Theme 4: Impact Evidence and Impact Measurement - Steps taken in Finland 2001 - 2007

1. Theme 4: Impact Evidence and Impact Measurement- Steps taken in Finland 2001 - 2007  Raimo Vuorinen Senior Researcher, Ph.D. Institute for Educational Research University of Jyväskylä, Finland Fourth International Symposium on Career Development and Public Policy, October 24, 2007, Aviemore, Scotland

2. Themes • Recent evaluations of guidance in Finland • Quality features and challenges remaining… • Strategy to develop a framework for a national feedback mechanism in Finland 2007-2013

3. Comprehensive schools • Employment offices • Vocational guidance and • career planning • Educational and vocational • information services • Employment exchange • services Upper secondary schools Vocational colleges Polytechnics Centre for International Mobility CIMO - Euroguidance Finland Universities Adult education National evaluations of guidance 2000 - 2007 OECD activity on guidance policies 2001-2003 Ministry of Labour 2001-2002 EU-DGempl 2005-2006 National Board of Education 2001-2002 EU Commission 2004 FINHEEC 2000-2001 + Follow-up 2005 NBE 2003 -2005

4. Key quality features in guidance practise in Finland • Educational settings: • Career guidance as a student entitlement in legislation • Career guidance as a part of national core curriclula • The competences for career practitioners defined in legislation • PES settings: • Tiered services in employment offices • Qualifications of vocational psychologists defined in legislation

5. Recent quality features in guidance policy development in Finland • As a result of the national and international evaluations lifelong guidance has been included in the key documents of educational and labour market policies • National cross-sectoral initiatives based on the evaluation recommendations • Network of regional cross-sectoral fora established • Cross-sectoral thematic working groups feed the national policy development – still need for a sustainable national lifelong guidance forum

6. Some features of the current evidence base – PES settings • Systematic client and careers guidance database and statistics • Systematic customer and quality feed back surveys and occasional studies on outcomes of services, results and productivity • The main feedback system of labour market training is an online Internet based tool (OPAL) • In co-operation with the employers the Ministry of Labour provides cyclical and seasonal information and forecasts on employment and recruitments

7. Some features of the current evidence base – Educational settings • Due to the decentralised administration there is little national comprehensive data available in addition to the occasional national evaluations • The local authorities are required to evaluate their guidance services in connection with the overall evaluation of the educational institutions • The National Board of Education has developed online tools which can be used in evaluating guidance services within institutions.

8. Challenges remaining… • The evaluations revealed that there is a need: • to develop a more sustainable evidence base to support the policy development, especially for the purposes of quality assurance of the overall arrangements of guidance and for assessments of impact and cost-effectiveness • for more explicit legislation related to guidance • to strenghten the user voice in the guidance policy development

9. Suggested strategy to develop a framework for a national feedback mechanism • The development of the feedback mechanism will be integrated in the design and implementation of national pilot projects in lifelong guidance 2007-2013 • The development of the feedback mechanism includes training of researchers • Establisment of a strong co-operation network of Finnish and international universities and research institutes for the needs of the educational and labour administrations

10. Suggested strategy to develop a framework for a national feedback mechanism (2) • The overall goal is to focus on general factors of lifelong guidance and some specific context related factors of guidance • Tools for service providers for self-evaluation • Support for the documentation of their provision • Data for national evidence base • Interfaces to feed the national lifelong guidance policy development

11. Suggested strategy to develop a framework for a national feedback mechanism (3) • Themes of the development work • Linkages of career development and labour force development • Linkages of guidance in the design and implementation of the educational system • Linkages of guidance in the new ministerial structure in Finland • Evaluation of the quality and effectiveness of different service delivery modes

12. OECD/ IAEVG/ ICCDPP Developing evidence base for guidance practise and policy development in Finland 2007-2013 Ministry of Industry and employment Ministry of education EU -Cedefop/ETF Interfaces, co-operation in Transnational pilot projects NBE Linkages with ministries • Nordic countries • 2007 Parallel national systems e.g. Statistics Finland National framework for a feedback mechanism on lifelong guidance - A common structure for data collection Tools for documentation and self-evaluation of the guidance provision Companies 2. level HE Adult education PES settings Comprehensive education Integration with the development programme within adult education 2007-2013 Integration within national pilot projects funded by the Ministry of Education and the NBE

13. Steps taken to implement the strategy… • The Finnish National Board of Education has included the theme in their next work program • The Ministry of Labour has commissioned a national study to evaluate the new role of vocational guidance in PES settings • Establishment of the National Centre for Lifelong Guidance Expertise (pilot phase 2006-2011, University of Jyväskylä) • Discussions on the interface of the national strategy with parallel international initiatives e.g.: • Linkages with the European Lifelong Guidance Policy Network Work program 2008-2009 • Linkages with the Nordic network on the quality of guidance • Linkages with the CRWG in Canada

14. Conclusions: • Finland has not solved the question yet… • However, the recent joint ministerial working groups have provided an opportunity to invest on sustainable research and development of the evidence base while redesigning the service delivery modes in co-operation with research & training units • The implementation of the strategy provides opportunities and potentials for transnational co-operation… • …

15. Thank you! For further information, please contact: Raimo Vuorinen, Ph.D. Senior researcher, Co-ordinator of the ELGPN Institute for educational research P.O. Box 35 FI-40014 University of Jyväskylä (Street address: Keskussairaalantie 2, Building Opinkivi) tel. +358-14-2603271, Mobile +358-50-3611909 Fax +358-14-2603201 email: raimo.vuorinen@ktl.jyu.fi www: http://ktl.jyu.fi/ Skype: vuorai