Chapter

Perspectives Regarding the

Improvement of the Professional
Training of Employees in Public
Institutions
Dragos Valentin Dinca and Catalina Fotache

Abstract

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 instru-
ment 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.

Keywords: public, institutions, training, training needs, new technologies

1. Introduction

The mission of public institutions is to carry out activities of general interest, that
is, public services. This goal cannot be achieved without competent, well-trained
people, devoted to the public welfare, who understand the importance of constantly
improving their level of professional knowledge. Thus, administrative performance is
dependent on the skills and professional training of employees in public institutions.
In this context, states have regulated the institutional and procedural system
and the financing mechanisms through which their own employees have access to
different forms of professional training. Moreover, in some administrative systems,
the improvement of professional training represents an obligation of the employees,
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Reimagining Education - The Role of E-learning, Creativity, and Technology in the Post-pandemic Era

which corresponds to the right of the institution to establish plans and programs for
professional training and improvement. Sometimes career development is condi-
tioned by the completion of certain forms of training.
In European countries, according to the applicable legislation, institutions
are appointed to manage the entire process or certain components thereof: The
Civil Service Division in Austria, Federal Academy of Public Administration in
Brühl, Germany, The Civil Service Section of The Ministry of the Interior, Czech
Republic, Directorate General for Qualification of Employees in Public Functions—
Portugal, Public Sector Directorate in Slovenia.
The topic of training and improving the professional training of employees in public
institutions is a common subject for European administrations. In one form or the other,
it exists in every administrative system. However, the last years, marked by the pandemic
context and, more recently, the East-European armed conflict, have seen changes in
how training activities are organized. Certain Eastern European states, and implicitly
their public institutions, are going through a financial crisis that leads to the reduction of
expenses, and implicitly of the resources allocated to professional training.
The literature of the last three years has focused on the subject of professional
training and improvement of public administration employees from various perspec-
tives, such as:

• Training from the perspective of correlation with sustainable development

objectives [1] or sustainability as a learning subject and correlation of the train-
ing process with the sustainability criteria [2];

• Digitization of public administration as a reform [3, 4], impact on public systems

[5], but also increasing the digital skills of employees [6];

• The impact of the Sars-Cov-2 pandemic on public administration, its compo-

nents [7], and training processes [8–10];

• European models of training in public administration [11], the training content

[12, 13], or the evolution of training systems [14];

• Training in the online system for public administration, as a combination of two

other topics: digitization and the health crisis [6, 15–17].

2. Methodology

This article aims at examining the improvement of professional training in public

administration in the recent years from the perspective of accessibility, organization,
and training topics.
The second objective is to identify the existing perspectives regarding the profes-
sional training of employees in public institutions, starting from the experience of the
past few years.
To achieve the two objectives, a questionnaire (see Appendix) on institutional
capacity was applied to the employees of five Romanian public institutions. It
included five questions that were answered between October 2022 and April 2023 (see
Table 1).
The first question was aimed at identifying the percentage of respondents who
attended long- or short-term courses in the last couple of years. Those who attended
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No. Institution Number of Number of Percentage of

questionnaires employees respondents of total
employees

1 County Counsel of 35 155 22.5%

Hunedoara

2 Municipality of 31 145 21.5%

Adjud

3 Municipality of 55 240 22.9%

Onești

4 District 1 of 105 424 24.7%

Bucharest
Municipality

5 City of Odobești 41 165 24.8%

Table 1.
The institutions that responded to the questionnaire.

such courses were asked to indicate the themes, having available a predefined list (as
well as the “others” option).
It was also requested to indicate from a predefined list the preferred training tools
in the future.
The last open question targeted the training planning tools needed at the level of
their institution.
The questionnaire included elements aimed at identifying the target group:
gender, level of education, seniority in administration, level of the position (manage-
ment/operating staff), and the type of institution in which the respondents carry out
their activity.
The data were collected with the help of a platform designed for creating question-
naires. The platform centralized the data and generated the graphs.
From the point of view of the theoretical model used, Dunphy and Stace proposed
a model [18, 19], which underlined the fact that organizations should vary their
change strategies according to the environmental changes in order to achieve an
“optimal match.” Depending on the environment, both the managers and the agents
of change should vary their change strategies. The model proposed focuses on the
environmental factors, as well as on the management forces, which play a crucial role
in any process of change.
Thus, according to the mode proposed, change can be classified into four different
types: finetuning, modular transformation, incremental adjustment, and corporate
transformation. Both authors considered that change should not occur only on
incremental basis but it can also occur on radical or discontinuous basis. They equally
emphasized that transformational change could be both consultative and coercive in
nature.

