The requirements for education, school and teachers become increasingly varied and complicated. The Latvian education system needs to be changed. The aim of the education reform is to establish a qualitative, accessible, competitive education system. The role of the teacher in studies changes with the economical and labour market changes. It determines new requirements and makes the knowledge, skills and competences of teachers change. To foster the development of teacher skills and acquisition of information, it is necessary to promote further education of teachers. The involvement of Latvia in the today’s global processes makes it necessary to substantially reconsider the aims and tasks of the education system – to ensure modernization of the education system and attain the introduction of new education content and methods. The article theoretically and empirically analyses and summarizes the further education experience of teachers at the Centre for Lifelong Education of the Latvia University of Agriculture in 2009/2010. The research target group - professional education teachers. The aim of the article is to justify teacher further education as development of professional and pedagogical competences in ensuring a modern and qualitative study process. The novelty of the research is related to the idea of the professional education reform and optimization of the network of professional schools.

The development of information and communication technologies (ICT) has a significant impact on the business model of companies operating in the financial sector. Digital transformation leads to changing existing business model rapidly, as well as necessity of developing new processes specifically related to the use of ICT in business processes, development of new products and updating existing ones. At present, changes in the demand for ICT related processes in financial sector are observed both through the development of different technologies and their applications core or ancillary processes (e.g. innovations in payment systems including crypto currencies, blockchain-assisted smart contract, credit markets and insurance including peer-to-peer lending). Based on the opportunities offered by ICT, new business models need to be developed in the financial sector to transform these capabilities into new products and services that respond to changing customer demand. The aim of research to investigate the changes taking place in financial sector in the light of developments in ICT for acquisition of necessary competencies. Research methodology includes systematic review of scientific literature, analysis of selected financial sector statistics, semi-structured industry expert interviews and statistics analysis. The empirical study is limited to the financial sector of Latvia. Although due to the global nature of the financial sector the research findings could be applied internationally.

This article examines the importance and necessity of high-level mathematical skills in engineering studies. It analyses the specific mathematical skills required for successful engineering education and their role in engineering studies. The results provide insight into how high-level mathematical skills contribute to the development of engineering competencies and enable engineers to solve complex problem scenarios. Key findings reveal that high-level mathematical skills are indispensable in engineering education, providing the tools needed to solve real-world problems and drive innovation in engineering. Mathematics is the language of engineering. It provides the analytical and problem-solving tools necessary for engineers to design, analyse, and optimize systems, ensuring that they meet safety, efficiency, and performance requirements. Engineers use math as a fundamental tool to make informed decisions and drive technological advancements across various engineering disciplines. Without math, engineering would be severely limited in its ability to design safe, efficient, and innovative solutions to the complex problems that engineers encounter in various industries. The questions contained in the article are investigated using survey data of university students. The purpose of this study is to research the relative applicability and level of knowledge of the learning material learned in secondary educational institutions in mathematics, based on the experience of school graduates and engineering students.