Digital Decade strategic roadmap in Latvia

• June 10, 2024
• admin

The Digital Decade strategic roadmap for Latvia until 2030 sets the country’s further planned path towards achieving Europe’s digital targets in areas such as digital skills, digital infrastructure, digitalisation of businesses and digitalisation of public services. The document drawn up by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development (MoEPRD) also determines, inter alia, the future responsibilities and division of areas according to the competences of the ministries involved.

The roadmap uses data collected in the Digital Decade Country Report 2023 for Latvia on the national baseline value of the Digital Decade targets, the EU baseline value of the Digital Decade targets in 2023 and the value of the EU targets for 2030.

According to the 2023 Digital Decade Country Report for Latvia, both digital skills at least at basic level and digital skills above basic level are only slightly below the EU average. 51% of the population aged 16-74 have at least basic digital skills and 24% have above basic digital skills, compared to the respective EU averages of 54% and 26%. Latvia, where 64% of the population has at least a basic level of digital content creation skills, is close to the EU average of 66%.

The Strategic Roadmap for Latvia presents 16 objectives, deliverables and scenarios for achieving them:

• At least basic digital skills
• ICT specialists
• Gigabit connectivity and 5G coverage
• Semiconductors
• Peripheral nodes
• Quantum computing
• Cloud computing
• Big data
• Artificial intelligence
• Small and medium-sized enterprises with at least a basic level of digital intensity
• Unicorns
• Key public services for citizens
• Key public services for businesses
• Access to the patient’s e-health card
• Access to electronic identification

Challenges and priorities for the development of digital skills

It is planned that by 2030 at least 70% of the population in Latvia will have acquired basic digital skills. Given the existing digital skills gap among citizens and businesses, Latvia has identified the acquisition and development of digital skills as a priority  in the Education Development Guidelines 2021-2027 and the Digital Transformation Guidelines 2021-2027. The measures included in the abovementioned planning documents provide for the development of digital skills and education at different levels, so that businesses and citizens become fully-fledged participants of the digital economy, and businesses widely use digital solutions in their work, while public administration would provide convenient digital services.

Investments under the RRF plan to support the acquisition of at least basic digital skills for citizens aged 16-74, such as a pilot project on individual learning accounts and an initiative to provide at least 50 thousand people with basic digital skills, play a key role.

In order to achieve the target set in Latvia that by 2027 70% of the population have acquired at least basic digital skills, the following measures are implemented:

• ESF measure 8.4.1 ‘Improvement of professional competence of employed persons’. The measure will contribute to achieving the planned target value of the KPI ‘At least Basic Digital Skills’ by ensuring availability for the development of digital competences. The professional competence of employed persons will be improved in order to timely eliminate the mismatch of labour qualification with labour market demand, promote the competitiveness of employees and increase labour productivity. Project time frame 2017-2023.
• ESF Plus measure 4.2.4.2 ‘Support for adult learning based on the individual needs of adults’. The measure will contribute to achieving the planned target value of the KPI ‘At least Basic Digital Skills’ by ensuring availability for the development of digital competences. A total of 35 thousand employed persons are planned to be involved in this measure by the end of 2029. Project time frame 01.01.2024.-31.12.2029.
• Investment 2.3.1.4.i. “Development of the approach to individual learning accounts” of theRRF Plan. The measure will contribute to achieving the planned target value of the KPI ‘At least Basic Digital Skills’ by ensuring availability for the development of digital competences. Investments under the RRF Plan under 2.3.1.4.i. are planned to:
  • to develop and approbate an individual learning account approach appropriate to the Latvian context, which strengthens the implementation, management of individual learning paths and storage of information on learning outcomes;
  • foster adult participation in learning by helping adults to acquire and develop their digital skills. Project time frame 01.11.2023. – 31.05.2026
• Investment 2.3.2.1.i project “Development of digital skills in society” of the RRF Plan. As a result of the project:
  • a systemic approach to the development of the digital skills of their citizens will be introduced in municipalities;
  • reducingthe gap between the supply of public and private electronic services and the skills of citizens to use it;
  • an e-learning course for digital self-service skillswill be developed and implemented;
  • 200 teachers – mentors from all Latvian municipalities –will be trained; 5) the share of the population with advanced digital self-service skills (40 thousand people trained) will be increased. Project time frame 01.11.2023. – 30.04.2026
• Investment 3.1.2.5.i “Upskilling for adults” of theRRF Plan. As a result of the implementation of the project, it is planned to:
  • 10 thousand unemployed, job seekers, people at risk of unemployment have improved their skills by 31.03.2025;
  • 20 450 unemployed, jobseekers, people at risk of unemployment have improved their skills by 30.06.2026. Project time frame 02.09.2023. – 30.06.2026
• Investment measure 2.3.2.1i of the RRF Plan – Digital skills for citizens, including young people. The investment as a result of the implementation of the measure will:
  • developed and implemented coordinated activities at municipal level that ensure the acquisition of digital skills for young people and their use in youth work will create a digital youth work environment and facilitate the participation of young people in local government processes;
  • development and implementation of common guidelines for technological innovation in digital youth work in order to ensure the development of youth technology and innovation capacity in the activities and activities developed in accordance with them;
  • development of a digital self-service skills acquisition programme and modules (face-to-face and distance learning) for citizens to enhance their ability to use primary public and private services digitally;
  • assessment of citizens’ digital self-service skills, identification of learning needs, planning and implementation of learning for citizens with no or low digital self-service skills, resulting in limited access to public and private services in the digital environment. Project time frame 01.01.2023-30.04.2026.
• DEP project ‘National Coordination Centre – Latvia’. As a result of the project:
  • basic cybersecurity skills training will be provided for at least 100 teachers of general education institutions and employees of municipal education administrations (including transfer of this knowledge into pedagogical work);
  • a public awareness campaign on topical cyber hygiene issues will beimplemented;
  • participation and training of Latvian youth in local and international cyber security events (camps and competitions)will be ensured. Project time frame 01.09.2023. – 31.08.2025

The policies and measures referred to in the KPI ‘At least Basic Digital Skills’ will contribute to the development of citizens’ digital skills and the achievement of the defined objectives, including by contributing to the implementation of the recommendations regarding the education system set out in the 2023 EC Digital Decade Report on Latvia.

By implementing the measures included in the roadmap, it is planned to promote a modern, digitalised, educated and prosperous society and a targeted digital transformation, which will contribute to the development of the industry, modernise the public sector and improve the lives of citizens, as well as strengthen the security and resilience of our society.