3. The legislative and institutional framework for the improvement of the

professional training of Romanian public administration personnel

Law no. 53/2003 on the Labor Code [20] establishes the employer’s obliga-
tion to ensure regular access of employees to professional training. In accordance
with the provisions of art. 191 of Law no. 53/2003 as subsequently amended and
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Reimagining Education - The Role of E-learning, Creativity, and Technology in the Post-pandemic Era

supplemented, “the professional training of contractual personnel is carried out

based on the annual plan for professional training developed by the employer, in
consultation with the trade union or, as the case may be, the representatives of the
employees.” Individualized professional training is established, according to art. 192
of Law no. 53/2003, by the employer together with the employee in question, con-
sidering the criteria considered in the annual plan for professional training and the
conditions under which the activity is carried out at the workplace.
Regarding civil servants, Emergency Ordinance no. 57/2019 [21] on the
Administrative Code as subsequently amended and supplemented specifies in
para. (1), art. 458 and art. 459 that “public servants have the right and obligation
to continuously improve their skills and professional training.” This right of civil
servants corresponds to the obligation of the state and local communities to create
the legal and institutional framework and to ensure the resources necessary for its
implementation, as also noted in art. 459 of the Administrative Code, which refers
to the obligation of public authorities and institutions to annually prepare the
professional development plan for civil servants. The obligation of civil servants to
improve their professional training arises from the fact that they exercise privileges
of public power, and their actions are subject to general interest. In this context,
the civil servant must follow forms of training organized at the initiative or in the
interest of the public institution. Also, according to the Administrative Code, public
authorities and institutions have the obligation to communicate to the National
Agency of Civil Servants the data requested concerning the training and improve-
ment of civil servants.
According to art. 16 et seq. of G.D. 1066/2008 [22], “in order to ensure compli-
ance with the right and fulfillment of the obligation of continuous improvement of
skills and professional training, every year, when assessing the individual profes-
sional performances, the areas in which the assessed civil servant requires additional
professional training in the following period are identified in the assessment report.”
Moreover, the identified professional training needs are supplemented, if necessary,
with the professional training needs resulting from legislative changes in the civil ser-
vant’s areas of expertise, as well as from any relevant changes in the job description.
According to art. 5 [22], professional training is carried out in the following
manners:

• “Training programs organized and carried out by professional training provid-

ers, completed with a certificate of attendance or, as the case may be, a gradua-
tion diploma;

• Training programs organized and carried out or, as the case may be, approved by
employers within public authorities and institutions;

• Training programs organized and carried out within the implementation of

projects with external funding;

• Other forms of professional training provided by the applicable law.”

According to Order no. 762/2015 of the President of the National Agency of

Civil Servants [23], for establishing the priority areas in which professional training
programs for the public administration are organized, the following priority areas are
provided:
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a. Management of public and public utility services;

b. Public policies and strategic planning;

c. The internal/managerial control system in public entities;

d. Human resources management;

e. Financial-budgetary and assets management;

f. Fundamental human rights and freedoms;

g. The right to public integrity and anti-corruption policies;

h. European Union legislation;

i. Communication, public relations, decision-making transparency, information—

public/classified/personal data;

j. Civil procedure and contentious administrative matters.

The Romanian institutional system for the improvement of the professional

training of employees from public institutions includes the National Institute of
Administration, the National Agency of Public Servants, and the National Authority
for Qualifications. Each public institution appoints a person in charge of professional
training, allocates financial resources via the annual budget, and develops an annual
professional training plan. Usually, the improvement of professional training is
achieved through courses of 2–5 days, held outside the institution.

