Procedure for the Validation of the Professional Competence Acquired Outside Formal Education System

Issued pursuant to Section 29.¹,
Paragraph three of the Vocational Education Law

1. This Regulation prescribes the procedure for the validation of the professional competence acquired outside formal education system, which conforms to the professional competence of the first, second or third level vocational qualification (hereinafter - professional competence).

2. This Regulation shall not apply to professions, the validation of the professional competence of which is regulated by special regulatory enactments.

3. Professional competence shall be validated by an accredited educational institution or an examination centre, to which the State Service of Education Quality (hereinafter - Service) has delegated the performance of this task (hereinafter - institution for the validation of professional competence).

4. The Service shall publish the list of institutions for the validation of professional competence and vocational qualifications, in which the relevant institution for the validation of professional competence validates the professional competence, on the website (www.ikvd.gov.lv).

5. Professional competence shall be validated during an examination of vocational qualification.

6. A person who wishes that his or her professional competence is validated (hereinafter - candidate) shall submit an application for the validation of professional competence (Annex) to the institution for the validation of professional competence. A payment document, which confirms payment for the examination of professional qualification, shall be mandatorily appended to the application.

7. If none of the institutions for the validation of professional competence included in the list referred to in Paragraph 4 of this Regulation performs the validation of professional competence in the vocational qualification selected by the candidate, the candidate shall submit an application to the Service with a request to organise a validation of professional competence in this qualification.

8. The Service shall, within a month from the day when the application referred to in Paragraph 7 of this Regulation is received, take a decision on organising the validation process of the professional competence of the particular candidate in accordance with the procedure for the process of vocational qualification examinations in accredited vocational education programmes, specified in regulatory enactments, and shall inform the candidate of the decision taken.

[30 August 2011]

9. Prior to submitting the documents referred to in Paragraph 6 of this Regulation, the institution for the validation of professional competence shall, free of charge, provide consultations to the candidate regarding the requirements of the relevant profession standard and the process of the vocational qualification examination.

10. After receipt of the application referred to in Paragraph 6 of this Regulation, the institution for the validation of professional competence shall organise and implement a vocational qualification examination in accordance with the procedure for the course of vocational qualification examinations in accredited vocational education programmes, specified in regulatory enactments, ensuring the candidate with an opportunity to take the vocational qualification examination in the relevant educational programme within the framework of the vocational qualification examination, which is being organised in the nearest future.

[30 August 2011]

11. Upon a written request of the candidate the institution for the validation of professional competence shall, within two months after receipt of the application referred to in Paragraph 6 of this Regulation, organise and implement a vocational qualification examination in accordance with the procedure for the course of vocational qualification examinations in accredited vocational education programmes, specified in regulatory enactments.

[30 August 2011]

12. If the candidate does not arrive to the vocational qualification examination due to justifying reasons, he or she has the right to take the vocational qualification examination at another time indicated by the institution for the validation of professional competence. In such case the candidate shall not pay the payment for the vocational qualification examination repeatedly. The candidate shall inform the commission for vocational qualification examinations (hereinafter - examination commission) of his or her non-arrival and the reasons for non-arrival until the beginning of the vocational qualification examination. The examination commission shall decide on whether the reasons for non-arrival are to be deemed justifying, and the relevant decision shall be indicated in the protocol for the validation of professional competence.

[30 August 2011]

13. If the candidate does not arrive to the vocational qualification examination without a justifying reason or due to reasons unknown to the examination commission, the payment made for the vocational qualification examination shall not be repaid.

14. The candidate who, in the vocational qualification examination, has received a validation, which is lower than "5 - average", or who is unsatisfied with the validation, has the right to take the vocational qualification examination in accordance with the procedure for the course of vocational qualification examinations in accredited vocational education programmes, specified in regulatory enactments, covering the costs of the vocational qualification examination.

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15. To the candidate who, in the vocational qualification examination, has received a validation not lower than "5 - average", the institution for the validation of professional competence shall issue a document certifying the State recognised first, second or third level vocational qualification in accordance with the procedure for the issuance of documents certifying vocational qualification specified in regulatory enactments.

16. The candidate may contest the validation received in the vocational qualification examination by submitting a submission to the head of the institution for the validation of professional competence within a month from the day when the decision of the examination commission entered into effect. A decision of the head of the institution for the validation of professional competence may be appealed to a court in accordance with the procedure prescribed by the Administrative Procedure Law.

17. The Service shall create and maintain a database on persons who have received a document certifying a State recognised vocational qualification. Personal identification information (given name, surname, personal identity number), the date and number of the protocol for the validation of professional competence, the qualification granted to the person, the number and date of issuance of the issued document certifying vocational qualification, information regarding the institution which validated the professional competence shall be indicated in the database.

18. The institution for the validation of professional competence shall register the information referred to in Paragraph 17 of this Regulation in the database of the Service.

Prime Minister V. Dombrovskis

Minister for Education and Science R. Broks

Annex
Cabinet Regulation No. 146
22 February 2011
[30 August 2011]

Application
for the validation of professional competence

Please validate my professional competence, ensuring an opportunity to take a vocational qualification examination for the acquisition of

of the first, second, third (delete as appropriate) level.

I wish to take the examination in the relevant educational programme within the framework of the professional qualification examination, which is being organised in the nearest future

I wish to take the examination within two months

Appended: Document confirming the payment for the vocational qualification examination, on ____ pages

Application received:

^* The details of the document "date" and "signature" shall not be completed if the electronic document has been prepared in accordance with the regulatory enactments regarding the drawing up of electronic documents.

Minister for Education and Science R. Broks