Nowadays, work is becoming more dynamic; requiring great attention, maximizing the mental and physical abilities of the worker who suffers poor health as a consequence. It is essential for the employer to determine in a timely manner whether workplace risks cause adverse effects on employees' health and whether the labour protection specialist is fit for the job to be performed. A high quality master program promotes students' preparedness to meet economic sector requirements, and ensures long-term work and life environment sustainability. This is accompanied by mandatory health screenings intended to identify health problems in a timely manner. The tasks of the labour protection specialist are to find regulations to support the primacy of effective and high quality mandatory health screenings, to reduce the incidence of perfunctorily compliant attitudes among employees to health protection, and to promote long-term quality of life. The study was conducted using questionnaires (418 respondents) and expert interviews. The IBM SPSS 23 (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) was used for analysis of the data generated by the employee survey. It has been found that the effectiveness of mandatory health screenings is intrinsically connected to their quality. The more competent, conscientious and honest is each participant in this activity -the employer, occupational physician and employee -the more effective is the mandatory health screening. The study identified the need to increase the competence of labour protection specialists by improving the master program to ensure the necessary raising of awareness in the context of mandatory health screening.

Influenced by the current covid-19 situation in Latvia and in the world, work environment is associated with psychological load - the psycho-emotional risk factor as an aspect of cognitive ergonomics, which can affect employees’ health, productivity and quality. Forest nursery work is usually solitary, and it is conducted out-of-doors. In Latvia the agricultural industry employs about 50 thousand workers in various trades performing diverse tasks, for example, working at forestry tasks with tractor equipment and in outdoor conditions with hand-held power tools, as well as office work and working with timber transport. The aim of the study is to improve the competence of labour protection specialists in the context of cognitive ergonomics risk assessment in order to reduce the impact of psycho-emotional risks on the health of forest management workers. The following methods were use in the research: work environment risk assessment, burnout syndrome test, and the method for determining the working capacity index, Charles D. Spielberger’s survey, and a well-being survey. The highest risk factors for forestry workers in their daily employment are working in a forced position and in different weather conditions, which can affect employees psychologically. The largest number of employees with signs of fatigue is found in the age groups of 40-49 and 50-59 years. The study identified the need to increase the competence of labour protection specialists by improving the master program to ensure the necessary raising of awareness in the context of cognitive ergonomics.

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