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Continuous Learning in Working Life in Finland

image of Continuous Learning in Working Life in Finland

Finland’s skill development system is one of the most successful in the OECD. The country’s 15-year old students have been amongst the top performers of all the countries participating in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) since its first edition in 2000. Its adult population has some of the highest levels of literacy and numeracy in the OECD, according to the OECD Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC), surpassed only by Japan. To maintain these remarkable performances, the skill development system needs to adapt to a rapidly changing labour market. Globalisation, technological change and population ageing are affecting the types of jobs that are and will be available in Finland and how they are carried out. Today, the vast majority of new jobs created require high levels of skills, while meta-cognitive and digital skills are becoming more important in working life. Skill shortages in the Finnish labour market are increasingly apparent and there are growing concerns about the supply of higher-level skills, given demographic change and stagnating educational attainment levels. Finland’s skill development system must get future-ready. This report analyses the status quo of the Finnish continuous learning system for adults, highlights its key challenges and makes actionable policy recommendations.

English

Improving learning participation of adults with low skills

More than one in ten adults in Finland have low basic skills. Employment opportunities for this group have shrunk over the past decades, highlighting the need to upskill for an increasingly knowledge-driven economy. However, Finnish adults with low basic skills are half as likely to train as those with higher skill levels. There is an urgent need to review where the current adult learning system falls short in engaging low-skilled adults and find targeted solutions for this group. This chapter first provides an overview of adults with low skills in Finland, their training participation patterns and the learning provision available to them. It then highlights the key reasons behind low participation, challenges for engaging the group in learning and outlines possible policy responses.

English

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