On February 17,  AmCham published recommendations aimed at improving digital literacy among citizens according to the international best practices and by ensuring better governance and cooperation between all stakeholders.

The COVID-19 crisis has unveiled the importance of digital literacy across all levels. Enabling digital skills of the population should be the priority for upskilling and reskilling. Recognizing Latvia's continued efforts in upskilling and reskilling of its workforce, AmCham calls for immediate action to carry out coordinated efforts in order to prepare workforce for the new way of working.

In particular, AmCham calls to:

• Boost digital literacy;
• Learn from the best;
• Improve governance and a culture of cooperation.

Understanding that the development of human capital is a complex process requiring much expertise and inter-agency coordination, AmCham proposes for a particular agency to undertake leadership in developing an overall strategy of the development of human capital in close coordination with a wide range of stakeholders from both public and private sector.

AmCham recommends to introduce concrete, measurable targets to assess the improvement of digital literacy not only by measuring the number of people who have attended the programs as it is now, but also by the quality and applicability of the programs as well as career growth opportunities. The gradual improvement in the European Commission's DESI Index is one of the goals to consider when developing the national strategy, especially, since Latvia ranks one of the lowest among its peers in the Human Capital and Digital Skills dimension.

According to AmCham President Zinta Jansons: "Never before investing in upskilling has been as important as now when we navigate through the pandemic. Based on the results of a recent survey of our members, a very small number of respondents have used the state-subsidized upskilling programs for their employees. Asked about the reasons, members said they have quality concerns, lack of information about available programs and too much red tape. Unfortunately those who have used the state programs, rated the impact of training as low. At the same time the majority of the respondents regularly invest their own resources for upskilling their employees. Our members stand ready to contribute to improving the program content or becoming educators themselves. Digital skills curriculums should be meaningful and applicable in practice, therefore we call to invest in creating quality content based on internationally certified programs and best practices."

As an organization representing industry leaders from a variety of sectors, AmCham stands ready to engage in a dialogue with stakeholders and offer practical recommendations to facilitate the development of Latvia's human capital and to attract high-value investments.

AmCham recommendations are available HERE