Foreword

People’s skills are at the heart of Latvia’s vision for the future.

As globalisation and digitalisation transform jobs, how societies function and how people interact, the impetus for getting skills right is growing. People will need higher levels of skills and a well-rounded set of skills, including cognitive, social and emotional, and job-specific skills, to flourish in life both in and out of work.

After a severe recession, Latvia’s economy is now in an upswing, with GDP growth above 4% in 2018. To solidify its recovery and prepare its people for the uncertainties of the future, Latvia is making significant investments in skills. It already performs well compared to most OECD countries on many measures of skills development and use. Student performance in developing skills is around the OECD average, and the association between socio-economic status and education performance is weaker than the OECD average. The share of adults who are unmotivated to participate in adult learning is below average. Furthermore, the unemployment rate has nearly returned to pre-recession levels. Various bodies are in place to support whole-of-government co-ordination and stakeholder engagement on skills issues.

However, some challenges remain. The skills of the ageing teaching workforce need to be updated. Sustainable funding mechanisms and broader funding sources for adult learning are required so that Latvia can rely less heavily on European Structural Funds. Improving wages and working conditions for high- demand occupations could reduce the emigration of highly educated workers from Latvia. Partnerships between government and social partners need to be strengthened, which would raise capacity to implement and monitor innovative and coherent skills policies.

Recent and planned policy reforms show great promise, but more needs to be done to ensure better skills outcomes. The government and all relevant stakeholders should continue to work in partnerships that involve every level of government, education and training providers, employers, trade unions, the non- profit sector, and individual learners.

Citizens of all ages and backgrounds should be able to develop and use their skills effectively to take up the opportunities of a rapidly changing society. Achieving this aim will require concrete steps taken not only by government, but by stakeholders as well.

Based on analysis of Latvia’s comparative skills performance, as well as the findings from widespread engagement with stakeholders in Latvia, the OECD has developed a number of concrete recommendations to help Latvia along this path.

The OECD stands ready to support Latvia as it seeks to implement better skills policies for better lives.