4. Improving professional training in Romanian public institutions

The first question attempted to identify the percentage of respondents who

attended long- or short-term courses in the past three years, that is, 2020, 2021, and
2022, a period marked by the restrictions imposed by the Sars-Cov2 pandemic (see
Figure 1).
Despite travel restrictions (see Figure 1), significant percentages of employees
participated in training activities (56.5% in District 1, Bucharest and 51.06% in
Adjud), which lead to the conclusion that online courses were accessed and there is
availability for such a format. On the other hand, the locality with the lowest bud-
get also had the lowest participation rate (13.5% Odobesti).
Those who participated in various forms of training/improvement programs
indicated the topics of these courses (question no. 2, see Appendix) (see Figure 2).
In the municipality of Adjud (see Figure 2), it can be observed, on the one hand,
that the topics of the courses mainly focused on decision-making transparency and
the management of the public function, and on the other hand, that the employees
did not attend, in the recent years, courses in areas with a major impact on the
organization and operation of the institution. Furthermore, the courses aimed at the
principles, concepts, and basic elements of public administration were attended by
a very small number of employees. It is noted that no courses were attended in the
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Reimagining Education - The Role of E-learning, Creativity, and Technology in the Post-pandemic Era

Figure 1.
Percentage of participation in training activities in the last 3 years.

Figure 2.
The topics of the courses attended.

field of strategic planning, local public policies, and the internal managerial control
system. This aspect reverberates on the availability of human resources with skills in
the field of strategic planning and local development. Another vulnerability is that no
courses on the use of new technologies have been organized, which is detrimental to
innovation processes.
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In the county of Hunedoara (Figure 2), courses that have a general nature (com-
munication, basics of public administration, etc.) have, overall, a higher ranking than
the specific ones. The courses for which respondents did not indicate any answer are
strategic management, performance management, use of new technologies, quality
management, town planning, decision-making transparency, and organization and
archiving.
In the last three years, the employees of the Odobești city hall (Figure 2), have
not attended any training course in areas with a major impact on the organization
and operation of the institution, nor did the employees focus on courses aimed at the
principles, concepts, and basic elements of public administration, for their profes-
sional training.
In the case of the municipality of Onești and District 1 (Figure 2), it can be noted
that courses of a general nature (communication, basics of public administration,
etc.) have, overall, a higher ranking than the specific ones. Furthermore, there are
certain courses for which the respondents did not indicate an answer, namely: use of
new technologies.
The third topic of analysis concerned the training tools preferred by respondents
for future training activities (Figure 3).
With regard to the training tools preferred by respondents (see Figure 3), the
respondents’ preference toward classic training methods (practical applications,
case studies, presentations, or teamwork) can be observed, while nonformal training
methods, more modern, and complex, such as group discussions and brainstorming,
are not among the respondents’ first preferences.
It is found that “role-playing” represents a method that, from the perspective
of the analyses, is particularly effective in transmitting certain skills, being one of
the most active learning methods; however, it is not found among the respondents’
preferences (the fewest mentions).
Furthermore, although there was the option of an open answer, learning channels
such as informal coaching, mentorship, regular rotation, project assignments/tasks,

Figure 3.
Preferred training methods in the future.

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Reimagining Education - The Role of E-learning, Creativity, and Technology in the Post-pandemic Era

and 360-degree feedback considered by specialty studies as highly efficient, were not
mentioned by the respondents, from where we can infer that the respondents do not
have information, and/or have not benefited from training courses through modern
teaching-learning methods.
Regarding the fields of training needed in the future (see Figure 4), the answers
demonstrate, interestingly, a preference toward the strategic field, at the expense of
the operational field. Among the training topics indicated by the respondents are:
leadership, strategic planning, integrity management in public administration, risk
management, CAF (self-assessment framework for the operation of public institu-
tions), strategic management—balanced scorecard, development of operational and
system procedures, decision-making transparency and confidentiality, development
and implementation of public policies, decision-making practices in public adminis-
tration, communication/moderation of debates, planning and carrying out activities,
and business analysis in the public sector.
The last open question (see Appendix) considered the training planning tools
needed at the institutional level. It was found that no institution has developed the

Figure 4.
Training topics needed in the future.

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common/usual set of documents to guide the conduct of activities. Thus, the follow-
ing documents are missing:

• Procedure for professional training or an integrative human resources policy,

only a professional training plan being in place;

• Annual analysis of training needs, but especially its correlation with budget
resources (although the training plan is drafted, the needs identified and
included most often are not supported by budget allocations within the
institution).

