Finland: VET learner mobility periods rising but still below pre-COVID levels

In 2023, 3 724 (8.8%) VET learners went abroad for study-related periods. This is 38% more than in 2022 but less than in the pre-pandemic year of 2019 (4 426). In 2023, Finland received 2 437 international students, which is 29% more than one year before.

In the Council Recommendation ‘Europe on the Move’ – learning mobility opportunities for everyone, the current target for learning mobility abroad for VET students is 8%, but the recommendation proposes increasing the participation target for VET learners, including apprentices, to at least 12% by 2030. There is still much to be done to achieve this.

Mobility connects VET students and working life

In Finland, a significant aspect of mobility in VET is experiencing working life. Most VET learners who go abroad study at workplaces in their professional fields. When these students enter the workforce after their studies, they enrich, and bring knowledge from foreign workplaces to, not only their own expertise but also Finnish working life in a broader sense.

Of all learners who went to study abroad, 61% studied at a foreign workplace under a training agreement in 2023. 1% of them did so under an apprenticeship contract and 7% under a KA2 programme (cooperation among organisations and institutions). Of those who came to Finland, 39% came to learn at a workplace. Some learners take advantage of their time abroad by studying at an education institution. The period abroad can also be part of partnerships or other projects between institutions, in which working life often plays a significant role.

Source: Statistics on international mobility of VET students.

Blended mobility, which combines a virtual period with a period abroad, offers students flexibility in internationalisation. Of all incoming and outgoing mobility periods, 7% were conducted as blended mobility.