Making tertiary education as good as compulsory education

The educational level of the Finnish population has risen considerably in recent decades. Comprehensive schools perform particularly well, as witnessed by the PISA results, providing an excellent foundation for Finland to benefit from the opportunities offered by globalisation. Some aspects of tertiary education could, however, be strengthened. This chapter analyses the inefficiencies in the Finnish advanced education system – especially the slow transition from upper secondary school to tertiary education, where many students spend several years attempting to enter higher education or the field of their choice – as well as other reasons for the late labour market availability of Finnish tertiary graduates. The chapter also proposes a number of ways to respond better to sharply rising labour market bottlenecks in a country where unemployment is still high.