Ammatillisen aikuiskoulutuksen rahoitus taitekohdassa
Keywords:
ammatillinen aikuiskoulutus, ammatillisen koulutuksen leikkaukset, oppisopimuskoulutus, apprenticeship training, cuts in vocational education, vocational adult educationAbstract
The status of vocational adult education and training has developed alongside the changes in the funding system. The fund- ing of course-based vocational education and the education and training system it- self was developed actively in the 1970’s. In the 1980’s, vocational adult education moved towards a market-driven model. At the beginning of the 1990’s, the competi- tive tendering procedure was expanded to the funding of labour market training.
At the turn of the millennium, the gov- ernment subsidy system was partly re- adopted and the adult education procure- ment system was discontinued. Appren- ticeship training started to gain popularity, and it gradually developed into a signifi- cant of implementation and funding sys- tem for adult education. The competitive tendering system was enhanced in labour market training.
At the beginning of the 2010 ́s, the sustainability gap in public finances will lead to cuts in vocational education funding. The most significant cuts will affect the education leading to vocational qualifications. This will have significant impacts especially on adult education. The exact ultimate impacts can only be guessed. When funding is restricted, the volume of additional vocational education will decrease in both institutional education and in apprenticeship training. The Finnish government is prepared to minimise the negative effects of the cuts through special measures, such as the young adults’ skills programme and possible individual learning account. There is, however, danger that these measures will not guarantee sufficient vocational education and training offering. It may also mean that adult education will be increasingly burdened with bureaucracy and the need for counselling services will increase.