THE CONTRIBUTION OF SMES TO JOB CREATION AND ADDED VALUE IN THE ROMANIAN ECONOMY. THE ROLE OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION

Micro, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) play a crucial role in the European economy, representing a major source of entrepreneurial skills, innovationand job creation. The values of the main indicators of SMEs in the year 2013, the aggregate in the European Union, give a suggestive image of the contribution of SMEs in the Europeaneconomy, namely 99% of all enterprises in the EU are SMEs, 66% of employees are employed in SMEs, 58% of the value added generated in the economy is achieved by SMEs. However, SMEs are often confronted with market imperfections, often having difficulties in obtaining financing or crediting, especially in the phaseof newly established SMEs (start-up). Limited financial resources may also hamper access to new technologies, investment and innovation. Therefore, support for SMEs is one of the priorities ofthe European Commission for growth, creating jobs and economic and social cohesion.Regarding Romania, it is the eighth country in the EU, with a great number of employees inSMEs and with a contribution of 3% to the total workforce in the EU-28 SME sector. We are not better at the chapter of the added value achieved in the SME sector, ranking 17thin the European Union, with a 0.7% contribution to total value added in the EU-28, in front of Greece (0.93%) and before Hungary (0.68%), countries with a higher number of SMEs. The disparity report between the share of added value and the potential ofRomania's demographic development reflects the large gap between the productivity and the competitiveness of Romanian SMEs. The example of other countries, such as Austria and Belgium, shows a greater contribution to value added (3.1% and 2.8%) compared with 2% share of the total number of employees in the aggregate European SMEs, which demonstrates a higher level of productivity. Also, this is true for the strongest European economies, such as Germany, France and Britain