school education in Romania has gone through much public criticism regarding both the quality and the effectiveness of the instruction offered to students. An excessive focus on theory for most subjects and the neglect of the practical aspects/applications of the themes studied are known to have had negative effects on students’ motivation and their ability to choose a career and to adapt to the labour market requirements. The authors of this article intend primarily to briefly analyse some of the curricular aspects underlining this problem and to suggest some opportunities to offset this situation – opportunities derived from the business community and within the reach of the theoretical high-schools’ managers. In support of the proposed solutions, the authors are going to examine two types of initiatives implemented at the “Gheorghe Lazăr” National College from Sibiu: “training placement” in EU-funded Leonardo da Vinci projects and a “work-experience” type of initiative leading to a successful programme run every school year in cooperation with firms, institutions, and companies from Sibiu.