Education and training for immigrants provided by Jyväskylä Institute of Adult Education increase the vocational readiness of those moving to Finland from other countries, teach and reinforce Finnish language and communication skills, and provide a vital introduction to Finnish working life and culture. Modes of study have multiplied due, among other things, to an increase in e-learning options.
The number of immigrant students has grown steadily in recent years. In 2007 over 400 students with an immigrant background studied at the Institute of Adult Education. Of these 123 were studying to obtain a qualification and 335 engaged in other kinds of study, explains the institutes director, Pirjo Kauhanen.
According to Kauhanen the constant development of educational opportunities for immigrants serves both immigrants themselves and Central Finlands business sector as a whole. As educational opportunities for immigrants increase, so working life is better placed to acquire expert personnel from amongst the foreign professionals who have moved here. The aim is to encourage more foreigners to take a training course that provides preparation for a competence-based qualification.
Vocational expertise acquired in their home country is counted towards a Finnish qualification and the training course leading to it, Kauhanen stresses.
By Timo Sillanpää