Finland - Jyvaskyla Region - Final Self-Evaluation Report.pdf

The main problem for the Finnish labour market, it would seem, is the high level of unemployment, which isparticularly affected by the aged people and those with a low-level of education. The unemployment rate ofhighly-educated people is approximately 5%. The structural unemployment rate in Finland is evaluated to beas high as 7-8% which is, at least partly, explained by the mismatching of vacant jobs and job seekers. In thiscase, the education of job seekers does not correspond to the requirements of the vacant job, or the jobseeker’s work experience is deemed to be insufficient. Given the age distribution of the Finnish population, alarge exodus from the workforce will come to pass in the coming years. Thus, in spite of a high number ofunemployed, there is a threat of a shortage in workers forecasted for the near future: this will force the HEIsand the Ministry of Education to carefully consider the allocation of investments in education, so that thenumber of graduates from different fields of study will correspond to the national and regional needs in thebest possible way. The matching of education and occupations is mediated through two market systems, theeducational market and the labour market.The matching of vacant jobs and competent workers is also an important challenge at the regional level. Thestakeholders of the HEIs in the Jyväskylä region stress the institutions’ role as the providers of a skilledlabour force, suitable for meeting regional needs. In this respect, they see that the matching of vacant jobsand qualified workers could be more effective through the use of anticipation/forecast data about labourmarket development as well as information on meeting regional needs by the implementation of annualintake quotas of students in HEIs.Mechanisms promoting regional employability of graduatesThe work-based learning that students from HEIs do in firms is a significant channel to achieve regionallypositive effects by providing an opportunity for real interaction between students and their surroundingcommunity. The transfer of knowledge in different directions allows the firms, students, and their institutionsto profit from work based learning. This practice facilitates the integration of students into the regionallabour market after their graduation by allowing them to get the work experience that is highly appreciatedby employers. Besides the knowledge spillover effects arising from the contact with HEIs and theirgraduates, this approach also stimulates firms’ awareness of the other educational and R&D opportunitiesoffered within the region.The practical training (e.g., working in a firm or participating in project activities) forms an obligatory partof the study programmes of the Jyväskylä Polytechnic. The extent of the polytechnic’s work-based learningis usually 30 ECTS credits (the total extent of degrees is 210 credits), and in the field of Health and SocialStudies it is normally 50 credits. At the University of Jyväskylä, the training period is optional and mainlydepends on the independent activity of students. The organization of work-based learning varies markedly inthe different schools at the Polytechnic and in the faculties of the University. In some of them, the pathwayfrom work-based learning, through graduation thesis writing, to employability to regional labour market,functions rather fluently and forms a natural part of the education process, whereas some units faceconsiderable difficulties in creating contacts with firms.The firms in the Jyväskylä region see the development of work-based learning system as something veryimportant. Naturally, the process requires that a firm is inclined to provide a work placement for the student,but sufficient steering from the HEI’s staff is also necessary. The prerequisites for the whole system are: (1)the teaching staff is familiar with the rules of working life and able to monitor the student; (2) the company’sstaff is able to cooperate with the HEIs and to guide an inexperienced student; and (3) that the general modesof working-life action are integrated with the students’ education programmes (Figure 5.3). Thus, strongdevelopment efforts and willingness to cooperate are needed both from the HEIs and firms in order for awell-functioning work-based learning system to be built. The apprenticeship system of Finnish vocationalinstitutions, including the working-life periods of teachers could be utilized as a model that would be partlyapplicable to the HEIs as well. This system is also highlighted by the regional stakeholders of HEIs in theJyväskylä region.68