OECD Skills Strategy Implementation Guidance for Latvia

1. Summary and recommendations

Abstract

This chapter presents the main findings and recommendations of the OECD Skills Strategy Implementation Guidance project in Latvia. This project, and the first phase of the Skills Strategy Assessment and Recommendations project, were designed to support Latvia in the development of its Education Development Guidelines 2021‑2027 (EDG). This chapter summarises the OECD’s guidance in two areas, each of which are the subject of a separate chapter in this report: 1) guidance on developing Latvia’s EDG and selecting EDG policy actions; and 2) guidance on improving Latvia’s indicator system and selecting EDG indicators.

1. Introduction

The main goal of the Education Development Guidelines (hereafter referred to as the “EDG”) is to guide Latvia’s efforts in providing a high-quality and inclusive education and training system for all its citizens, and to support sustainable national growth. The EDG covers all levels of education and all types of learning. It is a medium-term policy planning document developed by the Ministry of Education and Science of Latvia that defines the policy objectives, policy actions, timelines, responsible actors, related finances and policy targets for the next seven years for education and skills policies. The EDG is being developed in collaboration with relevant ministries and a wide range of stakeholders, such as the Free Trade Union Confederation of Latvia, the Employers’ Confederation of Latvia, the Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and various other institutions and associations (see Annex A for the full list). Once completed, the EDG will be submitted to the national parliament (Saeima) for approval.

The EDG will be designed to help Latvia achieve its national and international commitments. As Latvia is a member of international communities, such as the European Union (EU), the OECD and the United Nations, it has agreed to and is held accountable for making progress towards achieving collective goals, including in the area of education and skills. As Latvia is expected to regularly report progress towards implementing required actions and achieving shared goals, the EDG has to be aligned with these international commitments. This means, for example, integrating the skills relevant to international commitments into the EDG and using consistent terminology and indicators to measure national progress in these areas. The EDG must also support the achievement of the goals of Latvia’s other major strategies and plans for national development, many of which have education and skills related goals and commitments. These include the Sustainable Development Strategy to 2030, the National Development Plan (2021‑2027), and sectoral strategies in the areas of, for example, science, technology and innovation. By aligning and co‑ordinating these strategies, Latvia can create synergies and ensure complementary policy actions.

The OECD has supported Latvia in developing its Education Development Guidelines 2021‑2027 through the OECD Skills Strategy Latvia project, which has been conducted in two phases: the Assessment and Recommendations Phase (2018-2019) and the OECD Implementation Guidance Phase (2019-2020).

The Assessment and Recommendations Phase identified priority areas for action for Latvia and made concrete recommendations for improving Latvia’s performance in developing relevant skills and using skills effectively. This phase analysed the performance of Latvia’s education and skills system and provided tailored recommendations for its improvement. Based on this analysis, as well as input from stakeholder engagement activities in Latvia, the OECD developed a number of concrete recommendations, which are featured in the OECD report “OECD Skills Strategy Latvia: Assessment and Recommendations”, published in December 2019 (OECD, 2019[1]).

The findings of the Implementation Guidance Phase, which are summarised in this publication “OECD Skills Strategy Latvia Implementation Guidance: Developing Latvia’s Education Development Guidelines 2021-2027”, are a major input to the development of Latvia’s EDG. The OECD was asked to provide guidance and input to Latvia’s EDG in two key areas:

1. Guidance on developing Latvia’s EDG and selecting EDG policy actions (see Chapter 2).

2. Guidance on improving Latvia’s indicator system and selecting EDG indicators (see Chapter 3).

Each chapter describes the elements of an effective selection process, presents an assessment of relevant contexts, discusses the proposed policy actions or indicators, and provides practical suggestions of what Latvia could consider for next steps.

The remaining part of this chapter introduces Latvia’s EDG (Section 2), discusses how it relates to other international and national commitments (Section 3), and describes how Phase I (Section 4) and Phase II (Section 5) of the OECD Skills Strategy Latvia project have contributed to the development of Latvia’s EDG, it also presents the recommendations of Phase II.

