On 1st of October 2025, the Opening Forum of the Swiss–Latvian Cooperation Programme “Swiss–Latvian Cooperation for the Development of Work-Based Learning” will take place. The aim of the forum will be to explore Switzerland’s experience in implementing the dual approach to vocational education and training and to discuss opportunities for adapting and developing this model in Latvia. Forum will bring together employers, companies, sectoral associations, as well as representatives of educational institutions and policy-makers.
The forum will be opened by Dace Melbārde, Minister for Education and Science; Anja Zobrist Rentenaar, Ambassador of Switzerland to Latvia; and Inta Ozola, Director of the State Education Development Agency (SEDA).
The event will also be attended by cooperation partners from the Swiss Federal Institute of Vocational Education and Training (SFUVET), the Swiss Hotel and Catering Industry Training Centre “Hotel & Gastro formation Schweiz”, and Latvian industry associations and societies.
During the forum, experts will present Switzerland’s dual vocational education system and share the experience of Latvian companies in integrating vocational training into the workplace. Discussions are planned on the role and benefits of companies, the state and educational institutions in preparing new specialists according to the needs of the labor market, strengthening the involvement of employers in the implementation of vocational education in the company, based on the Swiss experience.
In the afternoon, practical workshops with Swiss experts will provide an in-depth look at the principles of sector-based learning and assessment, public–private cooperation models, and the development of cost–benefit approaches in tripartite partnerships between the state, businesses and vocational education institutions.
Entrepreneurs and association representatives from the Swiss–Latvian Cooperation Programme’s priority sectors — agriculture, mechanical engineering, energy and hospitality — are especially invited to participate.
The forum will offer an excellent opportunity to gain new ideas, establish partnerships and strengthen the competitiveness of the industry by utilizing Swiss experience and knowledge.
The forum will be held on 1st of October in Riga, at the Radisson Blu Daugava Hotel & Spa, from 10:00 to 17:00.
The forum is organized by the Ministry of Education and Science of Latvia in cooperation with the State Education Development Agency.
With the support of the Swiss–Latvian Cooperation Programme, Latvia is launching a new sector-based approach to vocational education.
This approach emphasises close involvement of companies and sectoral organisations in developing and piloting new models for implementing and assessing vocational education, significantly increasing employers’ responsibility and practical participation in the training process.
It will also be supported by a programme for training workplace-based vocational education teachers at higher education level, as well as by expanding digital tools and simulation equipment, which will help build a sustainable vocational education system in the future.
The programme “Stronger Work-Based Learning for Improving Vocational Education and Training in Latvia (VET)” will run from April 2025 to November 2029, in cooperation with sectoral organisations and associations, higher education institutions, the Ministry of Education and Science and the State Education Development Agency.
The opening forum is organised within the framework of the Swiss–Latvian Cooperation Programme “Stronger Work-Based Learning for Improving Vocational Education and Training in Latvia (VET)”.