Exploring the Potential of Mentoring Programs for Public Sector Management

A major challenge facing Romania, as a new member of the European Union (EU), is the implementation of Public Administration Reform. Among the significant supporting initiatives it can mention the project Young Professionals Scheme launched in 2003 that includes mentoring as a basic component of training Romanian public managers under this scheme. On the other hand, an extended documentary research on recent international approaches of mentoring in public sector allowed us to note a considerable gap relative to other sectors and relative to the situation of implementing government mentoring programs in EU countries and in other countries such as USA, Canada, or Australia. Against this background our paper attempts to point out why and how mentoring programs could and should be used not only as a component of initial training of public managers, but also as a current managerial practice for ensuring continuity and sustainability of the reform in Romania.