Systematic and coherent continuous teacher training

Policy development
Practical measure/Initiative
Finland
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Timeline
  • 2016Implementation
  • 2017Implementation
  • 2018Implementation
  • 2019Implementation
  • 2020Implementation
  • 2021Completed
ID number
28213

Objectives

Goals and objectives of the policy development.

To improve VET teachers' continuous professional development (CPD) overall and, more specifically, to support education staff during the implementation of the 2018 reform.

Description

What/How/Who/For whom/When of the policy development in detail, explaining its activities and annual progress, main actors and target groups.

In 2016, the Teacher education development programme (Opettajankoulutuksen kehittämisohjelma) was launched by the Ministry of Education and Culture and coordinated by Jyväskylä Educational Consortium Gradia. The programme recommends that training should emphasise its capabilities for:

  1. working as a teacher in different operating environments;
  2. promoting learner-centeredness;
  3. creativity.

It supports:

  1. developing coherent practices;
  2. unifying quality criteria;
  3. promoting competence-based and customer-oriented VET in cooperation with the world of work;
  4. mapping the competence needs of VET staff;
  5. developing tools and operational models for workplace learning;
  6. inducing the workplace instructors.

The aim is to embolden teachers to make experiments and mainstream working methods that stem from learners' needs. Mentoring and induction is to become a more systematic part of the start of a teacher's career. The training of peer group mentors is to be further expanded. The programme affects all levels of teacher education from initial training to competence development during a teacher's career. A budget of EUR 60 million has been allocated over 3 years.

The 2016 Teacher education development programme also aims at adopting a systematic and coherent structure for teachers' competence development during their careers. It is recommended that education institutions prepare competence development plans, which will be underpinned by strategic plans...

In 2016, the Teacher education development programme (Opettajankoulutuksen kehittämisohjelma) was launched by the Ministry of Education and Culture and coordinated by Jyväskylä Educational Consortium Gradia. The programme recommends that training should emphasise its capabilities for:

  1. working as a teacher in different operating environments;
  2. promoting learner-centeredness;
  3. creativity.

It supports:

  1. developing coherent practices;
  2. unifying quality criteria;
  3. promoting competence-based and customer-oriented VET in cooperation with the world of work;
  4. mapping the competence needs of VET staff;
  5. developing tools and operational models for workplace learning;
  6. inducing the workplace instructors.

The aim is to embolden teachers to make experiments and mainstream working methods that stem from learners' needs. Mentoring and induction is to become a more systematic part of the start of a teacher's career. The training of peer group mentors is to be further expanded. The programme affects all levels of teacher education from initial training to competence development during a teacher's career. A budget of EUR 60 million has been allocated over 3 years.

The 2016 Teacher education development programme also aims at adopting a systematic and coherent structure for teachers' competence development during their careers. It is recommended that education institutions prepare competence development plans, which will be underpinned by strategic plans and evaluations of competence by education providers. Particular attention is being paid to building up the vocational skills of young teachers and the possibilities for receiving support. CPD, promoting the integration of Finnish language learning into vocational studies, language awareness-focused teaching and collaborative instruction, is being organised.

The Ministry of Education and Culture has also appointed a teacher education forum to continue the reform of teachers' initial and further education for 2019-22. The tasks of the forum are to promote the implementation of the Teacher education development programme, to support teacher education development projects and to deal with actual questions of teacher education and research. The forum consists of almost 100 experts from the field.

2016
Implementation
2017
Implementation
2018
Implementation
2019
Implementation

The measure was operational and ran as a regular practice. The teacher education forum organised three national seminars during 2019.

2020
Implementation

EDUFI has granted EUR 3 million to 56 development projects to improve VET teachers' CPD. The projects strengthened management/leadership, equality, sense of community, safety and wellbeing, support of learning and personal learning paths, assessment competence and quality assurance, cultural and linguistic competence, digital skills, sustainable ways of living, continuous learning, sex and equality education.

