Three Guides on Sectoral Expert Councils in the Baltic States, Sector Involvement in Professional Qualification Awarding, and Occupational Standards

Within the framework of the project „Strengthening cooperation between the institutions coordinating the work of sectoral expert councils in the Baltic states“ (Erasmus+ program small-scale partnership project in the vocational education sector No. 2021-2-LV01-KA210-VET-000051300) Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia have prepared final reports on the activities of Sectoral Expert Councils, the experience in developing occupational standards, and sector involvement in the qualification awarding process in the Baltic states.

Following the example of other EU countries, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia have established a tripartite mechanism called Sectoral Expert Councils (SECs) to adapt and develop their vocational education systems in line with labor market requirements. SECs are now an essential part of the professional qualification systems in all three Baltic states. However, each country has chosen a slightly different way to implement and organize the work of SECs. The report provides a brief overview of what has been learned about the operation of SECs in the three Baltic states.

For more details, see the report in English:  Sectoral expert councils in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania

Project partners – Employers’ Confederation of Latvia, Council of Agricultural Organizations Cooperation, Latvian National Cultural Center, Estonian Qualifications Authority (Kutsekoda), and the Lithuanian Qualifications and Vocational Education and Training Development Center (KPMPC) shared information and best practices on the procedures for developing occupational standards and the distribution of responsibilities among the state, industry representatives, and sectoral expert councils.

For more details, see the report in English: Development of occupational qualification standards in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania

How does the qualification awarding system introduced in Estonia differ from the existing arrangements in Latvia and Lithuania?

For more details, see the report in English: Sector involvement in the qualification awarding process in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania

A comparison on the activities of Sectoral Expert Councils, the experience in developing occupational standards and sector involvement in the qualification awarding process in the Baltic states was carried out within the Erasmus+ program small-scale partnership project in the vocational education sector No. 2021-2-LV01-KA210-VET-000051300 from March 1, 2022, to August 31, 2023. The project was implemented by the Employers’ Confederation of Latvia collaboration with the Council of Agricultural Organizations Cooperation (LOSP), Latvian National Cultural Center (LNKC), Estonian Qualifications Authority (KUTSEKODA), and the Qualifications and Vocational Education and Training Development Centre (KPMPC).

This article has been prepared in the Erasmus+ Small-scale partnership project in vocational education and training „Strengthening cooperation between the institutions coordinating the work of sectoral expert councils in the Baltic states“ (SECBaltics) (No – 2021-2-LV01-KA210-VET-000051300).

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.