Cluj-Napoca

Jobs and skills in the local economy

Cluj Future of Work

 

“The future of the Cluj-Napoca depends on the local economy and we want to make sure that we can prepare as a city in advance for the social and technological changes that are happening right now in the world. We can best do this through a strong partnership between the local administration and the cultural, academic, business and social sectors”.

Emil Boc, Mayor of Cluj-Napoca
Chiffres clef
2000
students graduate yearly a CCI-related (cultural and creative industries) discipline

7%
of CCI-related disciplines graduates work in their core field of expertise
EUR 4,429,450.00
Total ERDF budget granted
Challenge addressed

Cluj is one of Romania's "magnet cities", attracting constantly new residents from all over the country, but much of its current prosperity is based on low value added activities such as SSC/BPO services. Indeed, 49% of the local economy is estimated to be highly vulnerable to emerging technologies and automation. While cultural and creative industries (CCI) represent the most powerful element of vitality for Cluj, there are strong mismatches between their core competences and local jobs. Yearly 2000 students graduate a CCI-related discipline, with only 7% being afterwards employed in their core field of expertise. In addition, there is a growing social divide with over 2500 people living in informal settlements and around 20% of current employees living on subsistence wages.  
This conflicting situation is a results of work-related policies traditionally regarded as the apanage of national policies, demonstrating the actual incapacity of the public sector to grasp the systematic changes already in place. Cluj Future of Work will create a socially resilient working ecosystem for current and future jobs in the city and imagine a technologically-enriched future, one that is also safe, ethical, inclusive and sustainable.

Solution proposed

The city takes five innovative tracks to tackle the vulnerability of the local economy towards emerging technologies: 
1.    It promotes “smart specialisation”, aiming to make creative-based industries – one of the new competitive advantages of the city- and related knowledge intensive business services (KIBS) more competitive and engaged in societal change.
2.    It enables the transition to work 4.0, providing training and skills development for the work of today and tomorrow, especially for work cycles under high risk of automation.
3.    It re-imagines work, connected to both social values and technical potential.
4.    It seeks to improve the spatial conditions of the local economy, through the regeneration of the CREIC area by transforming it into a knowledge-based new part of the city.
5.    It introduces experimentations for systematic changes for local value added chains and the new social contract governing the future of work by introducing a local label acting as a financial tool. 

Partnership
  • City of Cluj-Napoca
  • Centrul Cultural Clujean - association of cultural and urban development organizations
  • ARIES - association for electronic industry and software
  • Asociația Cluj IT - cluster
  • Cluster Mobilier Transilvan 
  • Transylvania Creative Industries Cluster
  • Universitatea de Artă și Design din Cluj-Napoca - university
  • Asociația PLAI - design association
  • Asociația pentru Promovarea Filmului Românesc
Expected results
  1. Technology that can significantly influence cultural and creative industries. Three labs located in the emerging CREIC area of the city will be equipped with the latest technology related to design, special effects and industry 4.0. 
  2. Tailor-made learning programs for developing the necessary skills for the future of work. 
  3. Local instruments that support the local economy’s outlook towards the future of work and societal values. The prototypes developed in the learning programs are further supported for their transfer in local policies, new organisational models and access to an international market. 
  4. Applied research on supporting resiliency of the local socio-economic ecosystem. Using specific cultural methods, a series of studies, artworks and future scenarios and enactments will be developed to accompany the 5 innovative learning tracks and prepare their transfer for the local and European communities. 
     
Main milestones

December 2019: Procurement procedures for the specialized equipment for the labs almost concluded.  Initial results on the study with last trends on industry 4.0, cultural industries and informal work will be identified. First future scenario and artwork launched. Main communication actions of the project launched.
June 2020: 3 labs equipped. First version of the learning curricula developed. Second future scenario and artwork launched.
November 2020: Learning curricula/ community facilitation delivered using Cluj Experimentation Vouchers (CEV). Second version of the learning curricula developed. 4 new jobs created for supporting the public- industry based partnerships in CREIC area. Prototypes/ initial findings on informal work identified. Additional future scenario and artwork launched.
March 2021: Prototypes/ findings on informal work supported by the local trademark mechanism. Transfer methods identified for each learning track. 
October 2021: Transfer implemented for each learning track. 2 additional jobs created to support public- industry based partnerships in CREIC area.
 

Chiffres clef
2000
students graduate yearly a CCI-related (cultural and creative industries) discipline

7%
of CCI-related disciplines graduates work in their core field of expertise
EUR 4,429,450.00
Total ERDF budget granted
Contact du project
Anamaria Vrabie
Co-project manager
Simone d'Antonio
UIA Expert

Actualités du projet

Final event of Cluj Future of Work

Cluj Future of Work Journal 4: get the final update about Cluj Napoca project

UIA expert Simone d'Antonio provides the final updates on the activities carried out in the framework of Cluj Future of Work, such as the final e...
Cluj Future of Work at the Architecture Biennale of Venice

From Cluj Napoca to Venice: five points on the future of work in cultural and creative industries and community resilience

The results of the capitalization visit carried out by the team of Cluj Future of Work and the UIA expert to reflect on the future of work in cultural...
Robots at CREIC

Cluj Future of Work Zoom-in 2: CREIC and the role of innovation hubs for urban growth

The second Zoom In of Cluj Future of Work is on CREIC, the Regional Center of Excellence for Creative Industries that is hosting the Labs of Cluj Futu...
Event Cluj Napoca

Three lessons that Cluj-Napoca, Aveiro and Eindhoven can learn from each other on future labour skills

The cross-fertilization action carried out by three UIA projects shares interesting elements contributing to the European debate on the skills needed ...
Cluj Napoca

Cluj Future of Work Journal 2: get an update about Cluj Napoca project

UIA Expert Simone d'Antonio provides updates on the most interesting activities carried out in the framework of Cluj Future of Work. Among these...
The launch of the Culturepreneurs edition 20/21

Skills development as opportunity for local growth: a new approach with Culturepreneurs in Cluj-Napoca

The kick-off of the entrepreneurial educational programme of Cluj Future of Work paves the way to the promotion of a collaborative approach towards th...
Credits TIFF Chris Nemes

Festivals, film industry and multimedia products after the pandemic: Cluj-Napoca gives a glimpse of the future

The partners of Cluj Future of Work and the participants to the Culturepreneurs programme are testing new ways for producing and distributing culture,...
Pata-Rât and future of work

Cluj Future of Work Zoom-in 1: Pata-Rât and the future of work

The first Zoom In of Cluj Future of Work is on Pata-Rât, a Roma settlement located near the city landfill which is one of the main focus of the Urban ...
Cluj

The Cluj Future of Work Project Journal 1

In a city as, Cluj-Napoca, which had the highest economic growth rate in Romania in the last decade, the alliance between public authorities, private ...
Reimagining Work session in Cluj-Napoca

Reimagining work: Cluj-Napoca uses future scenarios to make better predictions

The elaboration of future scenarios may be decisive for reimagining the future of work: Cluj-Napoca is using a wide range of methodologies to imagine ...

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