2. Latvia’s Education Development Guidelines 2021-2027

Skills are vital for enabling individuals and countries to thrive in an increasingly complex, interconnected and rapidly changing world. Countries in which people develop strong skills, learn throughout their lives, and use their skills fully and effectively at work and in society are more productive and innovative and enjoy higher levels of trust, better health outcomes, and a higher quality of life. Skills policies play a central role in paving countries’ development path by, for example, easing the adoption of new technologies and helping firms move up the value-added chain; they also make countries more attractive to foreign direct investment and tend to help foster more tolerant and cohesive societies.

To ensure that countries are able to adapt and thrive in a rapidly changing world, all people need access to opportunities to develop and maintain strong proficiency in a broad set of skills. These skills include cognitive skills, social and emotional skills, job and occupation-specific skills, and digital skills. The process of skills development is lifelong, starting in childhood and youth and continuing throughout adulthood (Box 1.1). Skills development occurs not only formally in schools and higher education, but also non‑formally and informally in the home, community and workplaces.

Box 1.1. OECD definitions of “skills”

Definition of skills

Cognitive skills involve the understanding, interpretation, analysis and communication of complex information and the ability to apply this information in situations of everyday life. These skills are general in nature and relevant for all kinds of occupations. They are considered necessary to provide a foundation for effective and successful participation in the social and economic life of advanced economies.

Social and emotional skills, also known as non-cognitive skills, soft skills or character skills, these are the skills involved in working with others (friendliness, respect, caring), in achieving goals (perseverance, self-control, passion for goals) and in managing emotions (calmness, optimism, confidence). They are based on recognised taxonomies in personality psychology, particularly the “big five” factors (extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability and openness).

Job and occupation-specific skills refer to technical skills that are demanded in the context of workplaces. Unlike cognitive and social and emotional skills, they are not relevant for or portable between all occupations, but are specific to one occupation. They are typically reflected in the qualification a person holds and are valued by employers.

Digital skills are considered technical skills, although they entail cognitive ability to enable the understanding, interpretation, analysis and communication of digital content. They are applied in a variety of different occupations and are increasingly pervading the social aspects of everyone’s life.

Source: OECD (2019[2]), OECD Skills Strategy 2019: Skills to Shape a Better Future, https://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264313835-en; OECD (2020[3]), Strengthening the Governance of Skills Systems: Lessons from Six OECD Countries, https://dx.doi.org/10.1787/3a4bb6ea-en.

The EDG is developed under Latvia’s Education Law (Paragraph 18 of Section 141), which gives the Cabinet of Ministers the authority to design an education strategy. The EDG is designed to support Latvia’s relevant national and international commitments (see Section 3). Some of the actions in the EDG continue on from the previous EDG 2014‑2020, while others are new. The EDG is developed by the Ministry of Education and Science in collaboration with other skills-relevant ministries, such as the Ministry of Welfare and the Ministry of Economics, among others, and a wide range of stakeholders, such as trade unions, the Employers’ Confederation of Latvia, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and various other institutions and associations (see Annex A for a full list of stakeholders). The EDG will be submitted to the national parliament (Saeima) for approval towards the end of 2020.

3. The EDG and Latvia’s international and national commitments regarding skills

The EDG is designed to help Latvia achieve its international commitments, which include those at the European level and beyond (Table 1.1). As Latvia is a member of international communities, such as the European Union, the OECD and the United Nations, it has agreed and is held accountable to making progress towards achieving collective goals and participating in shared actions in the area of education and skills. These include the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), in particular SDG4 on education; the actions of the New Skills Agenda for Europe and the European Skills Agenda for sustainable competitiveness, social fairness and resilience (2020); the principles and rights of the European Pillar of Social Rights; and the targets of the EU Semester. As Latvia is expected to regularly report progress on these actions and goals, the EDG must be aligned with these international commitments. This means, for example, integrating the skills relevant to international commitments into the EDG and using consistent terminology and indicators to measure national progress in these areas. This will also put Latvia in a position to benchmark itself against other peer countries, identify its strengths and weaknesses, and participate more proactively in peer learning. This would provide valuable insights that could inform and guide Latvia’s implementation of the EDG.

