The world-wide competition of higher education programs makes education institutions to seek for most efficient ways to attract students. The presented academic research is devoted also to the issues on motives and influencing factors for the choice of study programs. The methods applied in the current paper are as follows: analysis of scientific publications, focus group discussions, surveys of possible future students. For the evaluation of different aspects of choice a scale of 1-10 was used. For the data analysis of the survey descriptive statistical analysis, cross tabulations and correlation analysis, as well as analysis of variance (ANOVA) and factor analysis were applied.
The article will show major dimensions in the experience of EU Member States that could be shared with the Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries. The framework of the study is the EU concept of trade unions in social dialogue and social partnership in the public sector. This study outlines the concept of social dialogue as a core element of industrial relations and will focus on industrial relations specifically in the public sector. The authors have elaborated the approach to industrial relations and social dialogue taking into account comparative approach to definitions provided by international institutions such as ILO and OECD, as well as institutions in the EU and Latvia. Latvia is also a case study for Eastern Partnership countries as these countries and their trade unions are in a transition period from socialist structures to structures that possess liberal economies. Trade unions in these countries are members of the International Trade Union Confederation. The major transformation that trade unions underwent from being part of the socialist system and becoming an independent institution since Latvia regained independence in 1991 has been studied. The paper discusses the current developments related to the position of Latvian Free Trade Union Federation in the system of decision-making process related to the public administration management. Finally, the prospective role of trade unions in the EU and in Latvia is analysed and possible revitalisation of trade union is discussed. This approach could be applied to the Eastern Partners of the EU.
Introduction of work-based learning (WBL) in Latvia has required new approaches in decision making of different stakeholders. Experience from countries with long-standing WBL tradition has shown the numerous advantages but also the challenges this approach presents. One of these challenges is the need for new forms and mechanisms of cooperation among the key stakeholders – policy makers, public administrators, employers, educators and social partners. The current paper analyses the results of scientific research in this field, as well as uses the empirical results of two surveys performed by the authors: a survey of public sector experts and a survey of employers in Latvia. In order to obtain detailed results, the evaluations of respondents on multiple aspects analysed in the surveys were evaluation in the scale 1–10. The data of both surveys have been analysed by descriptive analysis, cross-tabulations and multivariate analysis – factor analysis. The results have indicated that the views of employers and social partners on the most of the key aspects of introduction and implementation of WBL are similar. However, a more profound analysis has to be performed in order to develop proposals or the most efficient approach to WBL.
Qualified, loyal and motivated employees are highly demanded by employers and business promoters. The paper deals with employers’ needs and expectations for qualified and loyal employees, and investigates cooperation of employers, educators and municipalities. The following methods were used: analysis of scientific publications; focus group discussions; surveys of employers, teaching staff, students and graduates of VEI. For survey data analysis descriptive statistical analysis, non-parametric statistical test of Kruskal-Wallis and factor analysis were applied. The main findings indicate that besides professional skills and competence, social competence, motivation to work and responsibility are requested as well.
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