Dincă Dragoș Valentin

By Ani Matei and Dincă Dragoș Valentin

Jobs around the world are affected by the current health crisis. European Commission, governments are concerned with finding measures to ensure the protection of employees. As such, on October 21, 2020 the European Commission issued an inaugural set of obligations with a social impact under the EU SURE Instrument of the European Union. Amounting to EUR 17 billion, instrument intended to help protect jobs and keep up employment. Under this framework, this chapter analyzes public employment services in four European countries to identify the extent to which they have adapted to the global pandemic situation. Measures to protect jobs and support workers in identifying new jobs are a permanent concern for most countries. Additionally, we are witnessing an accelerated digitalization of overall public services, public employment services too. The way in which employment services are organized, the degree of digitalization does not necessarily infer the conclusion that workers’ protection is ensured but only that the premises for the health crisis mitigation effects are provided.

Part of the book: Digital Service Platforms

By Dragos Valentin Dinca and Catalina Fotache

In recent years, public institutions have been faced with a new challenge in the field of professional development of employees: adaptation to the pandemic context and the use of distance learning technologies. This chapter aims to analyze the ways of conducting learning activities in public institutions in the last three years, to identify future training needs and the availability of integration of new technologies. In order to achieve this purpose, the literature from the past three years was reviewed and a study was conducted targeting five public institutions in Romania. The instrument used was the questionnaire, which included qualitative elements to allow the classification of the statistical results. Despite the pandemic context, the analyzed public institutions carried out training activities for employees, but with a classic approach in terms of organization and the topics of the training. The analysis targeted public institutions in Romania; being carried out from the perspective of the specific legal framework, the results may not be multiplied or applied to other administrative systems. The study provides evidence of the degree of change in public organizations, changes generated by a pandemic crisis. Furthermore, it classifies these changes in a recognized theoretical model.

Part of the book: Reimagining Education