The EDG must also support the achievement of Latvia’s other major goals for national development, which are described in various strategic documents, such as the Growth Model for Latvia: People First, the Sustainable Development Strategy to 2030, and the National Development Plan 2021‑2027 (Table 1.1). It is important that the EDG is coherent and consistent with these strategies, and that any skills-related targets that have been set in those documents are also included in the EDG. The EDG must also be consistent with education and skills relevant projects such as Latvia’s Smart Specialisation Strategy 2021‑2027, which is part of Latvia’s National Industrial Policy Guidelines and also has skills relevant components. By co‑ordinating the development of the EDG with relevant strategies and policies it will be possible to identify areas for synergy and to ensure that the policy actions in various strategies are complementary. There are also relevant projects on specific components of the education and skills system, for example the education monitoring project within the Ministry of Education and Science that seeks to develop a monitoring system with specific indicators for measuring education quality by 2023. As indicators on education quality are also relevant for the EDG, it is important to co‑ordinate the development of such indicators and reflect upon how they can be incorporated into the EDG.

Table 1.1. Overview of relevant international and national commitments for Latvia’s EDG

Commitment	Description
International
2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2015)	At the centre of this agenda are the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which all countries are called on to achieve collectively. One of these goals is SDG4 on education, which covers 10 targets and 11 indicators. Education topics covered by this SDG include: access to quality early child education and care (ECEC) for all; equal access to technical, vocational and tertiary education; a substantial increase in the number of youth and adults with relevant skills for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship; eliminate gender disparities; build and upgrade education facilities; and increase the supply of teachers.
European Skills Agenda (2020)	This is a shared agenda for the EU, with member states and stakeholders at all levels working together to improve skills outcomes, especially in the context of COVID‑19 and taking account of the fact that opportunities to upskill and reskill should be an important part of the recovery. It includes 12 actions organised in four building blocks: 1) a call to join forces in collective action; 2) a strategic set of actions to ensure people have the right skills for jobs; 3) tools and initiatives to support people in their lifelong learning pathways; and 4) a framework to unlock investment in skills. The agenda also establishes four ambitious objectives to be achieved by 2025, based on well-established quantitative indicators.
European Pillar of Social Rights (2017)	This sets out 20 key principles and rights to support fair and well-functioning labour markets. It is structured around three chapters: 1) equal opportunities and access to the labour market; 2) fair working conditions; and 3) social protection and inclusion. To put the 20 rights and principles into practice, the European Commission is launching an action plan, concrete initiatives at the European level, and has set aside considerable financial support from the EU budget, including under the European Social Fund (ESF+), to which the Commission proposes to dedicate EUR 100 billion over the period 2021 to 2027.
National
The Growth Model for Latvia: People First (2005)	This concept paper describes Latvia’s long-term vision for growth over the next 20-30 years and emphasises the knowledge and skills that people need. The priorities are: 1) granting everyone access to secondary education and providing opportunities to pursue vocational and higher education; 2) increasing the number of higher education graduates at masters and PhD level; and 3) increasing the share of students pursuing studies in fields of technology and natural science across all levels of the education system.
Latvia’s Sustainable Development Strategy to 2030 (2010)	This is the long-term development strategy for all policy domains, including education. It emphasises the need for a paradigm shift in education in which parents, teachers, students and educational institutions are fully aware of their respective responsibilities in ensuring quality education. The priorities include increasing access to education, improving the governance of the education system, transforming schools into social hubs, improving teaching, introducing information and communications technology (ICT) in education, and promoting lifelong learning.
National Development Plan 2021‑27 (2020)	This is a national development strategy for the country with long-term and mid-term targets. Skills-relevant priorities in the plan include reducing the number of young people with low levels of skills while increasing the share of students with high levels of skills; decreasing the share of young people not in employment, education or training (NEET); improving vocational education and training; increasing the quality of higher education and its appeal internationally; and increasing adult learning participation.
Science, Technology Development and Innovation Guidelines 2021‑27 (2020)	These guidelines describe Latvia’s strategy to co‑ordinate the innovation system and develop its knowledge base and innovation capacity. For this, skills in the fields of science, technology and innovation are important. The guidelines aim to raise the international competitiveness of Latvian science and research; support the modernisation of the education sector; foster an environment conducive to knowledge transfer; strengthen management in the field of science, technology and innovation; and promote demand for science and innovation, as well as socially relevant and open science to address global and local challenges.
Education Quality Monitoring System project	This project, supported with European Social Funds, began in 2018 to develop a monitoring system for the education system by 2023. The project develops and validates prototypes of education quality monitoring tools, which includes specific indicators to assess the quality of education in Latvia. Each of the indicators will be clearly defined, with explanations and methodologies of how to measure them and with benchmarks for 2024 and 2027.
Cohesive Civic Society Development Guidelines 2021‑27 (2020)	The overarching goal of this policy is to support the development of a solidarity based and open civic society that stands for the democratic values and human rights specified in the Constitution, the Latvian language and Latvian cultural space. It covers civic education, language policy and youth policy. In the context of the EDG, this strategy is relevant regarding the development of social and emotional skills such as concern for others, goal-orientation and managing emotions.
Digital Transformation Guidelines 2021‑27 (2020)	The goal of these guidelines is to develop joint integrated digital solutions and introduce new efficient public services and infrastructure that are integral to the global information society and trends in the EU's digital single market. Digital skills are central to fulfilling this strategy. For the development of digital skills, this strategy refers to the EU Digital Competencies Framework, where digital competence is recognised as the basic competence of the 21st century. Investment in the development of digital competencies throughout the education system in Latvia is recognised as one of the key directions in this strategy.
National Industrial Policy Guidelines 2021‑27 (2020)	This is a medium-term policy planning document that covers all sectors of the economy and identifies directions for actions to promote economic growth. Five directions are identified for 2027: the development of human capital, growth in export, business environment, investment in digital and technological infrastructure, and innovation capacity. These guidelines recognise the context of a rapidly changing labour market, the need for employees to constantly acquire new knowledge, and the need for employers to invest in technological development and the education of their employees.
Regional Policy Guidelines 2021‑27 (2019)	This is a medium-term strategy for Latvia’s regional development. The overarching goal of this policy is to enhance the economic development potential of all regions and reduce their socio-economic disparities. To achieve this goal, one of the directions of action identified is the development of innovation and a knowledge-intensive business environment in the regions. This requires developing, attracting and retaining highly qualified human capital.

