On November 23, we organised a fourth of the four regional events under the Norwegian grant project “Enhancing local and regional trilateral social dialogue in Latvia”. We visited Jelgava this time. Due to the epidemiological rules laid down in the country, we could only meet in 10 people and, unfortunately, there was no possibility of visiting any of the enterprises.

At this meeting, we focused more on cooperation between industry associations and vocational education institutions and local entrepreneurs. Representatives of the Council and the Board of Governors of the Mechanical Engineering and Metalworking Association, as well as the representative of the Latvian Employers Confederation’s Council of Industry Experts in the field of training based on the work environment, Andis Lejins, participated in the event.

The event discussed a variety of business issues that are current, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, the various national business restrictions and their impact on the business environment and employment, as well as the effects of administrative territorial reform on municipal development and social dialogue between municipalities, entrepreneurs and citizens.

Representatives of Jelgava Merchant and Producer Association shared many years of positive experience in cooperation with both municipality and city education institutions. Many activities can be realized, if there is an encouraging and business-oriented management of the municipality. Jelgava has long been renowned for its tradition of manufacturing companies, and works successfully with Jelgava Technical School, which offers education in many important business sectors.