Young People Show Particular Interest in Working for the Municipality and Its Institutions on Job Shadow Day

On Wednesday, 13 February, Preiļi Municipality once again took part in the international Job Shadow Day. Twenty-two young people observed the work of the council’s management and specialists, becoming “shadows” of both municipal administration specialists and employees of the council’s institutions.

At the beginning of the day, the young people and the Job Shadow Day participants—the municipality’s representatives—gathered in the hall of the Preiļi Municipality School of Music and Art. There, Maruta Plivda, Chairwoman of the Preiļi Municipal Council, showed the young people a presentation and introduced the participants to the municipality’s structure and the functions carried out in the municipality. To ensure the successful conduct of the day and to document their observations and insights, each young person received a notebook and pen donated by the municipal chairwoman.

After the joint meeting, the “shadows” willingly accompanied their hosts to observe the work in their chosen fields firsthand, take part in carrying out work duties, and find answers to their questions.

Several young people showed an interest in the work of the municipality’s leadership, so four “shadows” observed with interest the work of Maruta Plivda, Chairwoman of the Preiļi Municipal Council, while two “shadows” gained an insight into the daily duties of Deputy Chair of the Municipal Council Juris Želvis. The young people were introduced to the work of various municipal council departments by Ilmārs Ivdris, Head of the Transport Department; Aldis Džeriņš, Head of the Legal Department; and Vita Biezaite, Head of the Real Estate Department. Inese Anina, a display artist, told the young people about the daily work and professional tips of a display specialist, while Rihards Romanovskis, Chief of the Preiļi Municipal Police, spoke about the everyday work of the Municipal Police. At the council’s institutions, the young people gained an insight into the daily work of Ināra Urča, a cultural manager at the Preiļi Cultural Centre, while Santa Ancāne-Novikova, Head of the Preiļi Municipality Youth Centre “Četri”, and youth affairs specialist Sintija Ančeva introduced the observers to the organisation of activities for young people in the municipality.

Under the guidance of Maija Paegle, the municipality’s public relations specialist, the young people experienced the duties of a public relations specialist. Both “shadows” also managed to help with daily tasks by photographing a seminar organised by the Latgale region that was taking place at the Preiļi Cultural Centre and was being observed by several municipal “shadows”.

At the end of Job Shadow Day, each young person received a certificate confirming their participation in Job Shadow Day, as well as feedback on their interest and activity during the event.

Sharing her impressions of what she had seen and experienced during the day, Vlada Aleksejeva, a student in Class 11b at Jānis Eglītis Preiļi State Gymnasium, said that Job Shadow Day was an interesting event. It helps young people learn about professions not only at school, but also gain an insight into real working life. She said it was great because it would make it easier to choose a profession in the future. Rūta Logina, a student in Class 8c at Preiļi Secondary School No. 1, said that Job Shadow Day helps young people realise what they want to pursue, adding that such an event helps them develop themselves and understand what they would like to do in the future. The other young people also acknowledged with satisfaction that job shadowing was interesting, creative and useful.

“We are happy to introduce pupils and young people to the municipality’s daily work, its tasks and objectives. I believe that Job Shadow Day provides every pupil with an excellent opportunity to get to know their possible future profession much better. It is equally important for young people to have the opportunity to visit a specific institution or company and become acquainted with its daily work. The experience gained during Job Shadow Days is of great importance when choosing a future profession, because pupils see each specialist’s daily work firsthand,” said Maruta Plivda, Chairwoman of the Preiļi Municipal Council, describing the Job Shadow Day activities.

This year, young people from educational institutions in Preiļi Municipality, the city of Daugavpils, Malta Municipality and Vārkava Municipality showed an interest in professions within the municipality. Among the job shadows were also two young women who, after completing their secondary education, were looking for opportunities to find the profession best suited to them.

Specialists from the Preiļi Municipal Council regularly take part in this initiative, offering pupils the opportunity to experience the municipality’s daily work and become acquainted with the specifics of the work performed by specialists in particular professions.