THE LATVIAN VOCATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION HAS STARTED A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE EUROPEAN TRAINING FOUNDATION

The Vocational Education Association (PIB), which unites 31 vocational education institutions in Latvia, has won the procurement “The Role of Vocational Education Centres of Excellence in Work-Based Learning” organized by the European Training Foundation (ETF). The main task of PIB in the implementation of this agreement is to share experience on education-business cooperation, in particular with regard to school sector partnerships in work-based learning (WBL).

The first pilot schools in Latvia started to implement work based learning in 2013, therefore PIB, through its members, has accumulated a considerable experience on this issue. Ilze Brante, the Chair of the Board of PIB, points out that this is a great opportunity to realize a social goal – to share experience in this area, thus supporting the efforts of other countries to improve the quality of vocational education.

The procurement agreement provides that PIB is to assess the situation of six ETF partners – Albania, Armenia, Belarus, Moldova, Northern Macedonia and Kazakhstan – in work-based learning implementation and, based on the analysis of the current situation, to prepare a series of seminars to support their WBL implementation and implementation efforts. The procurement also includes two visits, during which representatives of the six partners will visit Latvia and another Baltic State to get acquainted with the implementation of work-based learning in the Baltic States.

PIB is currently developing a questionnaire that will serve as a basis for assessing the situation and for determining further cooperation with the ETF.

The following Latvian educational institutions are involved in the implementation of the agreement: PIKC Daugavpils Construction Technical School, PIKC Liepāja Technical School, PIKC Ogre Technical School, and PIKC Riga State Technical School.