Cooperation between vocational education and training and working life in Finland - emphasising the standpoint of on-the-job learning

This paper examines cooperative models of Finnish education and working life. As a result of a number of historical factors, the vocational education system in Finland has traditionally been predominantly school-based. However, during the 1990s on-the-job learning has become increasingly significant in vocational education. Economic necessity and a new perspective on the relationship between vocational education and working life have prompted policy makers to take action to improve the compatibility between vocational education and workplace needs. The author discusses evidence of this convergence between vocational education and the world of work, including the increase of on-the-job learning periods in vocational education, the expansion of apprenticeship training, and the creation of the polytechnics system (non-university higher education).