Vocational Education and Training and the Labour Market in Latvia

Conclusions

1.      There is a continuous shift in the distribution of the unemployed among economic sectors; the number of employed is increasing in the service sector and decreasing in the agriculture sector.  This indicates that there is an increasing demand on the labour market for service sector workers.

2.      Employment is closely linked to the level of completed education.  It can be clearly perceived that those persons who have only completed basic education or have even a lower level of education have the least chance of finding work, and employability sharply increases with each following level of education.  The highest level of employment is constantly enjoyed by persons with a higher education, they also have the highest average wage.

3.      There is a great demand on the labour market for various levels of sales assistants, because there is an overproduction of goods on the market.  Selling skills should be included in almost all vocational training programmes, because they would largely increase the employability of graduates.  Profits are ensured not by the amount of goods produced, but by the capacity to sell them.

4.      The most popular profession among school children is still law.  This shows that there is a common opinion that law is one of the best paid professions, even though there is not a very big demand for lawyers on the labour market.  The critical nature of conditions in the health care and education sectors is witnessed by the fact that the traditionally popular and prestigious professions of doctor and teacher have dropped out of the list of most popular professions.  The lack of interest on the part of students in entering the teaching profession is already affecting and will in future have an effect on the quality of education (including vocational training).

5.      Since 1997 the distribution of vocational education students among groups of training programmes has changed.  With the increase of the number of employed in the service sector, there has been an increase in the proportion of students undergoing training for this sector.  Trends in the distribution of the employed across economic sectors in Europe show that the number of employed in the service sector could increase, therefor vocational education establishments need to continue to decrease the offer of traditional manufacturing-oriented training programmes and to develop client-oriented programmes.

6.      The greatest enrolment competition at vocational education establishments is in computer sciences programmes.  These programmes also enjoy the lowest drop-out rate, which shows that demand for their chosen profession on the labour market motivates students to study.  Since there is a shortage of computer specialists in the labour market, it is intended to open new computer sciences training programmes at the first level of higher education.

7.      The greatest number of vocational education establishments is located in Riga.  Young people from all over the country go to study there.  Data on how many students return to their place of origin are not available.  However, it is evident that for many the opportunity to study in Riga is a chance to get out of their usual environment and to start living independently.  The wider employment opportunities offered by the capital city are a cause for young people to leave the out-lying regions.  Liepaja and Daugavpils have established themselves as regional centres of vocational training.

8.      Since it is difficult for young people ages 15-18 to evaluate their own abilities and future, vocational guidance activities need to be greatly increased.  Young people often do not have a realistic perception of the career they have chosen.

9.      According to CBS data 30% of those who have completed vocational training in the last ten years are working in the field that they trained for.  This means that the vocational training system needs to devote a lot of attention to the well-rounded education of students, so that they can be sufficiently mobile in conditions of general globalisation.  It is important to teach young people not only those things which are necessary for their chosen profession, but also to prepare them for working life as such.  Those people who have completed a vocational education programme have acquired knowledge and skills that make them more competitive on the labour market, even if they use them in another field.

10.  The mobility of students between different training programmes must be increased.  One option is the gradual implementation of modularised training programmes.  Another option is the development of remedial training at vocational education establishments, which would allow students to improve their knowledge in subjects where it is lacking.  However, it is important to begin thinking about ways to reduce the number of students who progress from form to form with a low level of knowledge starting from primary school, because this in large part creates a barrier to continuing education.

11.  Social partners are becoming more and more involved in vocational education.  The Tripartite Subcommittee on Vocational Education and Employment has been established, however, there is often a lack of co-ordination among employers and vocational education establishments on a lower level.  The demands made by employers are often contradictory and do not match their contributions.  This is exacerbated by gaps in national legislation, as support for those who invest in education is minimal.

12.  Graduates of vocational education programmes lack computer and foreign language skills.  Schools cannot provide them, because there are insufficient facilities and a shortage of good teachers.

13.  Each year there is an increase in the number of unemployed persons who express a wish to attend re-training courses.  Access to training is provided for less than half.  In order to select the most suitable candidates for training, the SES holds tests for the unemployed.  Approximately half of the unemployed persons who undergo training later find a job.

14.  Special attention should be focussed on those persons who are potential jobseekers – the economically inactive population (approximately two-fifths of all residents older than 15).  More than half of this population segment is retired (62%), but slightly more than one fifth (22%) are school children or students who study full-time and do not work.  In November 2000, 7.4% (or 51.0 thousand) of the economically inactive population had lost hope of finding work, or did not know how and where to look for work (13.0 thousand).

15.  Each year the number of participants of further education increases.  However, the further education of the population is the responsibility of the individual and of the employer.  State funding is generally earmarked for training of the unemployed.

16.  There is no unified national evaluation system for further education programmes.  This means that the quality of programmes on offer can differ greatly.

17.  New legislation has been passed in initial vocational education, and legislation in this area is gradually being put into order.  There is no reason to declare that the education system is training people who are worthless on the labour market.  The vocational education system has always had a greater burden to bear in the area of social rehabilitation than the general upper secondary schools or universities.  At a time when social stratification in Latvia is on-going, this task is all the more important, because the reduction of social exclusion is the basis for reducing stress in the social fabric.

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