Note: This is a non-exhaustive list.

4. Phase I: OECD Skills Strategy Assessment and Recommendations

The Assessment and Recommendations Phase has provided a solid evidence base for the development of the EDG. The project has promoted greater interaction and exchange among all relevant actors from ministries, levels of government and stakeholders by enabling extensive engagement (Box 1.2). This process has fostered a shared understanding of the skills challenges and opportunities as a basis for taking co‑ordinated actions. The OECD has used international, national and other data sources, information gathered from government and stakeholder representatives, as well as talent and expertise from across the OECD, including experts from the OECD Centre for Skills, the OECD Directorate for Education and Skills and the OECD Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs. The project has drawn upon concrete examples of education and skills policies from other countries, which have provided important lessons, and made specific recommendations in identified priority areas. Representatives from Latvia were also invited to participate in peer-learning opportunities at the OECD to share Latvia’s experiences and learn from other countries’ experiences. This has helped widen and deepen understanding of policies that have worked. The findings, international practice examples and recommendations from this phase of the project have informed the development of Latvia’s EDG. Most importantly, the findings of Phase I have supported the development and prioritisation of the policy actions.

Box 1.2. Fostering a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach to skills policy: The Assessment and Recommendations Phase

The OECD’s Skills Strategy project in Latvia was launched at the Skills Strategy Seminar in Riga in September 2018 by the Latvian Minister and State Secretary of Education and Science. The event included representatives from the Ministry of Education and Science, Ministry of Welfare, Ministry of Economics, the Cross-Sectoral Co‑ordination Centre, employer associations, trade unions and the European Commission. The project involved ongoing oversight and input from an inter-ministerial team co‑ordinated by the Latvian Ministry of Education and Science, which was comprised of experts from various other ministries and organisations. Two workshops were held in February and May 2019 that convened a wide range of stakeholders, including trade unions, employers, sectoral training providers, education institutions, academics and government representatives. Eight focus groups and bilateral meetings with stakeholders and experts also took place. In total, the OECD met around 500 stakeholders. The European Commission provided financial support for the project and participated in the skills strategy seminar and in both stakeholder workshops. This process generated inputs that helped to shape the recommendations featured in the “OECD Skills Strategy Latvia: Assessment and Recommendations” report, launched on 19 December 2019.

