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COMPETENCES CURRENTLY NECESSARY FOR EXTERNAL RELATIONS SPECIALISTS WORKING IN LATVIA

The objective of the research was to find out the most necessary competences of external relations specialists working in Latvia at the present moment, as well as to provide solutions for ensuring the acquisition of the necessary competences. In the research, the working environment of external relations specialists and data obtained in 2011 from surveying the graduates of the study program External Relations of Organizations, implemented at the Latvia University of Agriculture, are analysed. The results reveal that most of the skills needed for external relations specialists are related to cooperation with foreign partners, as well as that external relations specialists in Latvia most of all need to possess and improve cross-cultural communication competence, including awareness of cultural differences, as well as knowledge in specific business etiquettes and ways of communicating and thinking typical of different cultures. The necessary competences of external relations specialists should be improved by means of ensuring more cross-cultural communication opportunities and integrating the acquisition of more culture-specific etiquettes into the curriculum.
Key words: competences, cross-cultural communication, external relations education.