Aivija is a very qualified individual; she obtained her higher education (bachelor's degree) at Riga Technical University. She studied business, and has worked as an accountant for many years. Aivija thought that she would only ever work as an accountant; however, she wanted a job that involved more communication with people.
Some difficulties faced during her job search: she was scared of opening up to employers and of showing them all her capabilities. Another issue for her was finding a job which could provide her with growth opportunities. Furthermore, she lives in small town 30 km from the region’s centre.
Aivija’s aim was to improve her presentation skills and self-confidence, as well as her social and civic skills.
Job seeker’s opinion: If people don’t develop their interpersonal skills, they may sacrifice many opportunities in the job market. While they can dream about a better job, they may never reach it. They must first improve their interpersonal skills, even just a small amount, in order to be better equipped for the job market.
Aivija was quite persistent. She wanted to undergo the evaluation tests in her own way and on her own terms. She contacted the facilitator to find out what steps she should take and to talk about her improvements.
Regarding the training course, Aivija said that to understand all of the Job-Yes online course tools she had to spend more time on them than what she had expected. Although she didn’t expect that the training course would be so time consuming, she was glad that she took part in it.
Job seeker’s evaluation of the facilitator's work: She liked the facilitator, Agrita Mūrniece, who helped her with the learning process. The fact that Aivija could contact her any time she needed was very useful. The facilitator’s explanations were clear and detailed. Aivija met with the facilitator a total of six times to discuss her progress and achievements in the learning process. They mostly communicated by phone or e-mail.
Aivija lacked confidence and presentation skills; her aim was to improve her social skills and learn to be more confident. Her average result before undertaking the course was a score between five and seven. Her goal was to improve her skills to reach at least eight. All face to face meetings happened at the National Employment Agency in Madona; therefore, Aivija drove 30 km each time to attend learning seminars and face to face meetings.
After the whole learning process, Aivija realized that she could search for a job a little further away from where she lives, and not be scared of relocating.
Out of all training aspects, Aivija’s preferred Job–Yes online course tool was the “Self-need analysis”. She said ‘It was hard to evaluate myself, to be honest, and not to lie. The results surprised me; I don’t have a very good level of interpersonal skills. I understand that I have a lot of work to do. The OERs (Open Educational Resources) exercises were the most useful; while some of them were easy, others were difficult. I liked the exercises related to job interviews, presentation, and self-confidence.’
After the training, both the facilitator and the job seeker agreed that her confidence had increased. She learned how to introduce herself, and how to present her skills in both written and verbal form.
Thanks to her progress, Aivija made a positive impression on the facilitator, such that she suggested her to an employer and was then invited to an interview. Finally, Aivija continued the good impression during her interview, showing good presentation skills. She currently works at the National Employment Agency.
The interview was carried out by the training facilitator: Agrita Mūrniece, National Employment Agency.