From 19 January to 29 February, 11 vocational training institutions will host the semi-finals of SkillsLatvia 2024, the national skills competition for young professionals.More than 220 young professionals will showcase their skills and knowledge in 20 skills competitions to compete for a chance to reach the SkillsLatvia 2024 finals.
A total of 33 vocational education and training institutions will participate in the semi-finals. The most competitive skills competitions will be "Cooking", which will bring together aspiring chefs from 14 vocational schools, and "Computer Network Administration", which will bring together aspiring computer systems technicians from 11 vocational schools.
This year, the organisation of the semi-finals is new: the performance of the young people will be judged by teachers under the guidance of experts in the field. Depending on the number of participants in the semi-finals, four to six winners of each semi-final will have the chance to qualify for the SkillsLatvia 2024 finals, which will take place from 9-10 May in Riga.
Dates and locations of skills competitions:
- 19.01.2024. "Hotel Reception Service", Ventspils Technical College;
- 24.01.2024 "Heavy Vehicle Technology" and "Window Display Design and Presentation", Ogre Technical College;
- 01.02.2024 "Costume Design" and "Graphic Design Technology", Riga Art and Media Technical College;
- 07.02.2024 - 08.02.2024 "Cooking", VSIA "Riga Tourism and Creative Industry Technical School";
- 08.02.2024 - "Restaurant Service", VSIA "Riga Tourism and Creative Industries Technical School";
- 08.02.2024 "Tiling", "Painting and decorative finishing", Latgale Industrial Technical College;
- 13.02.2024 "Costume making" and "Hairdressing", Riga Style and Fashion Technical School;
- 14.02.2024 "Furniture making", Vidzemes Tehnoloģiju un dizains tehnikums;
- 15.02.2024 "Mechatronics", "Mobile robotics", Valmiera Technical College;
- 22.02.2024 "Electrical installations", "Freight transport", Liepaja State Technical College;
- 27.02.2024 "Engineering Systems", "Dry Construction and Finishing", Riga Construction College;
- 29.02.2024 "Web technologies", "Computer network administration", Jelgava Technical College.
The semi-finals are organised by the State Education Development Agency (SEEDA) in cooperation with Latvian vocational education institutions and sectoral companies, professional associations and unions. The semi-finals are open to students or competitors of Latvian vocational education institutions up to 22 years of age (inclusive). Participants are entered into the skills competition by the vocational education institution.
SkillsLatvia competitions for young professionals are organised with the aim of raising the prestige of vocational education, promoting learners' self-confidence, employability and competitiveness in the transition to the labour market. At the same time, the competitions build close cooperation with industries, promote vocational education as an asset for a well-informed career choice and motivate general education learners to choose vocational qualifications in demand on the labour market.
Information on SkillsLatvia 2024 semi-finals is available on the SEDA website. Please follow the progress and results of the semi-final competitions on VIAA's Facebook and Twitter accounts, as well as on the SkillsLatvia Facebook page.
The semi-finals are funded by the European Social Fund Plus and the State of Latvia within the framework of the project "Support for Skills Excellence in Vocational Education" implemented by VIAA.
