The Government decides on the general goals of vocational education and training, the structure of qualifications, and the core subjects. The Ministry of Education decides on the studies and their scope.

There are 53 vocational upper secondary qualifications and 119 study programmes in them.

The curriculum system of vocational education and training consists of the national core curricula, each education provider's locally approved curricula and the students' personal study plans.

The Finnish National Board of Education decides on the national core curriculum for each vocational qualification, determining the composition of studies and objectives, core contents and assessment criteria for study modules. It also includes provisions on student assessment, student counselling, on-the-job learning, special education and training, educational arrangements for immigrants and apprenticeship training. The content of local curricula is defined in the national core curriculum as well.

The national core curricula are drawn up by the Finnish National Board of Education in co-operation with employers' organisations, trade unions, the Trade Union of Education and student unions. They are dealt with by National Education and Training Committees, which are tripartite bodies established for each occupational field by the Ministry of Education for a term of three years at a time to plan and develop vocational education and training. Local tripartite bodies as well as other representatives of working life take part in the curriculum work as advisers and consultants. Local curricula are approved by the boards of education providers.

The national core curricula constitute a legal norm for educational institutions. Their purpose is to reflect the objectives of education policy, to determine the requirements for nationally uniform vocational competence and the capabilities for learning to learn and functioning as a citizen. In addition, the core curricula must also function as the basis for the evaluation of national learning outcomes.

The national core curricula for upper secondary vocational qualifications and the requirements for competence-based qualifications are common to education and training for young and adult students. The scope of the qualifications is 120 credits (40 credits per year and 1 credit is equivalent to 40 hours of study).

A curriculum includes

• vocational studies and on-the-job learning which vary according to the qualification (90 credits; min. 20 credits on-the job);
• core subjects, common to all qualifications (20 credits, out of which 16 are compulsory and 4 are optional). These are studies in
  • the native language
  • the other national language and a foreign language
  • mathematics
  • physics and chemistry
  • social, business and labour-market subjects
  • health education; physical education
  • arts and culture; environmental studies
  • ICT; ethics, other cultures
  • psychology and entrepreneurship
  • free-choice studies, which vary (10 credits)

These studies include at least 1.5 credits of student counselling and a final project with a minimum of 2 credits.

Students may freely choose free-choice studies from those on offer either at their own institution or at some other upper secondary level institution (general or vocational) and include them in their qualification according to their own interests or vocational orientation; these may also include appropriate work experience.

Free-choice studies can be either vocationally complementary or they may increase the number of courses in core subjects to such an extent that they may even enable students to complete general upper secondary school and/or the matriculation examination at the same time as the vocational qualification. They may also focus on personal interests.

The education includes a period of on-the-job learning, during which students familiarise themselves in practical assignments required in the occupation and achieve the core objectives of the occupation as laid down in the curriculum. All 120-credit upper secondary vocational qualifications include a period of on-the-job learning with a minimum scope of 20 credits. One of the aims of on-the-job training is to enhance young people’s employment opportunities.

Vocational skills demonstrations were introduced as a way of assessment as of August 2006 and they will mostly take place during the periods of on-the-job learning.

The final project may be a set of work assignments, a written paper, report, project assignment, product or equivalent. The final project is focused so as to serve working life needs, provide an opportunity to participate in working life and facilitate transition into the labour market. It may be performed individually, in a group or as a more extensive project. The minimum scope of the project is two credits.

Student Assessment

The students’ knowledge and skills are assessed and the students are given feedback on their progress at sufficiently regular intervals both during and after the studies. The students’ acceptable performances are graded on the following scale: excellent (3), good (2) and satisfactory (1).

The national core curricula contain criteria for student assessment.

Assessment is conducted by the teachers and, for on-the-job learning periods and vocational skills demonstrations, the teacher in charge of the period or demonstration together with the on-the-job instructor, workplace instructor appointed by the employer or the demonstration supervisor. The assessment must guide and motivate the students as well as develop their abilities in self-assessment.