Source: OECD (2019[1]), OECD Skills Strategy Latvia: Assessment and Recommendations, https://doi.org/10.1787/74fe3bf8-en.

The OECD and the Latvian Government identified four priority areas for improving Latvia’s skills performance. The key findings and opportunities for improvement in each of these areas are summarised briefly below, and are elaborated with analysis and tailored recommendations in the chapters of the “OECD Skills Strategy Latvia: Assessment and Recommendations” report (OECD, 2019[1]).

Priority 1: Strengthening the skills outcomes of students

Ensuring that young people get a good start in schools is a key investment in the future economic prosperity and well-being of countries. In Latvia, the government dedicates a significant share of its expenditure to education, which denotes a commitment to providing access to quality education and translates into high enrolment rates. Latvia has opportunities to further strengthen the skills outcomes of students by: 1) building capacity to improve the teaching workforce; 2) fostering continuous quality improvement from early childhood education and care (ECEC) to secondary education; 3) improving equity between urban and rural areas; and 4) strengthening vocational education and training (VET).

Priority 2: Fostering a culture of lifelong learning

A strong adult learning culture is imperative if Latvia wishes to ensure that all individuals are ready to upgrade their existing skills or acquire new skills to adapt to new challenges and opportunities and thrive in an increasingly complex world. Fostering adult learning is a priority for Latvia as it seeks to reach the European Union benchmark of a 15% participation rate by 2020. Latvia has opportunities to foster a lifelong learning culture by: 1) raising awareness about adult learning; 2) reducing barriers to adult learning; 3) expanding the provision of adult learning; and 4) raising the quality of adult learning.

Priority 3: Reducing skills imbalances in the labour market

As the skills needed in the labour market continue to evolve due to globalisation, digitalisation and demographic change, reducing skills imbalances remains a pressing policy priority. Most employers report that skills shortages are a major obstacle to long-term investment decisions. Shortages appear particularly acute in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), and health fields. The emigration of highly educated workers from Latvia is a significant challenge that has contributed to these shortages. Latvia has opportunities to reduce skills imbalances in the labour market by: 1) strengthening the responsiveness of the tertiary education system to changing skills demand; 2) retaining talent in Latvia by stimulating sustainable wage growth and improving working conditions; and 3) facilitating internal mobility and attracting skilled workers from abroad.

Priority 4: Strengthening the governance of the skills system

Effective governance arrangements are the foundation of Latvia’s performance in developing and using people’s skills. The success of skills policies depends on the actions of a wide range of actors and sectors at national and local levels. Latvia’s Education Development Guidelines 2021‑2027 will provide an opportunity to mobilise these actors and co‑ordinate their efforts. Co‑operation with and between municipalities on skills policy is not systematic, and could be strengthened in the context of Latvia’s administrative territorial reforms. Latvia has opportunities to strengthen the governance of the skills system by: 1) strengthening strategies and oversight for skills policy; 2) improving co‑operation at different levels of government and with stakeholders; 3) building an integrated monitoring and information system on skills; and 4) raising, targeting and sharing investments in lifelong learning.

5. Phase II: OECD Skills Strategy Implementation Guidance

Building on the Assessment and Recommendations phase, the Implementation Guidance phase has continued to support Latvia in the development of its EDG. As before, a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach has been applied in Latvia involving all relevant ministries, levels of governments and stakeholders (Box 1.3). The purpose has been to encourage greater interaction and exchange among relevant actors to build a shared understanding of which policy actions and indicators should be included in the EDG. The OECD has used international, national and other data sources, information gathered from government and stakeholder representatives, as well as talent and expertise from across the OECD, including education indicator experts from the OECD’s Indicators of Education Systems team and from the OECD Foresight team. The project has drawn upon concrete examples of education strategy development from other countries, such as Estonia, which have provided important lessons, and made specific recommendations in identified priority areas. Representatives from Latvia were also invited to participate in peer-learning opportunities at the OECD to share Latvia’s experiences, learn from other country experiences, and widen and deepen their understanding of policies that have worked.

