Qualifications Framework level

EQF level

European Qualifications Framework (EQF) has 8 levels (1 – the lowest, 8 – the highest).

Levels reflect the complexity level of acquired knowledge, skills and competences (learning outcomes).


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LQF level

Latvian Qualifications Framework (LQF) has 8 levels (1 – the lowest, 8 – the highest).

Levels reflect the complexity level of acquired knowledge, skills and competences (learning outcomes).

LQF covers stages of education starting from the basic education (level 1 – special basic education) to the highest education (level 8 – doctoral studies).


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Level of professional qualification
Latvia has a system of five professional qualifications levels (PQL, 1 – the lowest, 5 – the highest).

PQL system covers only professional qualifications (basic education, secondary and higher education stages).

PQL reflects readiness of a person to perform work of certain stage of complexity and responsibility.
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Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are knowledge, skills and competences acquired during a certain period of learning.

In Latvia, learning outcomes are stipulated by state education standards and occupational standards (for the professional qualifications).

Learning outcomes of higher education are defined by higher education institutions.


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New occupational standard was developed for this qualification in 2018.

– Able to perform intellectual operations at the level of knowledge, understanding, use and simple analysis.
– Uses knowledge and theoretical understanding in wide-ranging complex activities.
– Able to obtain and evaluate information independently.
– Uses wide-ranging knowledge and skills for the solution of well-formulated, but unknown and unforeseeable problems.
– Has detailed, theoretical knowledge and understanding corresponding to the professional qualification.
– Has wide-ranging skills and proficiency essential for the profession corresponding to the professional qualification.
– Able to perform the work of executor independently, including the planning and supervision of the work to be performed.
– Knows and is able to apply appropriate technologies.
– Able to apply information acquisition and processing technologies in professional activity.
– Latvian language proficiency developed and foreign language(-s) proficiency improved.
– Knows and understands links between historical developments of their county, Latvia, Europe and world.
– Able to apply mathematical knowledge and skills in professional work.
– Able to apply knowledge about the facts and laws of natural sciences in professional activity.
– Able to evaluate the processes occurring in nature and society and comprehend them in their system and development.
– Understands the principle of coherence of ecological space and observes the environmental protection requirements in professional activity.
– Understands the basic principles of market economy.
– Able to find their place in the economic structures of society and able to operate therein.
– Understands the economic relationship between employer and employee and knows the relevant legislation.
– Has a conception of the political structure of the European Union, as well as of the principles of single economic area and the mobility of the labour force.
– Evaluates their abilities adequately.
– Plans activity in compliance with circumstances, possibilities and their abilities.
– Plans time in accordance with task.
– Able to make justified choice and make a decision independently in familiar and less familiar circumstances.
– Able to answer for the quantitative and qualitative result of their professional activities, assumes partial responsibility for the work performed by others.
– Is determined, systematic and rational when working.
– Is careful and accurate.
– Able to assume initiative.

Veterinarian assistant

  • Knowledge

    1. Basic knowledge of the following is required – basics of agronomics.
    2. Understanding of the following is required:
    2.1. farm animal anatomy and physiology;
    2.2. pathology basics and physiology;
    2.3. pharmacology;
    2.4. surgery basics;
    2.5. infection diseases;
    2.6. environmental studies and environmental protection;
    2.7. legal labour relations;
    2.8. professional terminology in the official language and one foreign language.
    3. Practical knowledge of the following is required:
    3.1. normative acts that regulate an animal’s health, welfare, and nutritional safety, directly applicable European Union  law (regulations) and international agreements;
    3.2. labour safety;
    3.3. environmental protection;
    3.4. electrical safety and fire safety requirements;
    3.5. organization of veterinary work;
    3.6. management;
    3.7. professional communication;
    3.8. cattle breeding basics;
    3.9. food product circulation hygiene;
    3.10. self-control;
    3.11. clinical diagnostics;
    3.12. ingestion of non-communicable diseases;
    3.13. obstetrics and gynecology;
    3.14. artificial insemination of farmed animals;
    3.15. parasitic diseases;
    3.16. veterinary expertise;
    3.17. the official language;
    3.18. one foreign language at a communication level.