Regarding the preparation of the professional development plan for civil servants,
the entity must refer to the Order of the President of the National Agency of Civil
Servants no. 233/21.03.2022 [24] for the approval of the content and instructions
for the preparation of the professional development plan for civil servants, as well
as the manner of communicating the data requested by the National Agency of Civil
Servants regarding the professional development of civil servants.

5. Conclusions

Although during the period under review, the travel restrictions generated by the
pandemic context were in place, and an important percentage of employees of the
targeted public institutions attended professional training development activities,
reaching up to 56.5% (see Figure 1) of the total number of employees, which shows
compliance with the legal framework in Romania on the obligation to improve the
level of knowledge for civil servants.
However, in three of the examined institutions, the percentages are below 50%
(see Figure 1). The training percentage is very low, considering on the one hand
the legal training obligations, and on the other hand, the lifelong learning policies,
promoted at the level of the European Union and, last but not least, the free train-
ing opportunities initiated by certain institutions, such as the National Institute
of Administration and the National Agency of Public Servants, in certain projects
carried out at the institutional level.
Topics of the courses attended have a general nature, with no major impact on the
organization and operation of the public institutions. At the level of the five institu-
tions, no courses on the use of new technologies were organized, which is detrimental
to innovation processes, and no courses were attended in the field of strategic plan-
ning, local public policies, and the internal managerial control system. This aspect has
further consequences on the availability of human resources with skills in the field of
strategic planning and local development.
Among the training topics indicated by the respondents for the future are: leader-
ship, strategic planning, integrity management in public administration, risk man-
agement, CAF (Self-Assessment framework for the operation of public institutions),
strategic management—balanced scorecard, development of operational and system
procedures, decision-making transparency and confidentiality, development and
implementation of public policies, decision-making practices in public administra-
tion, communication/moderation of debates, planning and carrying out activities,
and business analysis in the public sector.

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Public institutions must plan their professional training activities and develop
internal procedures and multi-annual training plans based on analyses of training
needs.
Information technology must represent an institutional priority both from the
perspective of the need to use new technologies and innovation, and also from the
perspective of moving training activities into the online environment. This is also jus-
tified by the fact that, by reference to Dumphy’s and Stace’s model, the changes within
public institutions generated by the Sars-Cov 2 pandemic are of transformational
type, in crises, rapid changes being needed to ensure the survival and continuity of
the organization. A big part of these changes refers to introducing new technologies
and working manners, interaction both within and outside the public organizations.

Conflict of interest

“The authors declare no conflict of interest.”

Appendix

Questionnaire

1. Have you attended long or short-term training programs in the last 3 years?
YES [ ] NO [ ].

2. If yes, what topic did the attended training program have:

The basics of public administration Yes

Strategic management

Public service management

Communication

Performance management

Use of new technologies

Quality management

Public procurement
Management of material resources

Management of documents

Town planning

Social assistance

Project management

Financial/budget management

Decisional transparency

Organization and archiving

Other

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3. What training methods/tools do you prefer in the future?

Presentations, interactive presentations; Yes

Teamwork, in small groups and individually;

Role play;

Practical applications;

Case study;

Simulation/practical scenarios;

Individual and group projects;

Facilitated group discussion;

Brainstorming;

Other (please specify)

4. Please select the training topics that you consider useful for the future:

To a very To a small To a large To a very I do not know/I do not

small extent extent large extent answer
extent

Leadership

Strategic planning

Integrity management in
public administration

Risk management

CAF (Self-Assessment
Framework for the Operation
of Public Institutions)

Strategic management—
balanced scorecard

Development of operational
and system procedures

Decision-making
transparency and
confidentiality

Development and
implementation of public
policies

Decision-making practices in
public administration

Communication/moderation
of debates

Planning and carrying out

activities

Business analysis in the

public sector

5. What are the existing training planning tools at the level of your institution?
........................................................................................................................................
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Author details

Dragos Valentin Dinca* and Catalina Fotache

Faculty of Public Administration, National School of Political and Administrative
Studies (SNSPA), Bucharest, Romania

*Address all correspondence to: dragos.dinca@administratiepublica.eu

© 2023 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of
the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0),
which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided
the original work is properly cited.
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