JHL President Ekström: Cutbacks in vocational education and training will undermine the competence of the Finnish population

Trade union JHL is very concerned about the Finnish Government’s proposal to cut further 20 million euros from vocational education and training. In total the planned cutbacks in vocational education and training amount to 120 million euros.

The President of the Trade Union for the Public and Welfare Sectors JHL, Håkan Ekström, comments that the massive cutbacks will make long-term planning more difficult for educational institutions and put the quality of education and training at risk.

– They will also make it harder for people to study, develop their professional skills and improve their chances of finding employment.

Ekström recalls the reform of vocational education and training in year 2018.

– The problems that it brought still remain unresolved. The reform increased working-life focus in learning, and teaching was moved more to workplaces. Classroom teaching was reduced.

– Workplaces tell all the time that students come to practical training with insufficient knowledge and skills as it is. Cutbacks will only make this worse and threaten the quality of teaching.

Ekström stresses that this is a quick reduction in one go.

– It hits hard because the education sector actors are not given any time to adjust. Furthermore, combined with the abolition of adult education benefit, it’s going to make continuous learning substantially harder.

According to Ekström, Finland and the Finnish labour market need constantly higher and higher levels of professional skills.

– The Government has committed to promoting this in their programme. Its goals will slip out of reach if these cutbacks are done. It should be remembered that vocational education and training is one path to higher education.

Ekström tells that employees need further training as well.

– According to JHL’s member survey, about 70% need further vocational training to keep pace with the requirements of their work. The younger the employee, the greater this need is.

– Furthermore, nearly 70% tell that they cannot get that further training in their workplace. They need that vocational education and training where the Government is now going to make an ugly cut.

Ekström says that work in many JHL’s sectors, especially social welfare and health care and early childhood education and care, very often requires a formal education and qualification.

– It’s therefore important to make studies for a new qualification possible also for career changers and adults. Shorter trainings are welcome, but the legislation regarding their execution and approval should be sorted out before restricting access to vocational qualification studies.

– Even though it has been proposed that cutbacks would only affect specific parts of education and training, in practice they cannot be targeted so precisely, and they will hit vocational education and training more broadly.

More information:

Håkan Ekström, President of JHL, 040 828 2865