Context
• 8,7 % unemployment rate
(231 000)
• long-term unemployed (at least
one year) 67 500
• under 25 years old unemployed
37 900 (6 200 more than a year
ago)
• Youth guarantee
http://www.nuorisotakuu.fi
Youth Guarantee
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Each person under 25 years of age, and recent graduates
under 30 years of age, will be offered work, a work trial,
or a study, workshop or labour market rehabilitation
place within three months of registering as an
unemployed jobseeker.
Also includes an educational guarantee, which
guarantees a study place for each young person finishing
basic education.
Key project of several ministries, call after new, innovative
thinking
Cross-sectoral cooperation: public employment offices,
guidance counsellors in education, education institutes,
social and health care providers, youth work and business
community, also NGOs
Focus on youth participation and own activity
The characteristics of
Finnish guidance and
counselling services
• Education and training of
guidance professionals
• Strong research base
• Support from the policy-makers
• PES and school system
complement each other
Training of guidance
practitioners at schools
• Master in Education, major in
guidance and counselling + teacher
qualification
• Teacher qualification + 60 credits of
guidance and counselling
• Vocational teacher qualification + 60
credits of guidance and counselling
• Multiform training available
• In-service training provided within the
field
Secondary education
• 99 550 applicants for secondary
education (vocational 66 900 and
upper secondary 32 650)
• 86 500 available places, of which in
vocational 47 700.
• vocational most popular: 1. social
and healh care, 2. business 3.
transport and vehicles technics
• 2012: 68 % of applicants accepted
in vocational, in upper secondary
94% accepted
Guidance at different
educational levels
• Pre-primary education
• Basic education
– Goals set by a national curriculum
– Guidance counsellors at schools and
class teachers
– Class-based lessons in guidance and
counselling at grades 7-9
Basic education
(continues)
– Special needs education and remedial
instruction
– Preparatory training for immigrants
– Before and after school groups
– Additional basic education (10th grade)
– Preparatory training
Secondary level education
• General upper secondary
schools
– Goals set by a national curriculum
– Guidance counsellors at schools
and group advisers
– Course in guidance and
counselling
Secondary level education
• Vocational education and training
– Guidance counsellors at schools,
teachers and workplace instructors
– On-the-job learning and skills
demonstrations
– Special needs education
Higher education
• Tertiary education divided into
- Universities (academic, theoretical)
– Polytechnics/Universities of applied
sciences with strong labour market
focus
• Student counselling services
• Study affairs secretaries or
counsellors
• Careers and recruitment services:
Employment advisers and
counsellors
Adult education
• Liberal adult education
• General adult education
• Vocational education and training
for adults
• Competence-based qualification
• Work trials/try-outs
Guidance and counselling
at Public Employment
Services (PES)
• Centres for Economic
Development, Transport and
the Environment
• Employment and Economic
Development Offices
• Labour force service centres
In charge of guidance
and counselling at PES
• Employment advisers and
counsellors
• Education advisers
• Vocational guidance
psychologists
• Higher education advisers
• Rehabilitation advisers
Training of guidance
practitioners at PES
• Vocational guidance psychologist
needs a grade in psychology
• Other practitioners have no
formal qualification requirements
• In-service training provided
within the field
What lies ahead?
• Information and communication
networks will become more important
• Significance of guidance and
counselling will grow
• Ways and methods to give guidance
and counselling will become more
varied
• Special focus on groups with special
needs