Haaga-Helia’s Work & Study model presented in a Ministry’s report

The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment of Finland published a report “How to recognise competence?”, which discusses the identification and recognition of skills and competences in Finland. The report, which was published on 3 June 2020, was funded by the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra.

Omaohjaaja on opiskelijan kanssa valmistumiseen asti
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The Ministry’s commissioned report explored the structures, good practices, processes and implementation models used in the identification and recognition of skills and competence in Finland and in the selected reference countries: the Netherlands, South Africa, Ireland, Canada, France, Sweden, Scotland and Denmark.

People accumulate competence and skills needed in their future work not only through formal education but also through work and participation in leisure activities. Especially people who are currently working for a company need more guidance in identifying their skills and having their learning recognised.

However, the report notes that not everyone, who needs guidance, receives it. Furthermore, guidance services provided to people to have their skills identified and recognised are often project-funded and temporary, which makes long-term work more difficult.

The report identified three key methods for identifying and recognising competence in Finland, which are accreditation of prior informal learning, skills-based competence and digitalisation and electronic systems.

Haaga-Helia's model included in the report

The model presented in the Ministry’s report was Haaga-Helia’s Work & Study model, created for work-integrated learning. It means that students can incorporate skills acquired through informal learning into their studies and degree. The aim of Haaga-Helia’s Work & Study model is to facilitate managed transition from studies into the world of employment as well as offering work-based learning options.

Haaga-Helia’s senior lecturer in Experience and Wellness Economy, Marjaana Mäkelä, is delighted that Haaga-Helia’s Work & Study model raised special interest in the report as it was the only university of applied sciences mentioned. She is working in a team who is responsible for developing work-integrated learning in Haaga-Helia.

According to Mäkelä, the recognition of competences has already been part of educational organisations’ practices for a long time, and specially the universities of applied sciences have cooperated closely with business life for decades. However, only during the last years, the practices have developed into a more organised process with a clear structure.

Mäkelä notes that students in higher educational institutions usually have prior work experience and many of them work alongside their studies. Also, for this reason, the process of accreditation of prior informal learning should be straightforward. 

The model is still unfamiliar to many

Haaga-Helia’s lecturer and study coordinator Elina Iloranta presented the Work & Study model in Sitra’s webinar organised on 26 May (in Finnish “Tutkittua tietoa oppivasta työelämästä”, link below).

According to Iloranta, many participants, for example from educational institutions and business life, were not familiar with the work that universities of applied sciences have done related to this matter. 

- In Haaga-Helia, the Work & Study model is not a new concept and we are continuously increasing the ways to use accreditation of prior learning in studies. However, some organisations outside the academia have not heard of our model. Perhaps that is one of the reasons why Sitra invited me to present our model in the webinar, Iloranta explains with a smile.

She notes that there are still some challenges in accreditation of prior learning and therefore, we are tirelessly developing clearer processes and common practices that would clarify the concept for all academic staff and students.

Iloranta thinks that the educational reform will facilitate the process. 

- The educational reform will enable more personalised study tracks, which helps in incorporating the model even more extensively. The recognition of learning and competence requires a great deal of flexibility from the higher educational institute, she notes.

Haaga-Helia’s process of accreditation of prior learning and the demonstration day, which is part of the process, has been awarded the second place in Global Prize for Validation of Prior Learning 2019 competition, organised during Berlin VPL Biennale. 

 

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