Peer-to-Peer Learning Networks, Source of Training of Staff in Romanian Micro-Enterprises

Abstract

According to the Small Business Act Report, 2015, Romania is placed by the European Commission as a leader among the Member States in the field of entrepreneurship, with the prospects of increasing the number of SMEs by at least 8.5% annually. Micro enterprises in Romania, according to the White Paper of SMEs in Romania-2016, edition XIV, also face difficulties with the continuous preparation and training of the employees, namely: hiring, training and maintaining the personnel, consulting and the necessary training for the company and employees. For vocational training, SMEs in Romania allocate an average percentage of 1.96% of the turnover, a rather unfavorable situation, which shows that Romanian entrepreneurs invest relatively little in human resources training.This paper is part of a European project entitled ME2ME – Micro-Enterprise Learning, and aims at identifying the skills and knowledge available in the local business community that could be valued through peer-to-peer learning networks to support the development of the micro-enterprise sector. The outlined conclusions point out that the peer-to-peer learning process occupies the second position among the methods of accessing the new training sources in Romania. The most important peer-to-peer learning approaches into the micro-enterprises’ representatives preferences were: small group meetings, joint peer activities, and training sessions.