More than 11 000 employees have applied for the development of digital skills in training for adults
To apply for the acquisition of digital skills from basic to higher levels, every employee from the age of 25, choosing to learn from professional development programmes, study modules or study courses.
The highest number of applications, 5275 applications, received professional development in educational programmes. The most requested are the digital content of photo and video technology, the management of the digital office, and project management with Agile, Scrum, Lean, Kanban. 4507 employees applied for study courses, the highest number of applications received in the basic course of stock market investment analysis, business analytics with PowerBI, Etsy.com the basic course of the e-commerce platform. While the study modules were chosen to learn 1233 employees, the most popular study modules are introduction to the development of the website (programming basics), introduction to robotics, and Arduino controllers, as well as digital marketing tools and strategies. Of the 11 015 applications received, 75% has been received from women and 25% from men.
“Digital transformation processes, as well as the crisis caused by Covid 19, have highlighted the already existing digital divide, paying increasing attention to ensuring equal opportunities for everyone at both international and local levels. It is therefore important that the final phase of the project is dedicated directly to the acquisition of digital skills by offering educational programmes to both those who are at the start of the development of their digital skills and those who already have experience and knowledge. The high number of applications received shows the ambitions of the professional development of the population. This confirms the change of thinking that has already occurred, that investing in the development of their skills and in the development of their skills will be beneficial both in personal well-being and in the labour market,” says Dita Traidas, Director of THE VIAA.
In the 9 th round, digital skills were offered by 44 educational institutions throughout Latvia. In order to improve existing or acquire new digital skills, workers were able to select an educational programme which generally covers 5 digital competences: information processing/information and data literacy; communication and cooperation; creation of digital content; security; problem-solving.
In analysing the number of applications received, 44%, as the main reason for selecting a specific educational programme, mentions the willingness to do the current work, 39% - in order to increase the chances of changing jobs or professions, while 38% noted the possibility of improving careers in the existing workplace.
Training in educational programmes will begin in the coming months
Currently, VIAA assesses the applicants' compliance with the project conditions and informs the participants of the results of the verification in e-mail. Following verification, VIAA information will be transferred to educational institutions that will further contact the participants who meet the project conditions to agree on the completion of training groups and the conclusion of training contracts. The training of training groups and the start of training are planned from the second half of May of that year.
The amendments adopted in the Cabinet regulations, which determine the procedures for the organisation and implementation of remote learning, will allow educational institutions to implement the educational programmes offered in the 9 th round as well. The exception is educational programmes with DigComp basic level of acquisition 1 where no more than 30% of the number of hours of the educational programme can be implemented
Participation in educational programmes could be carried out by any employed or self-employed resident of Latvia aged 25 years to an unlimited age with completed or uncompleted education, including young parents on parental leave, while maintaining employment relationships, and working pensioners.
In order to motivate residents of Latvia to acquire new skills and knowledge, the costs OF teaching AT THE amount OF 90% are covered by European Union funds and the State, while the co-payment of the employee is 10%. For employed persons from poor or low-income households, the training is free of charge.
About the project
THE aim of THE EU fund project “improvement of the professional competence of employed persons” or training adults is to improve the professional competence of employed persons in order to prevent shortages of labour qualifications in the labour market demand in a timely manner, to promote the competitiveness of workers and increase in labour productivity. It is financed by the European Social Fund and the Latvian state, investing more than 45 million euros. The project shall be implemented from the end of 2017 to 2023 by the State Education Development Agency in co-operation with Latvian local governments, educational institutions and the State Agency for Employment.
The possibility of learning digital skills for adult learning in the 9 th round of the project takes place within the framework of the European Union Skills Year (#EuropeanYearOfSkills).