  • Skills

    1. To work with computer at a user level.
    2. To find information by using software (for example, from the internet using browsers) and databases necessary for work.
    3. To fill in the necessary documents.
    4. To contact the customer and colleagues.
    5. To group medicine in pharmacological order.
    6. To compose and read veterinarian and humanitarian medical prescriptions.
    7. To differentiate the species of farm animals, domestic (pet) animals, aquaculture animals and invertebrates.
    8. To sort economic waste by separating hazardous waste.
    9. To comply with food circulation hygiene requirements.
    10. To tidy and disinfect rooms for researching, treatment, and care of a diseased animal.
    11. To be able to identify the placement of organs, animal body parts and joints.
    12. To identify the weight of an animal.
    13. To measure animal body temperature, to determine pulse, breathing frequencies, ruminal movements.
    14. To give an animal an enema.
    15. To take an animal’s milk, blood, urine, pathological material, and fecal samples.
    16. To package and save taken samples, to fill in accompanying documents.
    17. To use express methods to determine an animal’s biochemical indicators.  
    18. To prepare samples for microscopic research and test samples with microscope.  
    19. To prepare tuberculin area.  
    20. To identify and differentiate the signs of an animal’s non-communicable diseases.
    21. To milk animals.
    22. To identify the signs of animal’s udder inflammation.
    23. To perform raw milk somatic cell control by using CMT (Cells Mastitis Test) or similar express method.
    24. To identify the signs of animal’s estrus, optimal insemination period or mating cycles.
    25. To perform measures for drying off a cow.
    26. To detect pregnancy by investigating a cow rectally and according to external signs, as well as to detect pregnancy with the help of instruments.
    27. To determine the oncoming signs of an animal’s maternity, and to identify the position of the fetus in maternity paths.
    28. To prepare an animal for birth assistance.
    29. To perform animal’s natural birth progress.
    30. To assist an animal in the event of a difficult birth.
    31. To take care of a newborn animal.  
    32. To give the medicine indicated by veterinarian to an animal through the mouth, under the skin, in the skin, muscle, vein, abdominal cavity, as inhalation, in the mammary gland, uterus.
    33. To prepare an operating room and instruments before and after an operation.
    34. To prepare an animal for operation.
    35. To assist the veterinarian during the operation.  
    36. To take care of an animal’s wounds, apply a tourniquet, to bandage and put a splint.
    37.To perform artificial respiration and heart massage for an animal.
    38. To use a spike.
    39. To identify care measures for a diseased animal.
    40. To compose nutrition according to animal’s state of health and physiological condition.  
    41. To identify an animal’s density and other holding condition parameters, also to evaluate compliance with welfare requirements.
    42. To evaluate an animal’s nutrition by differentiating damaged feed from non-damaged feed.
    43. To orientate in the uses of vitamins and minerals.  
    44. To detect signs that indicates an infectious disease in an animal.
    45. To make a decision regarding taking the appropriate further measures when identifying signs of an infectious disease in an animal.
    46. To take precautionary measures when identifying signs of an infectious disease in an animal .
    47. To prepare liquid in specific concentration for disinfecting and disinsecting.
    48. To work with disinfecting and disinsecting tools.  
    49. To compose a deratization plan for animal holding.
    50. To identify animal parasite types and their development cycles.  
    51. To orientate in animal parasites destruction methods and instruments.
    52. To use endo- and ecto-parasite destruction methods and tools.   
    53.To know how to deal with an animal.
    54. To identify animals by using ear tags and microchips.
    55. To identify animals with the help of a microchip reader.
    56. To determine an animal’s compliance according to information given in accompanying documents.
    57. To assess an animal’s welfare during transportation, loading, and unloading.
    58. To analyze a herd’s monitoring data and laboratory analyses reports.
    59. To know the most important indicator norms of an animal’s milk, blood, urine, and fecal analysis.
    60. To orientate in diagnostics reactions of animal infection diseases.
    61. To perform an animal ante-mortem inspection.
    62. To orientate in the basic principles of hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) detection and good hygiene practice, also in the basic principles of slaughterhouse organization.
    63. To know labeling of carcass and animal byproducts.
    64. To differentiate pathological changes in carcasses and animal organs.
    65. To perform the inspection of an animal carcass and its parts, palpation, and cutting.
    66. To perform a trichinoscopic examination.
    67. To differentiate the meat of different animal species by their external signs.  
    68. To identify organoleptic characteristics of meat, milk, aquaculture products, eggs, honey and the processed products.
    69. To know the quality indicator norms of raw milk.  
    70. To know the categories of animal origin sub-products that are not used in food.
    71. To orientate in meat labeling requirements.  
    72. To use animal origin sub-product management conditions that are not suitable for human consumption.
    73. To choose and prepare instruments and specific clothes to perform an animal autopsy.
    74. To prepare a place for an animal autopsy.
    75. To wash and sterilize instruments.
    76. To tidy an animal autopsy room or place.
    77. To speak in the official language.
    78. To speak in one foreign language at a professional communication level.
    79. To use professional terminology in the official language and one foreign language.

