2024

2023

Modern vocational education content will be created with the support of European Union funds

With the support of European Union (EU) funds in the amount of more than 10.3 million euros, the creation of modern vocational education and training curriculum will continue, providing students with skills necessary for the labour market. This is foreseen by the regulations of the EU funds program prepared by the Ministry of Education and Science, which were approved by the government in December. 

With the support of EU funds:

• new teaching and methodological tools will be developed, 
• the learning process based on the working environment will be improved, 
• the digital platform of the vocational qualifications system will be created, 
• cooperation with industries and educational institutions will be strengthened for the improvement of training programmes. 

It is planned to develop new teaching and methodical tools for learning vocational education and training modules and sample test programmes for modules, as well as to implement their approbation. It is planned that teaching and methodological resources will be developed for at least 500 professional competence modules, primarily in the thematic area of STEM. It is planned to invest at least three million euros in the development of teaching and methodological tools. 

It is expected that the digital platform of the Professional Qualifications System will be created, which will provide opportunities to improve the process of development, implementation, and licensing of VET programmes necessary for the labour market. Likewise, the digital platform will also improve the accreditation of VET institutions, as well as help prevent the fragmentation of the educational and training offer. 

With the planned support, the training process based on the work environment also will be improved. It will help VET institutions in creating medium and long-term cooperation with companies for the implementation of work-based learning. The project of improving the content and offer of vocational education and training will be implemented by the National Centre for Education in cooperation with the Confederation of Latvian Employers, the Cooperation Council of Agricultural Organizations, the Latvian Free Trade Union, and VET schools that carry out methodological work. The implementation of the project is planned until 2029.

A uniform procedure for admission to professional education programmes is established

In May 2023, the Government approved the regulation prepared by the Ministry of Education and Science on the procedures for admission to professional education programmes and exclusions from them. The Regulation on the procedure for admission to professional education programmes and exclusions from them (Noteikumi par uzņemšanas kārtību profesionālās izglītības programmās un atskaitīšanu no tām) determine uniform requirements and the procedure by which persons are admitted, transferred to the next course, class or group of vocational basic education, vocational education, vocational upper-secondary education, vocational further education, professional development education and vocationally oriented education programmes.

Until now, the procedures for admission to professional education programmes, organization of entrance exams, as well as transfer to the next course or deduction from the professional education programme were determined by the internal regulations of educational institutions and their founders.

The new rules stipulate:

• requirements for registering a person in order to be admitted to start learning the programme, as well as the information specified in the application;
• the conditions and procedure in which the educational institution organizes entrance examinations, which can be both a competition for the evaluations contained in a person's previously obtained educational document and a test of previous professional knowledge and skills;
• conditions for transferring to the next course, class or group, if the programme has more than one study course, class, group and if the requirements set out in the national education standard and professional education programme are met, providing for the acquisition of a lower level professional qualification, the possibility of obtaining a part of the professional qualification, if the student unable to complete the entire programme due to insufficient skills or knowledge;
• if the previously started acquisition of professional education is interrupted at some point and the student must be excluded from the study of the programme, she or he can apply for admission to continue education in the later study stages of the programme in accordance with the procedure for recognizing a person's competence for admission to the later study stages of the vocational education programme.

2022

Latvia continues to build a flexible VET and adult learning system

Latvia continues to build a VET and adult learning system that focuses on the needs and abilities of an individual, promotes strong partnership with the industry and reduces skills imbalances, as well as promotes modular vocational education.

In 2022 Latvia adopted amendment to the Vocational Education Law which promotes flexible learning anywhere and anytime, providing learners with the opportunity to receive a state-recognized document not only for the entire educational program, but also for its individual parts. Modular professional education programs have been introduced, thus the time to respond promptly to the requirements of the labour market will be significantly reduced.

Latvia has developed National Qualification System with currently 15 Industry Qualifications Frameworks to better match the labour market supply and demand.

Furthermore, Latvia is moving towards implementation of micro-credentials as part of the Latvian Qualifications Framework which is a tool for comparing acquired professions and their corresponding professional qualifications, facilitating the transnational mobility of learners and staff, and promoting their lifelong learning.