Apprenticeship training is an investment in the future – the continuity of the form of training must be ensured

A survey conducted by the Finnish Commerce Federation examined apprenticeship training for business degrees in 2020–2022. Based on the survey, new apprenticeship students in business degrees are mostly over the age of 25. Apprenticeship students completing parts of degrees are also mostly over the age of 25.

“An apprenticeship is an effective way to supplement competence and train flexibly to meet the needs of working life. This is particularly important in the commerce sector, where nearly half of the future employees will need the competence provided by vocational training,” says Moona Naakka, Senior Advisor of Education at the Finnish Commerce Federation, who prepared the Oppisopimus kaupassa (‘Apprenticeship in commerce‘) report.

“Adult students are an important target group for apprenticeship training. Vocational adult training should be supported and not be subjected to cuts,” says Naakka.

However, young adults and compulsory students must not be forgotten so that they can also participate in apprenticeship training more widely in the future.

In addition to funding, one solution is to strengthen the communications and reputation of apprenticeship training among different target groups. Based on the survey, apprenticeship training is still poorly known. According to both companies and educational institutions, improving the communications and reputation are key areas for development.

Companies see a lot of opportunities in apprenticeship training

In developing apprenticeship training, commerce companies also wish to take into account the increase of financial support, the introduction of salary based on competence level and the reduction in the average number of weekly hours of apprenticeship training.

“The employers’ development proposals strongly convey that companies in the commerce sector consider apprenticeship training extremely important for the availability of skilled labour. However, companies must have the prerequisites to offer jobs,” says Naakka.

An example of this could be that the salary of apprenticeship students is based on the students’ competence level, which would increase the salary as competence increases.

The educational institutions participating in the survey also support the introduction of a salary model based on the level of competence. According to the educational institutions, the support provided to employers in relation to student guidance also needs to be developed.

“Commerce companies and educational institutions reported that the most effective aspect of apprenticeship training has been cooperation between companies and educational institutions. This is a very positive message about the current quality of cooperation,” Naakka concludes.

For further information, please contact: Moona Naakka, Senior Advisor, Education, Finnish Commerce Federation, tel. +358 45 651 8474, moona.naakka(at)kauppa.fi

Attachment: Oppisopimus kaupassa -selvitys, tiivistelmä (‘Apprenticeship in commerce‘), 2 December 2024 (only in Finnish)

The Oppisopimus kaupassa (‘Apprenticeship in commerce‘) report examines basic, vocational and specialist vocational degrees in business. The data was collected from companies in the commerce sector and educational institutions offering business degrees in 2020–2022. In addition, figures from the Finnish National Agency for Education’s statistics service have been utilised in the report.