Chairman of the Cultural Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu, Aadu Must (Center), said he thinks that the Baltic states have to cooperate more closely developing vocational education. “Our concerns are similar to those of Latvia and Lithuania, they are connected with the reputation of vocational education and updating the study programmes. It is important that vocational schools train skilled workers on the basis of the needs of today and tomorrow, because in the longer perspective this will influence the sustainability of the economy,” Must was quoted in a press release.

In the opinion of member of the Riigikogu’s Cultural Affairs Committee, Krista Aru (Free Party), the issue of vocational training in and cooperation between the Baltic states is wider than the network of vocational education institutions today or the level of vocational training.

“We need to have the courage to look into the future together, so that already in the coming years sharing modern equipment and state-of-the-art technology we would be ready for vocational training and retraining in fields we may not even be able to name today,” Aru said, adding that there was a great opportunity to learn from the experience of the Nordic countries in updating vocational studies.

The recommendations of the Baltic Assembly to the Baltic Council of Ministers for improving cooperation in education, research, and innovation will also be discussed. Beyond that, the results of last year’s PISA tests will be summed up.

Experts of the Nordic Council, the Baltic Council of Ministers, and the educational sector are participating in the meeting, held at the Ministry of Education and Research of Estonia.