EQAVET implementation started in 2013. In 2016, the government approved the use of EQAVET indicators to improve existing quality assurance arrangements in the national system:
- teacher participation in the professional competence development;
- learner participation in vocational education programmes;
- vocational education graduates;
- graduate employment: use of skills acquired at the workplace;
- inclusion of risk groups in vocational education;
- identification of demand for vocational education programmes in the labour market;
- greater access to vocational education programmes.
VET provider annual self-assessment reports will include data on those indicators to be assessed by the State Education Quality Service.
In 2016, with the support of an Erasmus+ project, the quality service also designed instruments for schools to collect information on VET programme relevance for the labour market needs; questionnaires were addressed to employers, sector and local government representatives, in-company trainers, students and graduates. The piloting of questionnaires has provided information on necessary improvements in VET school cooperation with in-company trainers.
Using EQAVET recommendations in the Latvian vocational education quality assurance system strengthens the single, high quality evidence-based approach to quality assurance and provides feedback loops to support system adjustments.
