The educational development goals of the Zemgale Planning Region are high quality, modern educational opportunities and equal access to the residents of the region throughout their lives.
The offer of education in the region is implemented in all four levels of education (preschool education, primary education, secondary education, higher education) and in all three types of education (general education, professional education, academic education).
There are also various educational institutions of interest - music, art and sports schools, children and youth education centers.
Seven educational institutions in the region offer professional education at the professional qualification level. The range of study programs offered is wide - catering and hotel service, construction, computer systems, woodworking, accounting and finance, agriculture, energy and electrical engineering.
The network of professional training institutions covers the territory of the entire region, thus providing citizens with the opportunity to learn trade skills closer to their place of residence and retrain, following the specialties demanded by entrepreneurs.
In the Zemgale planning region, there are also accredited higher education institutions or their branches, where it is possible to study 1st level professional study programs, as well as bachelor's, master's and PhD studies. Jelgava is home to the Latvia University Life Sciences and Technologies, which creates the intellectual potential of the region, opens opportunities to develop knowledge-intensive technologies and innovative solutions for development of new products. It is the only higher education institution in Latvia with unique study programs in the main areas of bioeconomy - agriculture, forestry and woodworking, veterinary medicine, food production.
However, the latest guidelines broaden the perspective of lifelong education, which offers adult education institutions, various interest education institutions, as well as non-governmental sector organisations that organize educational activities, interest education, courses, as well as professional improvement, both with and without obtaining a new educational level.
The "Sustainable Development Strategy 2015 - 2030" of the Zemgale planning region defines education as one of the skills, which provides that the Zemgale planning region, in close cooperation with the region's higher education and scientific institutions, will provide the necessary high-quality specialists, research, innovative products and technological solutions and commercialization of knowledge, contributing to economic transformation and innovative growth.
In the development program of the Zemgale planning region for the period from 2021-2027, there is a priority "Quality, accessible, versatile lifelong education".
The following goals are set to achieve the priority:
- Ensure high-quality and accessible education at all levels of education, developing the infrastructure of educational institutions and implementing innovative solutions; to create a safe, suitable and inclusive environment for students in ZPR educational institutions.
- Promote individualisation of the education process and cross-sectoral co-operation for educational excellence, development of innovations, technology skills and creativity of learners.
- Create a safe, supportive and inclusive environment for learners in educational institutions of the Zemgale region.
- Promote the culture of lifelong learning and strengthen the importance of adult education, linking its offers with the needs of the national economy, in accordance with the economic specialization of the region, thus creating the skills and competences necessary for the development of the region.
- Ensure quality higher education, develop cooperation between entrepreneurs, the public sector, education and scientific institutions in the implementation of innovations, creation of higher value added products for the promotion of economic transformation in the region.