Box 1.3. Fostering a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach to skills policy: The Implementation Guidance Phase

The Implementation Guidance phase was launched by the Latvian Ministry of Education and Science in October 2019 and has engaged representatives from across the Ministry of Education and Science, the Ministry of Welfare and the Ministry of Economics, as well as a wide range of stakeholders such as trade unions, employers, sectoral training providers, education institutions, and academics.

In October 2019, the OECD organised a foresight workshop that convened government and stakeholder representatives to identify emerging socio-economic trends that had skills implications and discuss the potential future impacts, associated opportunities and challenges of these trends for Latvia’s EDG.

In November 2019, the OECD facilitated a series of prioritisation workshops and focus groups with government and stakeholder representatives to discuss and identify relevant policy actions for the EDG. This resulted in 87 possible policy actions across the five levels of education (early childhood education and care, general education, vocational education and training, higher education and adult learning).

In February 2020, the OECD organised a series of strategy development workshops with government and stakeholder representatives to further work on these policy actions and prioritise potential policy indicators for Latvia’s EDG. The OECD provided participants with a list of 181 possible indicators drawn from international and national sources, encouraged participants to suggest new indicators, where relevant, and facilitated discussions to identify the indicators deemed most important. Through the prioritisation exercise, 10‑12 indicators for each level of education were proposed for a total of 55 indicators for the EDG.

The output of these engagement exercises, alongside additional analysis and reflections from the OECD and concrete recommendations for Latvia’s next steps in finalising the EDG, are included in this report.

The findings of the Implementation Guidance Phase, which are summarised in this publication “OECD Skills Strategy Latvia Implementation Guidance: Developing Latvia’s Education Development Guidelines 2021-2027”, have been a major input to the development of Latvia’s EDG. The OECD was asked to provide input to Latvia’s EDG in the following key areas:

1. Guidance on developing Latvia’s EDG and selecting EDG policy actions (see Chapter 2).

2. Guidance on improving Latvia’s indicator system and selecting EDG indicators (see Chapter 3).

The OECD’s input – including key findings and recommendations – to each of these areas is described in greater detail in the subsequent chapters and is summarised in the section below. The summary section below covers the input that the OECD has provided to date in the development of the EDG, as well as suggestions for further steps that Latvia needs to take to finalise the EDG.

1. Guidance on developing Latvia’s EDG and selecting EDG policy actions

Latvia’s EDG is a strategic document that lays out what Latvia wants to achieve in the medium term in education and skills policies. The benefits of a well-defined EDG include describing the policy actions that Latvia plans to implement to achieve its policy objectives, and providing clarity about what needs to be done by whom and by when.

An effective process for identifying policy actions for Latvia’s EDG requires the application of a framework for selecting policy actions and the engagement of all relevant stakeholders in the process. A framework facilitates the selection process by guiding involved actors to consider the feasibility of proposed actions and the extent to which they advance EDG policy objectives. Identification of EDG policy actions requires the engagement of relevant stakeholders as they possess important sectoral knowledge and valuable insights and play an important role in the implementation of the policy actions.

A number of trends shape the skills needs and opportunities of Latvia. Megatrends such as globalisation, technological progress, population ageing, and migration, as well as the COVID‑19 pandemic, are driving significant changes in skills needs in society and the economy. The OECD provides guidance in Chapter 2 on the implications of this policy context for the selection of policy actions that advance the objectives of the EDG.

In developing the EDG, Latvia has considered the proposed policy actions of the “OECD Skills Strategy Latvia Assessment and Recommendations” report, which are summarised in Chapter 2 of this report. These policy actions were developed based on input from a broad range of actors and an in-depth assessment of Latvia’s education and skills system. As the context has significantly changed since the launch of the report due to the unforeseen COVID‑19 pandemic, this report provides further complementary guidance on the policy actions that can respond to the pressures that the pandemic has generated.

Chapter 2 also makes suggestions for how Latvia could further develop and implement the EDG. Latvia should include system-level policy actions, allocate roles and responsibilities to actors for policy actions, set clear timelines for implementation, determine the amount and source of required funding, and strengthen strategic planning to better anticipate and plan for possible changes in the policy context. Further developing the EDG in this way would allow Latvia to implement the policy actions more effectively and ultimately achieve its policy objectives.