2021
Completed

The measure was operational and ran as a regular practice. In 2021, EDUFI granted approximately EUR 4 million in two batches to CPD projects for VET teachers. The total subsidy each year for teacher CPD training for all levels of education amounts to around EUR 15 million.

Bodies responsible

This section lists main bodies that are responsible for the implementation of the policy development or for its specific parts or activities, as indicated in the regulatory acts. The responsibilities are usually explained in its description.
  • Jyväskylä Educational Consortium Gradia
  • Ministry of Education and Culture
  • Finnish National Agency for Education (EDUFI)

Target groups

Those who are positively and directly affected by the measures of the policy development; those on the list are specifically defined in the EU VET policy documents. A policy development can be addressed to one or several target groups.

Education professionals

  • Teachers
  • Trainers
  • School leaders
  • Adult educators
  • Guidance practitioners

Entities providing VET

  • VET providers (all kinds)

Thematic categories

Thematic categories capture main aspects of the decision-making and operation of national VET and LLL systems. These broad areas represent key elements that all VET and LLL systems have to different extents and in different combinations, and which come into focus depending on the EU and national priorities. Thematic categories are further divided into thematic sub-categories. Based on their description, policy developments can be assigned to one or several thematic categories.

Teachers, trainers and school leaders competences

Competent and motivated VET teachers in schools and trainers in companies are crucial to VET becoming innovative and relevant, agile, resilient, flexible, inclusive and lifelong.

This thematic category comprises policies and practices of initial training and continuing professional development approaches in a systemic and systematic manner. It also looks at measures aiming to update (entry) requirements and make teaching and training careers attractive and bring more young and talented individuals and business professionals into teaching and training. Supporting VET educators by equipping them with adequate competences, skills and tools for the green transition and digital teaching and learning are addressed in separate thematic sub-categories.

The measures in this category target teachers and school leaders, company trainers and mentors, adult educators and guidance practitioners.

Systematic approaches to and opportunities for initial and continuous professional development of school leaders, teachers and trainers

This thematic sub-category refers to all kinds of initial and continuing professional development (CPD) for VET educators who work in vocational schools and in companies providing VET. VET educators include teachers and school leaders, trainers and company managers involved in VET, as well as adult educators and guidance practitioners – those who work in school- and work-based settings. The thematic sub-category includes national strategies, training programmes or individual courses to address the learning needs of VET educators and to develop their vocational (technical) skills, and pedagogical (teaching) skills and competences. Such programmes concern state-of-the-art vocational pedagogy, innovative teaching methods, and competences needed to address evolving teaching environments, e.g. teaching in multicultural settings, working with learners at risk of early leaving, etc.

Attractiveness of the teaching and training profession/career

This thematic sub-category refers to measures aimed at engaging more professionals into teaching and training careers, including career schemes or incentives. It includes measures enabling teaching and training of staff, managing VET provider and trainer teams in companies to act as multipliers and mediators, and supporting their peers and/or local communities.

Supporting teachers and trainers for and through digital

This thematic sub-category is in line with the EU policy focus on the digital transition, and refers to professional development and other measures to prepare and support teachers and trainers in teaching their learners digital skills and competences. It also covers measures and support for them to increase their own digital skills and competences, including for teaching in virtual environments, working with digital tools and applying digital pedagogies. Emergency measures taken during the COVID-19 pandemic also fall into this sub-category.

Subsystem

Part of the vocational education and training and lifelong learning systems the policy development applies to.
IVET
CVET

Further reading

Sources for further reading where readers can find more information on policy developments: links to official documents, dedicated websites, project pages. Some sources may only be available in national languages.
56 new projects for in-service training of vocational training staff (in Finnish)

Country

Finland

Type of development

Policy developments are divided into three types: strategy/action plan; regulation/legislation; and practical measure/initiative.
Practical measure/Initiative
Cite as

Cedefop, & ReferNet. (2025). Systematic and coherent continuous teacher training: Finland. In Cedefop, & ReferNet. (2025). Timeline of VET policies in Europe (2024 update) [Online tool].

https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/tools/timeline-vet-policies-europe/search/28213