Policies and development

Restructuring the financing and guidance of vocational education and training

Under the Programme of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo's Government, the Ministry of Education and Culture will prepare government proposals in 2023 and 2024 for restructuring the funding and guidance of vocational education and training. This will be done in line with the objectives of the Government Programme. Other legislative amendments required by the Government Programme, such as expanding commissioned education, will also be drafted. 

Stronger support for learning

The Government will take action to make sure that everyone completes at least an upper secondary qualification. Over the course of the government term, support for learning will be made clearer and the sequencing of support will be streamlined from early childhood education and care all the way to upper secondary education.

To achieve these objectives, the Government will make sure that support and guidance in vocational education and training and in general upper secondary education are harmonised and more robust. The existing legislation, the support system itself, the types of support and the concepts used in the support system differ at different levels of education and forms of education.

Students in preparatory education for programmes leading to an upper secondary qualification (TUVA) have the right to receive intensive educational support or more intensive educational support for complex needs of the students. An evaluation carried out by the Finnish Education Evaluation Centre shows that students receive support well on average, but that it varies considerably between different education providers. 

A working group has been set up to harmonise the system of support for learning in upper secondary education. A programme comprising a total of EUR 25 million allocated for enhancing support for learning in general upper secondary education and in vocational education and training has also been established. Altogether EUR 10 million will be allocated from 2025 onwards to both general upper secondary education and vocational education and training to cover the costs arising from additional tasks related to support for learning.

Report on the functioning of the preparatory education for programmes leading to an upper secondary qualification

The Ministry of Education and Culture will invite tenders for a study on how well the preparatory education for programmes leading to an upper secondary qualification (TUVA) works. The results will be published in spring 2024 and they will be used to assess whether the law needs to be amended. Proposals for amendments of a technical nature to the legislation on compulsory education will be prepared in the same context.

The preparatory education for programmes leading to an upper secondary qualification was introduced on 1 August 2018 when changes were made to compulsory education. It is designed for young adults who are coming to the end of comprehensive school and are not enrolled in further education, including immigrants.

Strategic funding for vocational education and training and the Government Programme

The Ministry of Education and Culture will allocate strategic funding for vocational education and training in 2023 and 2024 as outlined in the objectives set out in the Government Programme. The funding will be used to improve leadership and management in education, to advance education programmes in foreign languages and English, and to strengthen the digitalisation capabilities of education providers.

Remodelling vocational qualifications 

A report drawn up by a working group tasked with finding ways to remodel vocational qualifications will be submitted to Minister of Education Henriksson and published on 16 November 2023. An interim report by the working group was published in March 2023. The working group has drafted proposals for making vocational qualifications more flexible, bringing in changes to other competence modules and advancing competencies required for the green transition and digitalisation.

Finnish VET in a Nutshell (2023)