Table 1.2. Recommendations for further developing Latvia’s EDG

Actions	Recommendations
1. Include policy actions at the system level	Give consideration to policy actions that need to be taken at the system level in order to address challenges that affect the entire education and skills system and not just a specific level of education. Policy actions at the system level include efforts to strengthen oversight for skills policy; improve co‑operation across different levels of government; build an integrated monitoring and information system; and increase, better target and share investments in lifelong learning.
2. Define responsibilities and timelines	Identify the responsible actors for a policy action based on their capacity and disposition towards supporting the policy action and collaborating in its implementation. In selecting the relevant actors for specific policy actions, consideration needs to be given to identifying actors who collectively have both sufficient capacity (e.g. funding, experience, expertise, networks) to implement the policy action and a favourable disposition towards supporting the policy action and collaborating in its implementation. Create a timeline that distinguishes between short-term and long-term policy actions. Such a timeline reflects the different time required to implement different policy actions, but also allows actors to track and demonstrate progress. The timelines should be determined by assessing their respective capacities to implement the policy action, as this can influence how much time would be needed. If a single actor is responsible for multiple policy actions and has limited capacity for implementing them, it may also help to sequence these actions over time.
3. Identify funding needs	Estimate the financial resources required for each policy action. Estimates should be informed by considerations of the complexity of the policy action, the required inputs for implementation, and the ability of responsible actor(s) to effectively use the funding. In the context of the COVID‑19 pandemic and a constrained budget, funding could be prioritised for higher priority policy actions, while lower priority policy actions could be eliminated or reduced in scope. Identify for each policy action the party responsible for funding that action and assess the sustainability of the funding source. Funding sources could come from government, employers, individuals and international partner organisations, or a combination thereof. Consider the sustainability of funding sources and confirm that the funding source is available for the entire duration of the planned policy action. Develop contingency plans to adapt the implementation of the EDG if there is a significant drop in funding.
4. Strengthen strategic planning	Consider multiple possible future scenarios, anticipate possible changes in society and economy, and explore their potential implications for education and skills policies in Latvia. Explore how multiple developments from other policy sectors (e.g. economy, labour market, health, technology) can intersect and interact with education and skills policies in unexpected ways and may require adjustments be made to the EDG. Encourage openness about the assumptions behind analyses and create an opportunity to evaluate the drivers of uncertainty in Latvia. Assess the risks of different possible future scenarios and identify the vulnerabilities in the current education and skills system in adapting to such changes. Identify ways to address the risks and prepare accordingly in the EDG implementation. Make the results of risk assessments available for policy makers to inform decisions and allow them to make explicit trade-off and prioritisation decisions. Conduct a resilience systems analysis to identify which parts of Latvia’s education and skills system have been most affected by the recent COVID‑19 crisis and are most vulnerable to future shocks. This would allow Latvia to prioritise those parts of the system with further support and thus strengthen the overall resilience of its education and skills system and support at-risk groups during and beyond the EDG.

2. Guidance on improving Latvia’s indicator system and selecting indicators for the EDG

Latvia’s EDG needs to be accompanied by a robust indicator system to monitor implementation progress. A robust indicator system for education and skills policies provides reliable, accurate and timely information on the human and financial resources invested in skills, how education and skills systems operate and evolve, and the returns on investments in skills.

An effective process for selecting EDG indicators facilitates consideration of a comprehensive set of high‑quality indicators and helps to prioritise them on the basis of their ability to assess progress towards the achievement of the objectives and policy actions of the EDG. It is important to find a reasonable number of indicators, as too many can be costly and administratively burdensome and too few may not allow for a comprehensive assessment of progress towards achieving the policy objectives.

An assessment of Latvia’s current indicator system (see Chapter 3) reveals gaps in Latvia’s ability to measure progress towards the achievement of its objectives. For example, indicators could be developed to track funding for lifelong learning, generate more nuanced information on drop-outs, monitor student progression through education, measure the quality of early childhood education and care quality and provide additional background information on students. Developing these indicators would allow Latvia to identify whether all students are sufficiently supported and have the opportunity to develop their skills.

