OVERVIEW ister with special portfolio for E-gov- A Programme to Promote ernance, Jånis Reirs, to discuss the ministry s investment in promoting the recognizability of the certificates. the Information Society: Seminars were organised in September in Prei¬i, Kråslava, Val- miera and Ventspils, allowing people The First Results of the to learn about the launch of training in Latvia’s regions, about the train- ing programme, and about the proce- Latvija@Pasaule Project dure for signing up for the courses. Lilita VÏksna, Data Media Group, Latvia LIKTA RESEARCH ON IT USE AND DIGITAL SKILLS A press conference was held in September of this year at which representatives of The aim was to collect the infor- the Latvian Information and Communications Technology Association (LIKTA) mation that is needed for the success- announced that the first, preparatory phase of the Latvija@Pasaule ful implementation of the project, (Latvia@World) project has been completed successfully. Work is continuing on the drafting and localisation of educational materials. thus learning the gap which exists be- tween the demand for computer and Internet skills on the one hand, and One of the goals in the first phase banka, Dzintars Kalniñß, said at the the knowledge and skills which of the Latvija@Pasaule project was to press conference that his bank, too, would-be employees can offer in the learn about the situation in Latvia’s would be offering financial assistance labour market. Employers at 278 regions. Since January 2005 LIKTA to the Latvija@Pasaule project. companies were studied in the four started the the project “Training in People who complete the training aforementioned regions that were Computer and Internet Use for course will receive a certificate to at- surveyed. Unemployed People in Latvia” which test to this fact. The LIKTA goal is to The results of the research show is financed by the European Union s ensure that the certificates are wide- that companies are concerned about EQUAL programme. Several major ly recognised and that they guarantee the development of their infrastruc- studies were conducted about unem- a high level of quality in the training ture – 81% use computers, and 75% of ployment in the project partner re- process. The certificates will also help those computers are connected to the gions: Prei¬i, Valmiera, Ventspils and to motivate people so that they com- Internet. Computers are not used on- Kråslava districts. A digital map was plete the courses successfully and ly by very small companies, and that created for the local governments of then have no problems in finding is most often attributed to a lack of fi- the Kråslava, Prei¬i, Daugavpils, work. Negotiations are being conduct- nancing or appropriate specialists. Ludza, Valmiera, Ventspils and Talsi ed at this time with the Latvian min- There is reason to believe that by districts, containing detailed infor- mation about public Internet access facilities. Drafting of computer training ma- terials was begun in the summer and will soon be completed. For people who have no experience in working with a computer, eight-hour training courses will be offered over the course of two days. People will learn basic skills that are needed in the Information Society – working with a computer, working with the Internet (focusing on everyday skills such as paying bills on the Internet, sending E-mails), etc. At a press conference, Sandis Kolomenskis, director of Microsoft Latvia, announced addi- tional financing for the localisation of educational materials for the next four modules of the training pro- gramme. The head of the electronic payments department of Hansa- EQUAL partners in Latvia 6 Baltic IT&T Review #38 OVERVIEV ees are required to have computer skills, and at 29% of the responding companies, nearly all employees need such skills. Only 45% of employees in- volved in manufacturing can make do without computer skills, as can 18% of manufacturing specialists. Among these people, computer skills are ei- ther minimal or non-existent. 70% of employees have minimal, inadequate or no computer skills. Among those who need computer skills to do their job, more than 40% require additional training. This could be a target audience for further training under the auspices of pro- At a news conference, LIKTA representatives announced that the first, jects such as Latvija@Pasaule. preparatory phase of the Latvija@Pasaule project, aimed at facilitating the Demand for trained employees is development of the Information Society, has been concluded successfully greater than the supply of computer equipment for such employee at this training people in the area of comput- people who are qualified in the area time. 29% of companies said that be- er skills, the EQUAL project will help of computer skills. tween three-quarters and all of their in enhancing the level of computer 18% of respondents said that they employees need computer skills, but and Internet use. Some employers do lack qualified specialists, but also only 8% of those companies have the not know how to use a computer, and that they don’t need a computer in necessary number of computers. This so they do not have a full understand- their operations. This indicates that means that workstations are used by ing of the opportunities which com- a computer might be of use, but there more than one employee at many puters and information technologies is no one who knows how to operate companies. provide. one or to convince company manage- Computers are most often used for ment of the benefits that would ac- EVALUATING COMPUTER SKILLS administration and management of crue to the company if a computer Evaluating the computer skills of companies – bookkeeping (88%), com- were purchased. employees was one of the most impor- munications and the Internet (71%), tant issues in this study. The EQUAL documentation (62%) and basic com- REQUIREMENTS project will not enable the training of pany operations (53%). FOR EMPLOYEES people who already work at compa- Among the 54 companies which do The IT skills which employees nies and need the training. The re- not use computers, 83% are micro- need were assessed only by those sults of the study, however, can be of sized, while 17% are small compa- companies at which computers are use in other projects which have to do nies. It was found that among those used. Nearly all of the companies with computer training for local resi- companies which do not use the (97%) said that they need at least one dents – Latvija@Pasaule among them. Internet, many are involved in agri- employee who knows how to use a Evaluations of the computer culture, hunting and forestry (30%), computer. Computer skills are nec- skills of management and office retailing and renovations (21%) and essary for successful competition in workers were basically the same ñ in homemaking (11%). When asked why the labour market – 48% of employ- 59% of cases, the skills were rated as they do not use a computer, 38% of re- spondents said that they lack money, and 31% said that they cannot find Sufficient 8% Insufficient appropriate specialists. Some 28% of Partly sufficient 26% respondents said that they do not 21% need computers in their business processes. The fact that nearly one-third of respondents said that they lack ap- propriate specialists indicates that employers are waiting for employees to learn computer skills on their own Not needed so that they can use those skills to Source: The EQUAL project “Training in Computer and Internet Use for Unemployed People in Latvia” 45% benefit the company. It is also clear, however, that there is a shortage of Figure 1. Evaluating the computer skills of employees Baltic IT&T Review #38 7 OVERVIEW companies, 28% use courses organised by external partners, and 20% have specialists who train other employees. Only 5% of company respondents said that computer training is not neces- sary at all. THE INFORMATION SOCIETY AND Frequency of mention COMPUTER SKILLS The emergence of the Information Self-training Trained by Trained by Not needed Society cannot be imagined without external partners company adequate computer skills. The study specialists found that 70% of employees do not IT training organisation have the skills that are needed to be- come a part of the Information Society Source: The EQUAL project “Training in Computer and Internet Use for Unemployed People in Latvia” and to use IT at work, as well as in personal and public life – communi- Figure 2. IT training at the companies cating with local governments, na- tional government institutions and successful, and in 41% of cases they COMPUTER TRAINING commercial structures. Working peo- were seen as inadequate or partly AT COMPANIES ple, however, make up just one com- sufficient. Given the number of There is a demand in the labour ponent in society, and IT skills are be- computers at companies, the propor- market for employees who need no ad- coming more and more important for tion of office workers, and the goals ditional training to do the job. When everyone, irrespective of age, place of for using computers, we see that companies improve existing IT solu- residence or type of employment. management and office workers are tions or introduce new ones, it is ex- Local governments and companies the ones who use computers most of- pected that employees will learn the benefit from increased levels of infor- ten. necessary skills themselves. At big matisation and IT use in society, be- Manufacturing specialists ñ 18% companies, policies concerning the cause that makes it easier to offer ex- of them do not need computer skills, training of employees have changed to isting and new services in a cheaper and the number of such people whose some extent, but 60% of companies and simpler way.