Internationalisation of VET at policy and practice level
Case Finland
Hanna Autere
International Forum on VET Cooperation between Finland and South-Korea
Heureka
– Finnish Science Centre, 17th December 2014

1. FNBE and Finnish VET in a nutshell
2. Internationalisation of VET at policy level
3. Internationalisation at practice level
4. Using EU instruments
5. Learning outcomes approach
6. Opportunities for collaboration
2

Finnish National Board of Education
National Agency for Learning and Competence

• Prepares the national qualification requirements for
VET
• Decides on the learning outcomes of the studies and their assessment for VET
• Supports and develops nationally important aims
(e.g. internationalisation)
…in close co-operation with the providers and working life.

Doctoral and licentiate’s degrees
Universities
Master’s degrees
Universities
Education system in Finland
Polytechnic Master’s degrees
Polytechnics
Bacherlor’s degrees
Universities
Work experience, 3 year
Polytechnic Bachelor’s degrees
Polytechnics
WORK EXPERIENCE
Matriculation examination
General upper secondary schools
Vocational qualifications
Upper
Secondary
Vocational qualification
Further
Vocational qualification
Specialist
Vocational qualification
Vopcational institutions, adult education
Institutions and apprenticeship training
Basic education, 7-16-year-olds
Comprehensive schools
Pre-primary education, 6-yeras-olds
Comprehensive schools/day-car centres

• VET is not a second choice
• 50 % of comprehensive school leavers continue in upper secondary vocational education
• Number of students in initial VET has increased (from 148 000 to 172 500 during
2004-2011)

General Objectives of Vocational
Education and Training
• knowledge and skills necessary for vocational competence and (self-) employment
• support for personal growth and citizenship
• knowledge and skills needed in further studies and in life-long learning

8

Govermental Development Plan for Education and Research 2011-2016
Objectives of internationalisation of VET
 To increase mobility of VET students, graduates and teaching staff.
 To contribute actively to goal setting of European
VET policy and to promote achievement of
Copenhagen process objectives in Finland.
 To increase cooperation between education administrations and VET providers network with non-member EU countries .
 To enhance validation recognition of studies and on-the-job learning and work experience as part of the vocational qualification.

Student mobility in VET, Finland 2006-2012
7000
6566
6259
6000 6094 From Finland
5491
5343
5000
12,5 %
4492
4284
4000
3000
2749
Suomesta
Suomeen
2510 2425 2453
2000 2059 2038
2397
To Finland
1000
0
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
More information and detailed statistics http://www.cimo.fi/services/statistics

is Internationalisation of VET?
For example
 Development of education in European (EQF,
ECVET, EQAVET) and other international cooperation
 International Cooperation, which follows geogprahical orientation of the Finnish businesslife
 Education export
 Education cooperation with developing countries

is there a need for Finnish VET to internationalise?
 Business and economy is globalizing
 Finnish society depends on international experts
(Finnish and foreign professionals)
 Labour and student mobility is growing
 Individuals required to have international competencies
Internationalisation of VET supports Finnish education development.

does MoEC and FNBE support internationalisation of VET?
Financial support to national networks for priorities in
1.
Development of competencies required by internationalising working life
2.
International flexible learning pathways
3.
Mobility of teachers (job-shadowing, learning at work places)
4.
Home internationalisation
5.
International cooperation linked to development of quality management
6.
Network cooperation with countries outside of European
Union

Internationalisation of VET supporting national development
MoEC
Feedback FNBE
VET Schools
Feedback
Networks Networks

WHOM
• Ministry of Education and Culture
• CIMO, Centre for International Mobility and Collaboration
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Finnish
Embassies
• Embassies in Finland
• VET school networks
15

• 2 Russia networks
• 2 China networks: KAMoon China and
Chinet
• India network
• KEVA (Africa – Nepal) network
• HANAKO – Japan-Finland network
• Canada network
• South Korea Technet
• Thailand network
16

17

KEVA – Developing cooperation and voluntary work in global education
18

19

20

EQF
European Qualification
Framework
European Credit
Transfer system for
VET
Europass
ENQA-
VET
European Quality
Assurance System for VET
21

- European Qualification Framework
• For comparing qualifications/ competencies
• Learning outcomes described as knowledge, skills and competencies
• Covers all qualifications from general and vocational education and training to higher education
22

– European Credit Transfer
System for VET
• Focus on individual
• Objectives:
1.
2.
Mobility
Lifelong learning
• Acquiring, accumulating and validating competencies from different systems
• Use of learning outcomes (same than in
EQF)
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SUMMARY
Using ECVET in Finland
Advantages Challenges
1.Qualifications divided into modules
2.Use of learning outcomes
3.Use of credit points (in
VQs)
4.Recognition of prior learning
5.Status of VET schools: competent authorities
1. Assessment and validation
→ mutual trust
2. Quality assurance
3. Making ECVET understandable to teachers and learners

25

Opportunities for international cooperation in VET?
Flexible learning pathways
Use of
ECVET tools
New sectors
Curricula development
Internationalisation at home
Teacher exchange
Joint seminars
Student mobility
Skills competitions
Learning about good practices
Virtual courses

Success factors for international coperation in VET
• Planning
• Purposefulness (objectives)
• Perseverance (long-span)
• Versatility
1. Development projects
2. Mobility
3. Internationalisation at home
4. Virtual collaboration
• Committed actors, resources actors, resources
+
Strategy for
Internationalising

28

Vocational Education and Training in Finland
- More Information www.minedu.fi
Ministry of Education www.edu.fi
the Finnish education portal information in Finnish,
Swedish and English www.oph.fi
Finnish National Board of Education information in Finnish,
Swedish and English