{"id":32030,"date":"2025-09-17T15:45:26","date_gmt":"2025-09-17T12:45:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/developvalmiera.lv\/?p=32030"},"modified":"2025-09-25T11:26:20","modified_gmt":"2025-09-25T08:26:20","slug":"interview-with-andris-about-employment-thanks-to-the-stronger-together-project-activities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/developvalmiera.lv\/en\/interview-with-andris-about-employment-thanks-to-the-stronger-together-project-activities\/","title":{"rendered":"Interview with Andris about Employment Thanks to the STRONGER TOGETHER Project Activities"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

ABOUT ME<\/strong>
Can you tell us about your previous work experience or accomplishments<\/strong>?
My longest work experience was in my youth, when I worked for seven years as a warehouse manager at a meat processing plant in Valmiera. My last official job was 24 years ago in Ireland. Unfortunately, I fell ill and returned to Latvia. It then took me a while to recover and improve my health.
What is your current workplace?
Currently, I am working at SIA Ter\u016bna<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BEFORE THE FIRST DAY<\/strong>
How did you prepare for your first day at work?<\/strong>
Honestly, I don\u2019t think I really prepared much. Some things had already been discussed with my social worker Jana, so I was simply happy to go to work. I also knew that Jana would accompany me on my first day.

THE FIRST DAY
<\/strong>On my first day, I was not alone \u2013 Jana from the Latvian Samaritan Association<\/em> (a project partner) was with me. She helped me understand what I had to do and provided support.
How did they explain and show you what to do at work?<\/strong>
They showed me the workplace, the surroundings, and also the staff kitchen. I spoke with my manager. I was probably introduced to other colleagues, but I don\u2019t remember well because I was a bit nervous. I came in my work clothes, and after the introductions, I immediately started working. My very first task was dismantling paving stones. At first, it was difficult, but they gave me the chance to think and figure things out myself. No one told me every single step.

CHALLANGES<\/strong>
What was the hardest part when you started working?
Since I hadn\u2019t worked for a long time, the hardest part was waking up at 5:00 in the morning to get ready and catch the right bus. After getting off at the stop, I still had to walk a few kilometers to work. Another challenge is my chronic back pain. And of course, I had to learn how to do the tasks correctly.

COLLEAGUES<\/strong>
How do you feel about your co-workers?
The most important person for me was my employer, but I got to know the other colleagues gradually. Everyone is friendly and still supportive if I need help. Some tasks I do on my own, but sometimes my manager asks me to work together with others. For example, we all worked together on building the foundation of a new extension. That\u2019s when I spent more time with them and got to know them better.

NEW SKILLS<\/strong>
What new skills would you like to learn to make your work easier?
I would like to learn better money management skills \u2013 how to budget so that I can pay my bills and still have enough left for living throughout the month. I think before you start working, you don\u2019t really know what you\u2019ll need to learn. Physical strength comes naturally from the work itself. In the end, the job itself is the best place to learn \u2013 you just do it, make mistakes, and then figure out how to do better.

ADVICE<\/strong>
What advice would you give to someone who is thinking about starting work but is still afraid?<\/strong>
I would say \u2013 first of all, believe in yourself, because without self-belief you cannot achieve anything. You have to go and do it. When you are among people, you gain new opportunities and friends, and people start to respect you because you are active in society. It also brings financial security \u2013 now I can pay my bills and still have enough for myself. It wasn\u2019t like that before, but now it feels good to know that I can take care of myself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 This activity was supported as part of STRONGER TOGETHER, an Interreg Central Baltic Programme 2021-2027 project co-funded by the European Union.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ABOUT MECan you tell us about your previous work experience or accomplishments?My longest work experience was in my youth, when I worked for seven years as a warehouse manager at a meat processing plant in Valmiera. My last official job was 24 years ago in Ireland. Unfortunately, I fell ill and returned to Latvia. It […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":32031,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[364,340,365,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32030","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-en","category-news-top","category-stronger-together-en-2","category-uncategorized-lv"],"aioseo_notices":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/developvalmiera.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/pexels-cottonbro-4918156-scaled.jpg",1706,2560,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/developvalmiera.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/pexels-cottonbro-4918156-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/developvalmiera.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/pexels-cottonbro-4918156-200x300.jpg",200,300,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/developvalmiera.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/pexels-cottonbro-4918156-768x1152.jpg",768,1152,true],"large":["https:\/\/developvalmiera.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/pexels-cottonbro-4918156-683x1024.jpg",683,1024,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/developvalmiera.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/pexels-cottonbro-4918156-1024x1536.jpg",1024,1536,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/developvalmiera.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/pexels-cottonbro-4918156-1365x2048.jpg",1365,2048,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Anete Todu","author_link":"https:\/\/developvalmiera.lv\/en\/author\/anete\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"ABOUT MECan you tell us about your previous work experience or accomplishments?My longest work experience was in my youth, when I worked for seven years as a warehouse manager at a meat processing plant in Valmiera. 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