Education and Science, Energy, Latvia, Oil, Transport

The students ‘shadowed’ the Managing Director of Venspils nafta terminals – Lars Pantzlaff, Operations director – Vilnis Riekstiņš and Operational Dep’t Manager – Aleksandrs Gusevs.

In the course of the day students had the opportunity to participate in an e-briefing on safety rules in the company, get to know the terminal, and participate in everyday meetings with VNT managers.

“Since the issue of attracting new professionals is an important one for VNT, we used the opportunity to take part in the Shadow Day to be able to give young people an insight into the company’s business and operations. I hope this will help students understand the specifics of different professions, and will make choosing their future working field easier. I believe the parents should also tell their children what they do at work, what their responsibilities are. For example, one of the ‘shadows’ was a child of our own employee. I hope that after spending the day at VNT the youngsters were able to see that a company is not just the walls and physical working environment, but also its people, who are doing their everyday job” – said Lars Pantzlaff, viewing this participation in the Shadow Day as a means to help explain complicated things in simple terms.

“I chose VNT, because I wanted to learn more about the company's operations. I am interested in transshipment processes, so the brightest moment of my ‘Shadowing’ experience was a walk through the terminal, which was very extensive and fun” – says Roberts Kukainis from Ventspils Secondary School, grade 11, who was shadowing the GM of SIA Venspils nafta terminals Lars Pantzlaff. Roberts also pointed out that he would enjoy working in this sector, as the work in the company takes place in a dynamic and developing environment.

In turn, Samanta Vēza – a 10^th-grader from Druva Secondary school, shared her impressions: “VNT is a growing business not only in Latvia, but also on a global scale. Applying for the Shadow Day at VNT, I was mostly interested in understanding the principles of operation of the terminal and the tasks performed by its employees. I was very pleased by the special attention the terminal pays to safety matters. As for my participation in company meetings, I realised what a great role learning languages has here – during the meeting participants used up to three languages simultaneously. I was also pleasantly surprised at the serious approach the employees take to their responsibilities. Working in a company like VNT definitely requires a good sense of responsibility, ability to stand up for your views and skills to present yourself.”