Abstract:

Romania's economy is now largely oriented towards industrial production, so technicians and engineers are in high demand on the labor market. Technological high schools and technical colleges are largely able to provide this skilled workforce. However, the dual form of technical education (i.e. a large part of the training of a technician and an engineer takes place in industrial companies) is only just beginning in Romania, especially in the field of higher education.

The establishment of dual specializations in both secondary and higher education should be the result of a partnership between secondary schools, universities, industrial companies and local authorities (in particular town halls and local councils).

The Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, in partnership with the Sibiu City Hall, has established the PRODUAL Consortium for Dual Education, with the aim of promoting this form of education in Sibiu and the Centre development region.

The consortium also includes the Nicolae Bălcescu Land Forces Academy in Sibiu, eight secondary schools from Sibiu County and, for the time being, four industrial companies.

The Consortium has submitted a project for the construction of the Integrated Campus for Dual Education - PRODUAL, worth approximately 26 million EURO, which has been approved for funding through the Pilot Programme for the Development of Integrated Consortia for Dual Education, through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR)/Pillar VI: Policies for the New Generation/ Component C15: Education/ Reform.

This paper presents the principles behind the creation of this consortium, how the collaboration between the university, the municipality and the companies worked and how the specializations (both at secondary and university level) that will be organized in the dual system were selected.

Keywords:

Dual form, technical education, dual specializations.