Riga City Council Has Involved and Trained over 20 Young People in Project Management

Within the framework of the European Social Fund Project “Arrangement of Work Practice Places at the Riga City Council Structural Units for Unemployed Young People In Higher Education”, where the International Projects Division of Riga City Council City Development Department is participating in cooperation with the State Employment Agency and several departments of Riga City Council, this year over 20 young people –unemployed and under 25 years of age – have been trained in project management.

The project participants have obtained the basics of theoretical knowledge and practice in project management, working on probation at Riga City Council Departments. Nine of the currently trained young people will continue working on a permanent basis at the Riga City Council, and the rest have found jobs at state structures or private organizations.

The European Social Fund Project “Arrangement of Work Practice Places at Riga City Council Structural Units for Unemployed Young People In Higher Education” was started in 2005 and is implemented through co-financing of the Riga City Council and the European Social Fund. The aim of the project is to provide training in project management to forty young people, having higher education and under 25 years of age, who, due to the lack of experience, have not yet found an interesting work, and, thus, to increase competitiveness of these young people in the labour market.

The project anticipates that after training some of the young people will also be offered jobs at Riga City Council structural units. In total, in the course of the project, twenty new jobs are planned to be arranged. As of today, out of 30 young people, who have already been trained in the project, nine have been offered jobs at Riga City Council.

Olga Meļčakova, who has passed the project training and now works at the International Projects Division of the Riga City Council City Development Department, considers that an opportunity of studying the basics of project management, improving her computer skills and knowledge of foreign languages during the training has increased her competitiveness, as a young specialist, at the labour market. “I feel convinced that the knowledge obtained in project management and practice at Riga City Council will in future open wide opportunities for me to work as a Project Manager,” emphasizes O.Melčakova.

The total budget of the European Social Fund Project “Arrangement of Work Practice Places at the Riga City Council Structural Units for Unemployed Young People In Higher Education” is LVL 332,278. The project will be finished in summer 2008.

In the course of the project, four appeals to train young people have taken place, in total. This time it is the last – the fourth invitation, during which 10 young people are planned to be trained in project management skills. Young people under 25 years of age, who have received higher education in the field of social sciences, economics, business management, information technologies, law, but have not found job in their chosen speciality, are invited to apply for training and practice at Riga City Council.

International Projects Division of the
Riga City Council City Development Department
marija.abeltina@riga.lv
tel. 67012916, 67037924