How does VET support competence and employment? – Initial results of FINEEC’s evaluation
FINEEC has published the initial results of its evaluation of the employment and competence of initial vocational qualification graduates and how well VET corresponds to the needs of employers. The results highlight both strengths and areas for improvement in VET.
The Finnish Education Evaluation Centre (FINEEC) is currently conducting an evaluation of employment after vocational education and training (VET) leading to an initial vocational qualification. The initial results of the evaluation have now been published, shedding light on the relationship between VET and the labour market from different perspectives. The results cover employers' views on the competence and recruitment of young recent graduates and how well VET corresponds to the needs of employers. They also highlight the experiences of VET students who graduated between spring 2022 and spring 2024 regarding their studies and finding employment after graduation.
The evaluation also examines the views of VET providers on skills anticipation and the utilisation of anticipation data in the planning of the provision of initial vocational qualifications, as well as the views of teaching and guidance staff on supporting students' transferable skills and related guidance.
Workplace education and training is an important stepping stone to employment
Almost two thirds of the initial vocational qualification graduates who responded to the survey reported that they had a job ready when they graduated. One in four started looking for work after graduation, with most finding a job within six months. On the other hand, just over a quarter of these jobseekers had not found a job by the time the survey was carried out. Of the students who had found employment, 61% were employed by the workplaces where they participated in workplace education and training.
According to graduates, factors hindering their employment included lack of vacancies, lack of work experience, lack of networks and health or personal reasons. This indicates that educational institutions need to strengthen students' capabilities related to career planning and finding employment. The views of teaching and guidance staff, on the other hand, highlighted the need to take better account of the challenges of finding employment in guidance, to strengthen students' ability to cope with uncertainty and changes in working life and to strengthen cooperation between educational institutions and employment services.
Employers stress the importance of attitude and social skills alongside vocational competence
Both teaching and guidance staff and graduates were of the view that students’ vocational competence develops primarily well during VET. Employers also saw vocational competence as one of the strengths of initial vocational qualification graduates.
At the same time, the evaluation revealed that some graduates still have room for improvement in regard to their competence. In addition to vocational competence, employers place particular emphasis on attitude, social skills and commitment to the rules of the workplace when hiring young recent graduates.
Cooperation with employers works, but skills anticipation needs to be improved
VET providers engage in regular cooperation with employers, and the majority of employers were satisfied with how well this cooperation works. However, there is room for improvement in skills anticipation, the correspondence of VET provision to employers' needs and the availability of VET graduates to hire.
FINEEC will hold a development webinar on the preliminary conclusions and recommendations of the evaluation in March 2026. Registration for the webinar will open in early 2026. Please do not hesitate to join the webinar if you are interested in discussing the results of the evaluation and coming up with solutions to promote employment together!
The final report of the evaluation will be published in May 2026.
What are the results based on?
FINEEC conducted surveys of VET providers, teaching and guidance staff and initial vocational qualification graduates in spring 2025. In addition to these, FINEEC conducted surveys of employers in collaboration with the Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK), Suomen Yrittäjät and Local Government and County Employers (KT) in spring and autumn 2025.
Additional information
Jani Goman
