In the past few decades, Romania has become known as one of the world’s top IT hubs for outsourcing. Developers Romania have earned their reputation for being highly proficient and extremely flexible in terms of accepting the fast changes in ICT workers. Hosting dozens of international companies, Romanian tech specialists have acquired abilities to communicate in multicultural environments. They are accustomed to balancing different cultural norms and are highly adaptable to constantly evolving environments. Let’s take a look at the reasons and conditions that contributed to the swift development of the country’s highly profitable IT sector.

Hard skills of Romanian developers

Romanian IT specialists are known for their strong technical skills in various programming languages. Let’s take a closer look at the skill set of Romanian ICT specialists:

• Programming languages: they are proficient in widely used languages such as Java, Python, C#, C++, PHP, JavaScript, and Ruby.
• Web development. Romanian devOps are skilled in both front-end and back-end development, using a set of pre-written codes (frameworks) such as React, Angular, Vue.js, Node.js, Laravel, Django, and ASP.NET.
• Mobile development. The IT specialists of Romania are highly proficient in developing both Android (Java, Kotlin) and iOS (Swift, Objective-C) applications.
• DevOps and Cloud platforms. They know cloud platforms like AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, and DevOps tools such as Docker, Kubernetes, and Jenkins.
• Software Architecture: Romanian tech specialists often possess a good understanding of software design patterns, microservice architecture, and Agile methodologies.
• Testing & Quality Assurance: Many developers are familiar with testing frameworks like JUnit, Selenium, and Cypress.

Educational background

The Ministry of Digitalization and Research in Romania has implemented the SMART.Edu strategy. The name of the document is “Strategy for the Digitalization of Education in Romania (2021–2027)” which describes the goals of the Romanian educational system aimed at digital transformation. By 2027, Romanians should achieve digital literacy for 90% of the population and be provided with the appropriate modern digital equipment in all educational institutions. This strategy involves the youngest generation in the digital world opportunities and contributes to the growth of even more talented ICT specialists, making it an inevitable norm.

There are 5 top universities in Romania known for their high-quality programs in computer science; among them are the University of Bucharest, the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca, and the Polytechnic University of Timişoara. After the Second World War, the Romanian education system changed dramatically. The new tech programs were established in 1948; there were three polytechnics for training engineers. Nowadays, these three universities have a high reputation and graduate the best ICT students annually (the tech universities of Bucharest, Timişoara, and Iasi). At the same time, new universities were founded in Cluj-Napoca, Galati, and Brasov. After the decline of the Soviet regime in 1989, tech universities became widespread all over the country, including Craiova, Sibiu, Constanta, Suceava, Resita, Bacau, Pitesti, Petrosani, and Ploiesti.

It is worth mentioning that there are specialized IT programs in Romania that provide knowledge of emerging technologies. They include programs in artificial intelligence and robotics, cybersecurity, software development, and web development.

In addition to traditional educational systems, Romania has developed private and informal educational boot camps and coding academies that offer short-term courses to get a specialized skill or enhance existing skills. While traditional university programs require at least 3 years of study, the digital world grows exponentially. To make sure that the IT specialists are equally acquiring knowledge, it is necessary to establish some less bureaucratic, more goal-oriented institutions. The most famous among them in Romania are Codecool, Hackages, and The Coding School.

Romanian IT education is oriented to European standards and implements collaboration with companies like Microsoft, Google, and Oracle, which provide graduates with certificates and up-to-date knowledge. Besides, Romania has a strong culture of self-learning and professional achievement all over the country.

 English proficiency

According to the EF English Proficiency Index, Romania’s English skills are ranked 12th out of the world’s 116 countries examined and 10th out of 35 European countries in 2024. These high marks are earned thanks to the efficient educational system. Romanians begin studying English and make it their second language, starting in elementary school or even kindergarten. Hence, by the time students enter the university, many of them are fluent in English and ready to use it in academic or professional settings.

To maintain or increase this high level of English skills, universities offer specialized programs or international exchange partnerships. As the EE EPI shows, the younger  Romanian population, aged 18-35, earns 600 points (out of 700), which means they are generally proficient in English as they grow up with access to education and opportunities to study. Many Romanians take international English language tests, such as TOEFL or IELTS, to certify their language skills. The availability of such a certificate may be a significant advantage when hiring someone for a position where language proficiency is required.

Tips for hiring

Romania has a high potential in software development. More than 25% of the developers are distributed across the country. This factor should be taken into consideration while building your developer’s team. While the talent pool of ICT specialists is highly skilled, they are paid 20% to 50% less than their colleagues from Western European or American countries. These rates are comparable to relatively affordable costs of living.

While planning to hire Romanian developers, consider applying for assistance to N-iX. The most famous software development country in Ukraine has a talent pool of 2,200 tech specialists. N-iX has been recognized as a credible supplier by Zinnov, IAOP, Clutch.co and gained certifications such as Microsoft Gold Partner, Google Cloud Platform Partner, etc.

Conclusion

Romania is a bright star of the Eastern European IT sector. Since the period IT technologies appeared as a valuable resource in the international market, specialized programs and universities have been established in the country. The Romanian government constantly improves educational programs and invests in the studies of the digital field. All these efforts are fruitful, as Romanian specialists are required all over the world and the IT industry brings billions of dollars to the state’s budget income annually.