Latvia - National Industrial Policy Guidelines 2021-2027

• Strengthening human capital, or building a competitive and sustainable economic growth workforce, including promotion of STEM and transversal skills in educational sector.
• Structuring the business environment to facilitating the growth in the export capacity of companies, supporting the refurbishment of existing infrastructure that focuses on exports and generates high value-added products and services.
• Infrastructure building, more efficient management and strengthening of public infrastructure, i.e. the transition to a green economic growth through digital and innovative solutions to increase production capacity.
• Increasing innovation capacity supporting innovation by providing the necessary capacity for human capital and infrastructure, business and institutional environments to transition to higher value-added activities.
• Ensuring access to finance, i.e. access to finance for the development of businesses, including by finding a solution to address the risks of service industries.

The lack of workers with adequate qualifications is becoming a major problem for Latvia’s competitiveness. In addition, there is need to focus on mitigating the effects of COVID-19, effectively equipping growing sectors with the necessary human capital, implementing pre-emptive policies — identifying and analysing trends — to respond more quickly and flexibly to change and repair.

Key challenges for the implementation of the proposed action line “Strengthening human capital”:

• Fostering the matching of labour supply with economic demand: measures to support entrepreneurship in Latvia’s regions increase employment in the regions, the mobility of citizens and the creation of an investment-friendly environment. ICT solutions are needed to ensure the acquisition and processing of data on the current situation, effective forecasting of developments and communication between the bodies involved, as well as qualified professionals capable of effectively implementing these solutions and projects.
• Training/attraction of highly qualified specialists: the continuation of the STEM education in schools and vocational training institutions, the training of highly qualified IT specialists, the training of high-quality managers with skills in managing change, especially in the field of optimisation of production processes and technologies, continue to support youth initiatives and projects in the field of technology, promote students’ involvement in innovation processes in the companies.
• Implement measures for workforce training: the development of information and technology (IT) and digital skills, contributing to the productivity and export capacity, development of new products, services and technologies, as well as non-technological innovations. Continue the training initiatives to have high quality and relevant workforce to the real needs of the business environment.
• Support for employment of the pre-retirement population: promote the integration of the unemployed and the economically inactive population into the labour market.
• Development of sectoral skills funds in Latvia: sectoral needs-based adult learning, primary source of information “Guidelines for Education and Skills Development 2021-2027”.

As a result of the activities, it is planned to increase the capacity of adult knowledge and skills in sectors necessary for economic development. The training of highly qualified professionals will be promoted. A coordinated, high-quality exchange of information between the institutions involved in the activities will be ensured.