Collaboration Between Education and Work in Finland: Vocational Education and Training Actors From Supporting Students' Learning to Serving Companies?

Abstract

Purpose: Upper secondary vocational education and training (VET) in Finland is largely work-based, with increasing collaboration between VET institutions and workplaces. There is a need for an updated and comprehensive understanding of this collaboration. Therefore, this study investigates how workplace representatives discuss collaboration between Finnish VET actors (i.e., VET institutions and teachers) and workplaces.

Methods: Interviews with workplace representatives were analysed using the principles of discourse analysis. The data were examined to reveal how they talked about the forms and activities of collaboration between education and work. From the talk, the positions of the VET actors and the workplace actors were identified on a time continuum: current positions and desired future positions.

Findings: Four discourses on collaboration were identified: (i) organising work-based learning, (ii) ensuring a skilled workforce, (iii) supporting the development of workplaces, and (iv) promoting the flourishing of vocational sectors. The current positions given to VET actors varied from supporters of student learning and organisers of education to company-oriented trainer of staff competences. In the future, they are expected to play an emerging role as business consultants and innovators, and promoters of the attractiveness of vocational sectors and education. In addition to the traditional positions, the findings were thus characterised by the positions of VET actors at the service of companies.

Conclusions: Theoretically, the study suggests that there is a need for a multi-level model of collaboration in VET that covers individual and institutional (including both VET institutions and workplaces) as well as sectoral and regional perspectives, as they can all manifest simultaneously in collaboration. From a practical perspective, the study highlights the organisation, management and resourcing of teachers' work to enable them to work with companies in a way that is sustainable and meaningful for them, students and companies. Collaboration should not only be based on individual teachers and their networks, but the organisational culture should support multi-faceted, mutual, and long-term partnerships. Vocational teacher education and teachers' work conditions need to support the continuous development of teachers' comprehensive competences and lay the foundations for a broad identity orientation as opposed to a narrow teacher identity position. The development of teachers' competences, not just pedagogical competences, should be a strong strategic goal and function in VET institutions.