To find a job that would meet one‘s qualifications and experience is a challenge for both young people in Lithuania and in other European countries as the tendency is to employ them on a fixed-term or part-time basis. With the aim to prepare students for their successful career, the Careers Days at Vilnius Gediminas Technical University (VGTU), this event celebrating its 10th anniversary, have started this week.
Youth unemployment in Lithuania decreased to 17.5 per cent last year according to the data of the Lithuanian Labour Exchange, with only one tenth of those job seekers in the age group of 15-25 being graduates of higher education institutions.
The Rector of VGTU Alfonsas Daniūnas says: “If we take a look at Germany, France or the United Kingdom, we can see that the steady growth of the economies in these countries is ensured by their strong industries. With its economy being in the process of rising, Lithuania needs more and more people trained in such fields as the physical and technological sciences, and management. Still, the marketable qualifications alone will not be sufficient to find a job. Work experience could already be gained during the period of studies, and the Careers Days provide opportunities for our young people to learn the ways of presenting oneself on a job market and to get introduced to their potential employers”.
The graduates of the Faculties of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Environmental Engineering are among the leaders to find employment, with their employment figures being as high as 97, 96 and 93 per cent respectively. The main factors determining these excellent results in finding employment are personal qualities, social relationships, work experience and studies at VGTU.
As Antanas Uršulis, Managing Director at CSC Baltic, a company participating at the Careers Days, puts it: “Studies could be compared to foundations of a building: they are the starting point, but the final result will depend on the factors emerging in the process of the construction and the effort put into it. The same applies to one‘s career: first, a field of study is chosen, then the acquired knowledge and models of behaviour are tested in practice. It is but natural that young people sometimes feel anxious about their career planning, with the present-day market offering such a lot of opportunities. The earlier one starts thinking about a real job, the more a real chance of success grows“.
The Managing Director of the aforementioned company that was the second best employer in Lithuania of 2014 ('Top Employer' award), chosen by means of a poll on the CV-Online website, added that such qualities as motivation, receptiveness and openness to dynamic work are valued in potential employees.
"Rise Higher: Careers Days 2015" is the festival of careers, a 2-month long programme at VGTU. More than 50 open lectures will be given by the managers and employees of the largest corporations and businesses in Lithuania such as Hanner, Re/Max Lietuva, Teo and Lietuvos energija.
"The ability of a candidate to solve complex problems, demonstrate critical thinking and skills of clear communication has been showing the tendency to become a decisive factor in the process of selecting employees. Employers also give much attention to the motivation of future specialists, their willingness to learn, develop and take responsibility“, said Ugnė Narkevičiūtė, the Acting Director of the Integration and Career Office of VGTU, and she encouraged the students to attend the Careers Days events saying: "The symbol of these Careers Days is an air balloon and it will enable you to rise and discover new space. The "Rise Higher“ slogan of the Careers Days 2015 encourages not to limit yourself, dear student, but strive for ambitious goals in your career and rise high into the sky“.
Students will meet with famous people of Lithuania such as TV personalities Martynas Starkus, Arūnas Valinskas, acrobat Eltonas Maleckis and others; they will take part in CV writing workshops and job interview simulations arranged by professional people. On March 19, the Careers Fair will be held, with the number of participating enterprises increasing twice in comparison to last year. Business leaders, the Rector of VGTU and his team will share their insight at the discussion "What specialists will future need?". In April, students will go to visit different enterprises where excursions will be organised for them.
