Skills Finland Competition
Every year, students from vocational schools all around Finland are chosen to compete in each of the vocational skills offered at the Skills Finland competition. This year, the event was held in Joensuu. This 3-day event is a time where students can showcase their skills and demonstrate the lessons they have learned throughout the 3 years in vocational school. I was amazed at how many different skills could be showcased in the Joensuu Arena!
Areas of Competition
In each of the areas above, students competed according to the performance based skills that are required to gain a certification in that vocation. If you click on any of the links above, you can see the specific requirements of that vocational competition and the competitors for the 2013 Skills Finland event. If you want to see who won, check out this page. Students can also go on to compete in EuroSkills and WorldSkills in their vocation.
There are several benefits from having a vocational competition. First, this event is often linked to the growing popularity of vocational schools. Several teachers and counselors have said that it has raised the level of awareness of the types of vocations that a student can study and therefore has attracted more students into the field.
Secondly, it provides a showcase to demonstrate the problem solving and critical thinking that has to happen in a profession. For example, on the first day the florists were given simple tasks such as setting up their "store" to be welcoming and showcase their work, create simple flower arrangements, and price the arrangements as if they were going to sell in their shop. On the second day of competition, the florists welcomed several customers into the shop and had to make arrangements according to their orders. On the third day, they were given a surprise task that they had to complete using only the flowers that they had remaining. The students were scored on many different aspects- customer service, product, price, cleanliness of the shop and creativity. Watching these young women over the course of the 3 days was amazing. They truly used their creativity to produce some beautiful pieces.
There are several benefits from having a vocational competition. First, this event is often linked to the growing popularity of vocational schools. Several teachers and counselors have said that it has raised the level of awareness of the types of vocations that a student can study and therefore has attracted more students into the field.
Secondly, it provides a showcase to demonstrate the problem solving and critical thinking that has to happen in a profession. For example, on the first day the florists were given simple tasks such as setting up their "store" to be welcoming and showcase their work, create simple flower arrangements, and price the arrangements as if they were going to sell in their shop. On the second day of competition, the florists welcomed several customers into the shop and had to make arrangements according to their orders. On the third day, they were given a surprise task that they had to complete using only the flowers that they had remaining. The students were scored on many different aspects- customer service, product, price, cleanliness of the shop and creativity. Watching these young women over the course of the 3 days was amazing. They truly used their creativity to produce some beautiful pieces.
Another benefit to competing in the program is that students get to put the experience on their CVs. This opens up doors for jobs and future studies. Make sure to check out the interviews of two students who competed for Jyväskylä in the tourism field and came in 2nd place. I also reflect on my time at the Skills Event on my blog. It would be wonderful to have such a high profile event to honor the hard work that students put in to learning their vocation in the US!
