Finland invests in future competences for all

The European Year of Skills has recently ended. Its purpose was to highlight the importance of competence development among the working-age population in various ways.

-Competence development is our main activity and something we work on all the time, not just during the theme year. We have made some targeted efforts during the European Year of Skills, and it is good that continuous learning is being highlighted, says Kirsi Heinivirta.

New Service Centre

Kirsi Heinivirta previously worked at the Ministry of Education and Culture and is now the head of the Service Centre for Continuous Learning and Employment. Skols, as it is abbreviated, started two and a half years ago, and its operations have gotten off to a good start. The mission is clear and well-defined.

-We are here to support continuous learning in Finland. Our mission includes, for example, anticipating the needs of the labour market. We have an extra focus on the groups that do not participate in any form of education at all, says Heinivirta.

Reaching out and encouraging

Project manager Milma Arola agrees that the group of people who are excluded is a high priority. How to make them more active? That is the goal of her project.

-We have many hundreds of thousands of Finns who have significant deficiencies in basic skills such as reading ability and digital competence. The group is very heterogeneous.

Arola talks about Skols’ research project which relates to employment services. It is carried out in collaboration with Etla, Labore, and the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health.

-In the pilot project, we are reaching out to low-educated individuals at workplaces and offering them guidance and educational counselling. This way, we gather research data that tells us whether information and guidance can increase the willingness to pursue education among the low-educated, says Milma Arola.

She explains that many people have low self-esteem and see themselves as individuals who cannot educate themselves. Here, good guidance is about encouraging continued studies.

New ways of studying

Kirsi Heinivirta quickly lists some pros and cons regarding continuous learning in Finland. One of the pros is that Finland values education very highly.

-But precisely for this reason, there is often a very strong focus on education leading to a degree. This results in many people who may already have an education pursue another higher education, says Kirsi Heinivirta.

Kirsi Heinivirta says there is now a great need to tailor completely different types of education.

-What we lack are shorter, module-based educations that last from one month to a year and can be followed alongside work and family life.

Compass for skills

The European Year of Skills is an initiative by the European Commission. The intention has been for Europe to become better at matching different people’s ambitions and competences with the opportunities available in the labour market. But the competences must be relevant to the labour market’s needs.

Milma Arola talks about a digital tool developed by Skols for this purpose. It is a Compass for Skills Needs (see the fact box). She also mentions a new pilot project on developing basic skills among inmates. This is a way to reach different marginalized groups in society.

Who should we invest in?

The Finnish government is currently implementing strict budget cuts that also affect adult education and continuous learning.

-Public funds are decreasing, and precisely for that reason, we must review the educational field so that education is targeted as well as possible. Resources are small, but the need for continuous learning is endless. Who and which areas should we invest in? This is an important question, says Kirsi Heinivirta.

Milma Arola also points along the same lines and highlights the problem that it is primarily those who perhaps already have a high education who educate themselves, while others have completely fallen behind.

-We see a great polarization in this area in Finland, says Milma Arola.

Good model with multiple sectors

Currently, Skols has not yet developed Nordic cooperation. Kirsi Heinivirta still gives a tip to the rest of the Nordic countries. It has to do with how to promote the development of continuous learning in one’s own nation.

Today, two ministries are behind Skols. They are the Ministry of Education and Culture and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment. Heinivirta is used to working across different sectors. 

-It is very important that many sectors are involved when you want to develop continuous learning; otherwise, the perspectives become too narrow. It should not be something that only one partner is responsible for. This is the Finnish model, and European partners are curious about it.