Latvia

Latvia

The partner school:

Ventspils Tehnikums (Ventspils Technical School) is an educational institution with a long history and ancient traditions. The school started its business in 1906 as a trade school, but in 1920 it became the Ventspils State School of Business and in the following years it has been an important center for preparing new specialists. Since 2012 the name of the school is Ventspils Tehnikums.

The offer of school vocational education is extensive and covers several sectors: metalworking and mechanical engineering, road transport, energy, electronics, engineering communications, computer systems, catering services, hospitality, hotel business and accounting. The school implements vocational and vocational secondary education programs as well as adult continuing education and professional development programs. During the last 10 years the number of students of Ventspils Technical College has grown from 423 in 2007 to 830 in 2017. Mostly young people from Kurzeme region study at school.

One of the directions of further development of Ventspils Tehnikums is to develop cooperation with sectoral associations and entrepreneurs, as well as to create and improve targeted adult education lifelong learning and professional development tailored to the labor market trends.

Website of the school (Latvian)

The Latvian school system:

The school career in Latvia starts with four-year primary school, followed by the secondary school for five years, after secondary school compulsory school attendace ends. Afterwards, students either go for three years to a Gymnasium, a middle school or a specialized vocational school. At the end of the twelfth grade, there are final exams, passing them grants students access to university.

Studying in Latvia:

Studying in Latvia is free for Latvian citizens but only a limited number of places to study are available. Currently there are six state-funded universities and numerous colleges in Latvia. In Latvia dual study-courses are common.

Foreigners generally pay tuition fees, which differ depending on the course and the university.

Living in Latvia is significantly more affordable than living in Western Europe, especially food and everyday items are cheap. Flats on the other hand can be, atleast in Riga, as expensive as in Germany.

Related links for students in Latvia:

http://www.uzdevumi.lv/

http://soma.lv

https://www.cv.lv/halturas