Validation of non-formal and informal learning outcomes was introduced in 2011 (for professional qualifications at EQF levels 2-4) and in 2012 (for higher education at EQF levels 5-7).

Since then, demand for validation has grown rapidly. The number of people who received a certificate of professional qualification through validation has increased form 35 in 2011 to 1 237 in 2017, demonstrating its important role in Latvia’s education and labour market.

Main reasons for validation of qualifications at EQF levels 2-4:  

  • job requirements;
  • a wish to raise individual competiveness in the labour market;
  • employers’ initiatives to upgrade or assess staff’s professional competences.

In 2011-17, a carer and junior police inspector were the most popular qualifications acquired through validation at EQF level 3, and firefighter, house manager and state border officer at EQF level 4.

The 2018 report ‘Implementation of validation of non-formal and informal learning outcomes in Latvia’, prepared by the Academic Information Centre, provides an overview of the development of the validation system at EQF levels 2-7.