Social Partners and Education Policies in Finland Petri Lempinen Astana 18.4.2012.

1. Social Partners and Education Policies in Finland Petri Lempinen Astana 18.4.2012.

2. Social Partners in Finland • 2 major employer organisations (private, municipal) and 3 trade union confederations (organisation rate 70 %), a voluntary membership • Collective bargaining on working conditions at different sectors leading to binding agreements. • Social dialogue also at cross-industry / national level on social policy, working conditions and lifelong learning. • Legitimacy and mandate of independent social partner organisations come form the members.

3. What do Social Partners do? • To protect interest of their members, enterprises and workers. • They are the collective voice of the employers or the workers. • Social dialogue involves all kind of negotiation, consultation or simply exchange of information to formulate and implement of social and economic measures including development of lifelong learning. • Bipartite dialogue and collective bargaining between workers and employers. • Tripartite dialogue includes also government. • Collective bargaining is the negotiation between employers and workers representatives leading up to a collective agreement that is binding to all signatories. • Social dialogue is based on legislation that recognises independent trade unions and employer organisations. It is enforced in the programme of the government.

4. Why Social Partners in VET? • Labour market is characterized by the globalization and restructuring of economies. • To move from a supply-driven to a demand-driven provision of VET. • The world of work needs to be involved in the reform processes to ensure that VET meets the immediate and long-term needs of labour market. Competitiveness of enterprises and employability of people are not antagonist elements. • Social partners represent the main beneficiaries of VET and they channel messages from the labour market to the policy agenda. • Social partners are the driving force in promotion of Lifelong Learning.

5. Practical roles of Social Partners – European examples • Collective bargaining to fund training • Forecasting of skill needs. • Development of occupational and educational standards and qualifications and qualifications frameworks based on labour market information • Provision of training in their own training centres or through apprenticeships and on the job training • Certification of learning, validation and recognition of informal and non-formal learning • Guidance services for members including awareness rising. • Their involvement depends on social dialogue and industrial relations in each country

6. Education policy in Finland • Programme of government for 4 years, includes all education and training and research under different Ministries. • Ministry of Education and Culture is in charge of public education system but most schools are owned by municipalities. • Ministry of Employment and the Economy is in charge of active labour market policies including training of unemployed. • Initial and continuous vocational education and training are topics of tripartite social dialogue which usually takes place in working groups established by the Ministry of Education or Ministry of Labour. • The social partners address political parties and administration to take their needs into considerations. • Cooperation!

7. Tripartite cooperation in VET • Social partners participate in the policy making, developing of the new initiatives, forecasting skills needs and providing training • 26 Education Committees represent employers and trade unions to forecast skill needs. • Competence based qualifications • Initial VET schools: • Practical skills tests • On the job training • Apprenticeship training.