Studying and career choice

Studying is a way of securing a profession and career of your choice. Whatever your choice of career is, learning never ends - self-development also continues throughout your career. You can even study during periods of unemployment with for instance the free-of-charge employment training courses. Manpower will be required in the near future, especially in professions that require special expertise, nursing and service professions, as well as in construction and industrial fields.

The first time you will have to consider your choice of career is upon completion of comprehensive or high school, even though you may have no idea what career you wish to take. This selection, however, is by no means final as working life is constantly changing. This is merely a question of one stage in career selection. This is the stage when a further or higher education place is chosen. When considering the alternatives, it is important to think about what sort of work you would like to do. You can often keep a number of options open, as further or higher education often provides a number of different alternatives for professions and jobs. In addition, there are many routes of education that may be taken to seek a certain profession.

Today, it is much easier to continue your studies later after holding a job for some time. Further and supplementary education provides a wide variety of alternatives. The practical experience acquired during working will assist you in deciding on the right career and in planning any possible further education. When making your first career selections, it is important that you identify your own skills, strengths and interests, as well as issues you feel are important. At this stage, you will also need information on professions, occupational responsibilities and forms of training.

It is also useful to know that a person under 25 years who has failed to apply for the appropriate vocational training will no longer be eligible for labour market support. An individual who has completed secondary education shall apply to at least three second level occupational establishments during common enrolment periods for courses. Graduates from high school shall apply to at least three higher education courses.

Links to schools in Lapland:

Kemi-Tornio University of Applied Sciences

Lapland Vocational College 

Santasport Institute 

Other links:

Education in Finland

Education system (Immigrant Nettinappi)

European Schoolnet
the gateway to education in Europe

Finnish National Board of Education

Finnish Online University of Applied Sciences

Kela in english
including financial aid for students

Open University

Opintoluotsi
everything for foreign students

Ploteus 
Portal on Learning Opportunities throughout the European Space

Upper Secondary Distance Learning

Vocational Education