Entries by admin

VET Excellence Award 2026

27. May, 2026 in /by

On 21 May 2026, the inaugural VET Excellence Award ceremony took place in Latvia, jointly established by the German Federal Ministry of Education and the Latvian Ministry of Education and Science…

Inspiring practices on green transition in Europe

16. December, 2025 in /by

The 2024 edition of the Compendium of inspiring practices on green transition is available, 2024 edition of the Compendium. It has been prepared as part of the work of the Strategic Framework Working Group (WG) on Vocational Education and Training (VET) and the Green Transition, 2021-2025, managed by the European Commission….

Latvia extends access to VET for at-risk learners

23. October, 2025 in /by

Since July 2025, individuals who have completed 9 years of basic education with satisfactory marks in all subjects (at least 4 out of 10) but failed no more than one State examination can still enrol in vocational education and training (VET). Full article available here.

Latvia: supporting stereotype-free careers

7. May, 2025 in /by

In 2024, the German-Baltic Chamber of Commerce (AHK) in Latvia, with the support of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Riga, launched the project Choosing a profession without prejudice. The project empowers young people in Latgale, a region with notably high unemployment, by challenging stereotypes and encouraging a gender-neutral approach to career choices. The project is an enabler for improved career choices of both genders and their enrolment in training programmes.

Union of Skills – adopted

10. March, 2025 in /by

On 5 March 2025, the Commission presented the Union of Skills, a key initiative of the European Commission. The Union of Skills sets out a comprehensive strategy to address skills and labour gaps across the EU.

Latvia: adult skill development in focus

29. January, 2025 in /by

On 11 December 2024, the Ministry of Education and Science organised a high-level conference ‘Adult skills: a prerequisite for human capital development’, focusing on strategies to improve adult skills and their role in advancing human capital. Full article available here.

Latvia: strengthening sectoral expert councils

10. September, 2024 in /by

In June 2024, the kick-off event of project Strong sectoral expert councils – strong vocational education (SEC_pLus) took place in Riga. The project was created within the framework of the 2023 Memorandum of cooperation in vocational education and training (VET) between the Latvian Ministry of Education and Science and the German Federal Ministry of Education…

Latvia: renewed collaboration on VET with Germany

8. August, 2024 in /by

In August 2023, the Latvian and German education ministries signed a declaration of cooperation in the fields of vocational education and training (VET) and lifelong learning. The declaration acknowledged the importance of sharing knowledge about VET policies, systems, measures, models, methods, and best practices. It is the third declaration of this kind since 2013. Full…

Latvia: international vocational education forum hosted by VET school in Ogre

7. December, 2023 in /by

On 26 and 27 September 2023, as part of the European Year of Skills, the Ogre Technical School in Latvia hosted the international vocational education forum ‘Planet of skills: renewed perspective on networking potential’. More than 700 experts and practitioners from 72 countries and international organisations participated in the forum sharing their experiences and vision…

Latvia: upskilling pathways introduced in legislation

30. May, 2023 in /by

On 1 May 2023, the government regulations allowing recognition of competences for VET admission entered into force. They introduced principles of the Council Recommendation Upskilling pathways: new opportunities for adults in the national legislation. Full article available here.

Latvia: sectoral qualifications supporting VET curricula reform

8. February, 2023 in /by

The project on improving the sectoral qualification system for better VET quality, supported by the European Structural Funds, was completed in 2022. It has helped reforming the VET curricula based on the changing labour market needs in collaboration with social partners and other stakeholders. More information available here.

