Riga Job Fair Offers More Than 1,300 Vacancies Amid airBaltic Layoff Plans

Following reports that airBaltic plans to lay off a large number of employees, attention has turned to what the labour market can offer. According to 360TV Ziņas, the Riga vacancy fair, held twice a year, features more than 1,300 open positions in a range of industries.

Riga has the lowest unemployment rate in Latvia, at 3.8%. Even so, thousands of people are still looking for work. Vacancies are traditionally most numerous for low-skilled labour, such as general labourers, cleaners and dishwashers. The public sector is also fairly well represented.

Requirements and demand

HR business partner Zoja Balbatuna says that machine operators in manufacturing must have experience, while general workers who load goods need to be physically active and strong.

Alisa Konvisere-Kutina, a spokesperson for the Prison Administration, says the agency always has many vacancies. The need for staff has grown further because of the planned opening of the new Liepāja prison, which is designed for at least 1,200 inmates and will require a large number of employees.

Riga Airport is also short of staff. Sanita Šaitere, the airport's personnel project manager, explains that training for most vacancies is provided during paid working hours. In security, for instance, people without previous experience can join and be taught everything. She expects former airBaltic employees to apply too, as aviation tends to draw people in, and in the past staff leaving the airport or airBaltic have often stayed in the industry.

Advice for job seekers

Experts recommend against sending one CV everywhere and suggest preparing a tailored application for each vacancy. Sandra Dimitroviča, a career counsellor at the State Employment Agency, notes that the world of professions is changing fast and a CV is no longer a form or a record of an entire working life. It should answer the specific employer's questions: what the candidate can do and what they can offer for that particular role.