  • Competences/ autonomy

    1. The ability to practically use normative acts that regulate an animal’s health, welfare, and nutritional safety.
    2. The ability to comply with labour safety, electrical safety, and fire safety requirements and environmental protection requirements.
    3. The ability to prepare animals for clinical research.
    4. The ability to prepare medical records and veterinary work documents, and to organize their circulation.
    5. The ability to integrate into realization the requirements of good veterinarian practice.
    6. The ability to identify animals by specifically identifying each species (for example, tattoo, brand marking, ear tag, or microchip).
    7. The ability to evaluate an animal and its state of health, to compare with physiological norms.
    8. The ability to determine the signs that show an animal is ill, to differentiate the types of animal illnesses, and to make a decision regarding taking further measures.
    9. The ability to take an animal’s blood, milk, urine, fecal, semen, skin, hair, feather, mucous, and other body liquids, animal nutrition, water, soil, different surface rinsing, food product and pathological material samples by preparing them for laboratory tests, and to independently perform simple tests.
    10. The ability to identify external signs of animal pregnancy during the whole pregnancy period and to perform pregnancy tests.
    11. The ability to take preventative measures in the event of inflammation of an animal’s mammary gland.
    12. The ability to assist the veterinarian in investigating diseased animals, their treatment and care.
    13. The ability to prepare an operating room, equipment, and an animal for operation, to assist during the operation.
    14. The ability to provide natural progress of animal birth, also to assist the veterinarian in the event of a difficult birth.
    15. The ability to provide first aid to animals.
    16. The ability to offer advice in the area of animal welfare.
    17. The ability to offer advice regarding an animal’s nutrition suitable for its state of health, considering nutrition quality and choosing the most suitable minerals and vitamins.
    18. The ability to orientate in the development cycles of animal parasites, to choose the most appropriate methods of treatment and prevention.
    19. The ability to test animal compliance according to accompanying documents (for example, animal passport, vaccination certificate, the animal’s resettlement declaration, certificate, statement) and to perform an animal’s ante-mortem inspection.
    20. The ability to orientate in animal origin food products that are not available for human consumption.
    21. The ability to prepare an animal’s carcass, also animal origin food products for veterinarian inspection.
    22. The ability to perform a veterinarian inspection of an animal’s carcass.
    23. The ability to determine different animal species.
    24. The ability to identify the cycle of animal’s estrus, optimal insemination period, or mating.
    25. The ability to analyze a herd’s health monitoring, supervision, and other data.
    26. The ability to analyze the quality and harmlessness indicators of animal origin food products
    27. The ability to assist a veterinarian during an animal’s autopsy.
    28. The ability to communicate in the official language and one foreign language.

Qualification acquisition requirements

Previous education
Certificate of general basic education
Ways to acquire 
Qualifications can be acquired in the framework of education programs or in the evaluation and recognition of non-formal knowledge, skills and competences acquired (in vocational education LKI Levels 2-4).
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Formal (through education programmes)
ECTS credit points 
The unit of the volume of Latvian higher education studies - 1 credit point corresponds to one week of study work in full-time studies (40 credit points per study year).

1 The credit point of Latvia corresponds to 1,5 ECTS (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System) credit point.
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0
Duration of study 
Duration of qualification in full-time studies
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4 years

Qualification document

Awarding body

Vocational basic and secondary education institution

- Smiltene Technical School

General education institution:

- Bebrene General and Vocational Secondary School

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Qualifications Framework level

EQF level

European Qualifications Framework (EQF) has 8 levels (1 – the lowest, 8 – the highest).

Levels reflect the complexity level of acquired knowledge, skills and competences (learning outcomes).


Go to the Glossary section
?

4

LQF level

Latvian Qualifications Framework (LQF) has 8 levels (1 – the lowest, 8 – the highest).

Levels reflect the complexity level of acquired knowledge, skills and competences (learning outcomes).

LQF covers stages of education starting from the basic education (level 1 – special basic education) to the highest education (level 8 – doctoral studies).


Go to the Glossary section
?

4

Level of professional qualification

Latvia has a system of five professional qualifications levels (PQL, 1 – the lowest, 5 – the highest).

PQL system covers only professional qualifications (basic education, secondary and higher education stages).

PQL reflects readiness of a person to perform work of certain stage of complexity and responsibility.


Go to the Glossary section
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3

Qualification field, stage and type

Thematic field (ISCED 2013)
International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) developed by UNESCO.
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Veterinary (084)

Detailed field: (ISCED 2013)

Veterinary (0841)

Education
Stages of Latvian education system included in the LQF:
- basic education
- secondary education
- higher education
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Secondary education

Qualification type
ITypes of Latvian education:
-General education
-Professional education
-Academic education
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Vocational

Full or partial

Full qualification

Other information

National Education Information System

National Database of Education Opportunities

Historical qualification

Last changes: 12.12.2019

Posted: 12.12.2019