Päivi Saarelainen, headmistress of Salpaus Education Centre, does not recommend stricter limits on the teaching offered by vocational schools.
In 2021, around 15% of those with a vocational qualification were unemployed one year after graduation.
Statistics Finland’s monitoring shows that the situation has remained the same for the last fifteen years.
However, she points out that the journey to becoming a professional is long for a young person starting vocational school, while the needs of working life change rapidly.
– In Finland, schoolchildren have the right to freely apply for studies. How well would it work if it were precisely regulated which field a young person should study, and what effect that would have on motivation, Saarelainen ponders.
He emphasizes that, for example, for someone starting their studies at the age of 16, Vocational School is also a growth journey to adulthood.
– If you then notice that another field suits you better, you can change the field during school, says Saarelainen.
Learning on the job helps you find a job
In the closing phase of studies, career guidance and support for future planning are organized in Salpa.
Companies in the area also come to the educational institution to market their own jobs during the studies in jointly organized recruitment events.
– For many, learning at the workplace is the best way to find a job. In companies, they try to engage good future employees already during their studies with summer jobs or a final apprenticeship contract, says Saarelainen.
Even if a job cannot be found exactly according to the vocational qualification, many graduates of a vocational school can also find employment in a related field. This often happens, for example, in the cultural sector, Saarelainen describes.
According to him, in Lahti, for example, cooperation with companies in the region is already ongoing. There is also an effort to tailor part of the training so that the student can find a job in the nearby area after graduation.