Once again this year, Arkitema Architects will be hiring students as part of the annual Operation Day’s Work initiative.

In this way, the company supports a good cause, gets work done that employees don’t have time for in the everyday and offers secondary school students inspiration for their future career choices, explains Head of Communication Eva Friis.

“Often the students who contact us are interested in the field of architecture. Even though they won’t be working directly with architecture, it might inspire them and allow them to get a foot inside the door,” she says.

Operation Day’s Work, which is taking place for the 32nd time in Denmark this year, is an initiative in which secondary school students take a day off from school to work for free at a company.

In return, the company pays DKK 350 to a good cause selected by Operation Day’s Work each year. This year, the money will be donated to disabled young people in Uganda.

Everyone can use a day worker

At Arkitema, it is the receptionists who hire students and put them to work.

“They help us clean up, organise drawers and closets and generally do the kind of work we don’t have time for in the everyday. I think all companies have that kind of work,” says receptionist at Arkitema Joan Olsen.

Two students from Prins Henriks Skole contacted the architecture firm already the day after the one-day job posting was uploaded to Operation Day’s Work’s job database. And according to the head of communication, the students are usually extremely engaged.

“It probably has to do with the fact that they’re enthusiastic about volunteering. We’re able to support a good cause, and the students are able to show what they’ve got and how they work,” says Eva Friis.

Closer relationship between students and companies

Director of Vocational Education at the Confederation of Danish Industry Lone Folmer Berthelsen is pleased to see secondary school students getting the chance to work at a company for a day through Operation Day’s Work.

 “We’re happy to see the relationship between companies and secondary school students become closer,” she says.

The director of vocational education hopes that a day working for a company will inspire students and give them a sense of what they might like to work with in the future.

“We’d like to encourage companies to hire students via Operation Day’s Work’s job database, which matches up companies and students,” says Lone Folmer Berthelsen.