The mission of State Employment Agency
is to ensure the implementation of unemployment reduction policy by providing efficient services and promoting employment in the public interests.
State Employment Agency shall:
- provide effective and qualitative assistance to the unemployed, job seekers and people at risk of unemployment to promote their competitiveness in the labour market according to their needs, abilities and wishes;
- create and carry out active labour market measures and preventive measures for unemployment reduction;
- prepare proposals for the development and implementation of State policy to reduce unemployment and support the unemployed, job seekers and people at risk of unemployment;
- licence and supervise the businesses providing work placement services (with the exception of ship crew recruiting);
- perform the functions of European Union Fund second level intermediate body or co-operational authority;
- evaluate the introduction of active labour market measures and preventive measures for unemployment reduction, carry out cost analysis, offer proposals to improve the measures, as well as promote the diversification of measures in correspondence with labour market demand;
- provide short-term labour market forecasts, including surveying the employers;
- register and record the unemployed and job seekers, provide information about their rights and obligations, regularly update and improve the registry and recording system, develop and improve the system for classifying the registered unemployed;
- improve individual assistance to the unemployed to ensure the soonest re-entry into labour market;
- organise cooperation and information exchange between the agency and employers, regularly update and improve the registry of vacancies announced by employers;
- register and provide information on the vacancies announced by employers;
- provide career consultations for the unemployed, job seekers, people at risk of unemployment and others, as well as regularly improve the informative and methodological basis of career consultation services;
- prepare and provide information about state’s unemployment situation in accordance with the normative acts;
- cooperate with foreign and international institutions in the field of unemployment reduction, employment promotion and career consultations, and provide measures to ensure information exchange about labour force movement;
- ensure the protection of personal data and other information available to the agency in accordance with the normative acts;
- ensure the development and implementation of innovative methods and solutions in agency’s assistance to the unemployed, job seekers, people at risk of unemployment, and affiliates;
- maintain and systematically update the databases required for performing the functions of agency;
- ensure the participation the Republic of Latvia in the European Employment Service network (EURES).
Agency’s quality management system
Quality management system (henceforth – QMS) was introduced in Agency’s activities to ensure that the provided services comply with the normative acts and the interests of clients and the State, using the improvement options and resources available to the Agency.
Agency’s QMS was developed and certified in 2006 within the framework of project’s “Raising Capacity and Promotion of Collaboration Partnership of the State Employment Agency” subproject “Development and Implementation of the Quality Management System of SEA” of the European Social Fund.
In October 2008 during the Employers' Confederation of Latvia and State Chancellery’s organised forum on Efficient Management and Partnership the Agency received the Efficient Management award. The goal of it was to recognize examples of successful management by evaluating the efficiency of organization’s activities and their role in further developments. Agency was awarded for providing career consultations to the unemployed, job seekers and people at risk of unemployment.
QMS procedures correspond to the Agency’s services as stated under the Support for Unemployed Persons and Persons Seeking Employment Law – implementation of State policy to reduce unemployment and support the unemployed, job seekers and people at risk of unemployment – and comprise the administrative structure of Agency’s services and the services provided to customers.
To enforce and maintain the quality of services, the goals of the institution, the structure of the management system and availability of services are provided by highly competent employees, and the qualification of all level employees is continuously increased.
In order to execute Agency’s goals more successfully and ensure efficient performance, monitoring and improvements, certain control mechanisms allowing monitoring and measuring the processes have been implemented. Additionally, the criteria for measuring processes have been developed, and the involved divisions and parties responsible for collecting and presenting the results have been defined. The method “Plan – Do – Check – Act” is applied in all levels to reach the goal of QMS – customer satisfaction with the quality of services.
For the employees of Agency the QMS provides better understanding of their role and tasks, and reduce the stress levels because the employees know how to act in every situation and what results are expected. This also provides a deeper understanding of their job, especially for the new employees as the job description is documented in detail. The main benefit of implementing and maintaining QMS is the reduction of errors, complaints and inconsistent services, and developing a better job environment.
QMS is a successful managing instrument that is maintained to achieve further improvements and developments, a better understanding of customers’ needs and wishes, and satisfaction of the parties concerned.