The National Project on Anticipation of Competences and Skills Needs (VOSE)

Developing anticipation methods in Finland is one of the aims stated in the current Government Programme. During the past few years, many political planning and strategy documents within the state administration and politics have highlighted the importance of developing anticipation procedures. In Finland, several projects related to developing anticipation methods are currently under way, many of which are financially supported by the European Social Fund (ESF).

At the Finnish National Board of Education (FNBE), a national agency subordinate to the Ministry of Education, an anticipation project on future competences and skills needs has been initiated. The project known as VOSE is supported by the European Social Fund and will continue until 2011. The aim of the project is to create procedures which enable the anticipation of competences and skills needs for the future for post-compulsory education and in all vocational and professional fields.  

The new procedures will include methods for anticipating competences and skills needs, anticipation processes, as well as networking between the institutions involved. Within the framework of the project, the procedures will be tested in two fields, namely social welfare and health care, as well as real estate and construction. In developing the anticipation procedures, the VOSE project also aims to create a web-based tool that works in social media.

In the first half of 2009, the VOSE project commissioned a study which was conducted by Foredata Ltd. The study examined anticipation methods for competences and skills needs already in use in Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands and Sweden. The purpose of the study was to provide the data and the understanding needed to create the new anticipation procedures through the VOSE project. The study is written in Finnish.

There are two official languages in Finland, Finnish and Swedish. Slightly over 5 percent of the population speak Swedish as their mother-tongue. The VOSE project will also take into consideration the specific needs of the Swedish-speaking population in developing new anticipation procedures. The testing of the new procedures in social welfare and health care will be conducted only in Swedish and in the Swedish-speaking areas of Finland.

VOSE is a cooperation project engaging several stakeholders, including the state administration, social partners, vocational education providers, polytechnics, universities, local authorities, research institutes, and student organisations.

Focus on future competencies and skills Media release, November 2010 (pdf)

For more information on the VOSE project, please contact:
Ms Ulla Taipale-Lehto, Project Manager
email: ulla.taipale-lehto [at]oph.fi
tel. +358-40-348 7760

Ms Heidi Backman, Contact Person for education in Swedish and Swedish-speaking areas
email: heidi.backman[at]oph.fi
tel. +358-40-348 7187

Ms Seija Saari, Project Planning Specialist
email: seija.saari[at]oph.fi
tel. +358-40-348 7931

Postal address: National Board of Education, P.O. Box 380, FI-00530 Helsinki, Finland