Latvia: integrating the Ukrainian refugees into VET and labour market

13. June, 2022 in /by

Currently, there are more than 24 thousand Ukrainian refugees in Latvia, including 700 at school age. They receive free housing, regional transportation, health care and education services. Ukrainians have the right to receive education and to work in Latvia. Children may enter pre-school education …

Latvia: combatting early leaving from education and training bears fruit

27. May, 2022 in /by

Since March 2017, the State Education Quality Service has been implementing the project ‘Support for the Reduction of Early School Leaving’ (ESF 8.3.4.0/16/I/001) involving more than 95% of municipalities and 584 general and vocational education and training (VET) providers. The project promotes the development of a system of sustainable cooperation between municipalities, education institutions, teachers,…

Latvia: centralised approach to graduate tracking

6. January, 2022 in /by

A national centralised graduate tracking, based on administrative data, was implemented in higher education in 2019. In VET, the implementation is in progress. The education ministry has already acquired initial data (2018 and 2019) on VET graduates from the national statistics office. However, publishing the data (analysis by the ministry) requires changes in the legislation…

Latvia: vocational education excellence centres support other VET schools

4. December, 2021 in /by

The Ministry of Education and Science pays great attention to the relevance of the vocational education programmes to labour market needs. This requires day-to-day cooperation between schools and industries, and a clear methodology that allows the strongest VET providers in each sector to take a leading role. According to the ministry, this approach will also…

Latvia: new momentum for green approaches in VET

3. December, 2021 in /by

National vocational education and training (VET) policy is currently focusing on green challenges. The draft education strategy 2021-27 makes green thinking and digital competences a priority. Full Cedefop article is available here.

Graduate tracking gaining momentum

3. December, 2021 in /by

While centralised graduate tracking for tertiary education is being implemented, secondary level VET tracking exists only at school level. The work on centralised system is in the progress and the initial administrative data on the year 2018 VET graduates has been received from the Central Statistical Bureau at the end of 2020. Meanwhile amendments have…

Schools strengthen link between employers to further improvement of the quality of vocational education and training (VET)

11. November, 2021 in /by

In February, the Ministry of Education and Science Republic of Latvia, in cooperation with the National Centre for Education, organised workshops for vocational education competence centres (VECC) and another vocational schools inviting the Sector Expert Councils (SEC). The goal the workshops was to identify VECC responsible for methodological work according to the group of curricula….

Methodical tasks for vocational education excellence centres

11. November, 2021 in /by

On April 6, 2021 by Order of Ministry of Education, all 18 Vocational Education Competence Centres (VECS) under supervision of the Ministry received the tasks to perform methodogical tasks: to supervise methodical work in at least one sector and to be co-responsilbe for methodical work in other sectors under supervision of other VECs in the…

The ReferNet Information Network seminar was held On 17th December

9. November, 2021 in /by

Towards the end of the year, the ReferNet National Contact Point team invited the participants of the information network to an online seminar providing information on the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop) and the ReferNet network of contact points, Latvian and European developments in vocational education, as well as more information…

European Vocational Skills Week

4. November, 2021 in /by

European Vocational Skills Week take place between 9 and 13 November 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year all events are organized online. European Vocational Skills Week is an annual event where local, regional or national organizations showcase the very best of vocational education and training (VET). The focus for 2020 is vocational education…

European skills index 2020

3. November, 2021 in /by

The European Skills Index (ESI) is Cedefop’s composite indicator measuring the performance of EU skills systems. The ESI measures countries’ “distance to the ideal” performance. This ideal performance is chosen as the highest achieved by any country over a period of 7 years. The ideal performance is scaled to be 100 and the scores of all countries…

Latvia: VET during the Covid-19 outbreak

2. November, 2021 in /by

Cedefop has published an article on recommendations and support provided to educational institutions in Latvia during an emergency. Cedefop article is available here.

Latvia: the Baltic States develop common approaches to work-based learning

1. November, 2021 in /by

The five-year collaboration between the education ministries and other stakeholders in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia seeking common approaches to work-based learning (WBL) and WBL tutor training is bearing fruit. The TTT4WBL project, which was started in 2015 , contributed to joint conceptual approaches towards WBL in the Baltics and the TTT4WBL policy experimentation project tested…