Students' experiences of workplace learning in Finnish VET

Abstract

The Finnish vocational education and training system underwent remarkable transformations at the turn of the century. One of the biggest changes was introducing compulsory and guided on-the-job learning periods in all study programmes. In this article, students’ experiences of on-the-job learning and in particular of integrating school-based and work-based learning and guidance of students are examined. Data were gathered by an Internet questionnaire of final-year students at vocational institutes in the City of Helsinki (N=1282). The questionnaire was answered by 41 % of the students. In general, students were satisfied with connecting school-based and work-based learning and guidance in vocational institutes and at workplaces. However, there were clear differences between fields of study. On-the-job learning seemed to function best in social and healthcare.