Human Resources

Contemporary Human Resource problems and challenges in Latvia

A report submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for International Human Resource Course 5HR006, University of Wolverhampton.

Contents

Introduction……………………………………………………………………………….4

Emigration………………………………………………………………………………...5

Equality…………………………………………………………………………………...5

Education………………………………………………………………………………....5

Unemployment…………………………………………………………………………...6

Conclution………………………………………………………………………………..6

Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………...7

Introduction

B.J. van den Elshout in his book ‘Crossroad Europe’ (2009) wrote that Republic of Latvia is a small country situated by the Baltic Sea, in the middle of the Europe. It used to be occupied by Soviet Union and became independent in 1991. Only ethnic Latvians were granted the citizenship. Russians, who lived in the country were offered ‘alien passport’. The relationship between two cultures was very ‘thin’ and has not changed over the years. In this report I will look at the key issues of Human Resources in the country, such as labour mobility, equality, education and unemployment. All the information has been gathered from the Human Resources in Europe books and internet research in Latvian/Lithuanian/Russian news websites.

Emigration

Latvia joined European Union in 2004. This decision opened the opportunity for citizens to travel and work within European Union countries without any restrictions. The unemployment, low birth level and mobility caused the decrease of population and because of that Latvia mostly loses people that are in their working age. According to Eurostat (2009) statistics in 2008 people aged 20-29 were equal to 37% and those between 30-59 years old were equal to 39% of emigrants who officially left the country. Decreasing number of population of that age means that lower number of employed people has to maintain those who are unemployed (students, pensioners, disabled, unemployed) what in order...