Chapter 3 presents a list of potential indicators for the EDG and an overview of further considerations that have been taken into account during the development of Latvia’s EDG. The OECD, together with government and stakeholder representatives, reviewed a total of 181 possible indicators and prioritised and discussed in-depth between 10‑12 potential indicators across each of the five levels of education,2 resulting in a total of 54 potential indicators for Latvia’s EDG. Where relevant, specific suggestions are made for improving certain indicators and developing alternative indicators.

Chapter 3 also makes suggestions for how Latvia could improve its indicator system for the EDG. These improvements include integrating the various databases, strengthening the data validation process, setting ambitious yet realistic benchmark targets, designating a research institution to fully use the indicators, and disseminating information generated by the indicators through a user-friendly platform. Improving the indicator system in these ways would allow Latvia to make more effective use of the indicators to guide the EDG implementation process.

Table 1.3. Recommendations for further improving Latvia’s indicator system for the EDG

Actions	Recommendations
1. Link indicator databases	Facilitate data exchanges between indicator databases through a unique identification number for each individual, which allows data on this individual to be linked across various databases. Consideration should be given to linking Latvia’s various administrative databases where information relevant to education and skills policy can be found. These include the State Education Information System, the Unemployment Accounting and Registered Vacancy Information System, as well as databases of EU funded projects (e.g. Information system for the professional competence project (SO 8.4.1))
2. Improve the quality of indicator data	Strengthen data validation processes by conducting regular quality checks of the data collection system and adopting digital technologies. Regular data collection audits, which are based on transparent and clear standards, should ensure that consistent concepts, definitions and methodologies are applied in data collection. Adopting various digital technologies, such as data collection software, school information systems, database management systems and data analytics applications, should be explored for more accuracy, reliability and timeliness of data.
3. Benchmark indicators	Set the target value to be sufficiently ambitious to inspire and mobilise action, but at the same time not so unrealistic as to demotivate actors. Target values should be chosen based on criteria such as government priorities, peer average, available resources, international performance standards and past trends. If any indicators from the previous EDG are being used for the new EDG, their benchmark values should be reviewed in relation to the evaluated mid-term values in order to determine a realistic benchmark target in the new EDG. Consider adopting annual targets for some indicators. Complementary to the mid-term and final year target values, Latvia could also consider annual targets for some important indicators. This would provide more frequent feedback on progress towards the achievement of objectives and, by extension, highlight where corrective action may need to be taken to achieve those targets. At the same time, more frequent data collection is labour intensive and comes at a cost. The potential benefits and costs should thus be weighed carefully.
4. Raise capacity to make use of indicator data	Support research institutions to provide capacity in fully using the available national and international indicators. The research institutions should analyse progress in implementing the EDG and regularly publish reports informing and guiding implementation. They should provide training to other government officials on how to use information generated by indicators so that the most appropriate indicators are used for the policies considered and so that the information is used with the nuances and limitations of indicators in mind.
5. Improve dissemination of indicator data	Improve the dissemination of information generated by the indicators through a user-friendly platform serving a wide audience of users. The platform should be accessible through a variety of channels (e.g. website, mobile) and provide up-to-date information in plain language. The platform should centralise information on skills needs and available learning opportunities, career guidance services, and funding support. The information should be available in disaggregated format so that it can be tailored to the specific needs of various users.

References

[3] OECD (2020), Strengthening the Governance of Skills Systems: Lessons from Six OECD Countries, OECD Skills Studies, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://dx.doi.org/10.1787/3a4bb6ea-en.

[2] OECD (2019), OECD Skills Strategy 2019: Skills to Shape a Better Future, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264313835-en.

[1] OECD (2019), OECD Skills Strategy Latvia: Assessment and Recommendations, OECD Skills Studies, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://dx.doi.org/10.1787/74fe3bf8-en.

Notes

← 1.  The Latvian Education Law is available in the Latvian language at: https://likumi.lv/doc.php?id=50759.

← 2.  Five levels of education: 1) early childhood education and care; 2) general education; 3) vocational education and training; 4) higher education; and 5) adult learning.