In April 2015, the Latvian Parliament (Saeima) adopted amendments to the Vocational Education Law, to increase compliancy of vocational education and training (VET) with labour market needs at sectoral, institutional and programme levels.
The amendments introduce establishment of sectoral expert councils (SEC), to promote employers’ involvement in developing VET at sectoral level. These tripartite councils are composed of State and local government representatives, employers' organisations and trade unions. Twelve SECs were already established in 2011 under the ESF project ‘Development of sectoral qualifications system and increasing VET efficiency and quality (2010-15)’. They have proved successful in practice, but lacked a legal and regulative framework. More...
Thematic Country Reviews (TCR) on apprenticeship provision – steering, expanding, learning
On 25 and 26 May 2015, members of the country reviews steering groups from Malta, Lithuania, Greece, Italy and Slovenia are meeting in Thessaloniki for a policy learning exercise. They are gathering to discuss apprenticeship schemes, bringing in their different experiences and perspectives, and to learn more on how country reviews work. More...

