Chinese teachers gain skills for school-company collaboration with the help of Finnish Specialist Qualification
Press Release 18 January 2019
This week teachers from Shanghai conducted competence demonstrations in the Finnish Specialist Qualification in Product Development and received their Diplomas. The training was conducted by the Jyväskylä Educational Consortium Gradia together with EduCluster Finland. The training programme began in September 2018 with the aim of developing cooperation between vocational teachers and local enterprises using service design methodology.
Increased demand for better match between vocational education and labour market
The Skills Broker Teacher Training programme, developed by Gradia, was piloted at the Shanghai Commercial Accounting School (SCAS). The aim of the programme is to improve the match between training provision and the needs of the industry.
The programme creates new models for collaboration between educational institutions and working life through product development and service design methodology, utilizing Finnish learning methods. The training included periods conducted by Finnish experts in China as well as distance learning (team and development work). The local industry representatives from Shanghai were involved in the final competence assessment of the participants to further strengthen the link between education and labour market.
Building on the good experiences
“With the support of Finnish experts, we have been able to build new partnerships with companies and reform the curricula to make them more work-oriented. We have realized the importance of a coaching approach to supporting individual learning,” says Xia Ying, team leader at SCAS.
“Service design really works for the institution's development work. It was a pleasure to see how, with the training program, teachers' capacity for cross-border development in the field of education was clearly enhanced,” says Pia Särkkä, a lead expert at Gradia.
“The demand for Skills Broker training is increasing both in China and elsewhere. Negotiations are underway on new implementations,” says Pauliina Holm, International Key Account Manager at Gradia.
Successful global partnerships
Gradia is a forerunner in providing accredited vocational and professional qualifications outside of Finland. Gradia has carried out several successful projects across the globe in collaboration with EduCluster Finland. Vocational and professional training provided by Gradia and EduCLuster Finland using the Finnish model has yielded excellent results and feedback from global partners.
For more information, please contact:
Kirsi Koivunen, Global Partnerships Manager, Jyväskylä Educational Consortium Gradia, +358 40 341 6339
Pauliina Holm, International Key Account Manager, Jyväskylä Educational Consortium Gradia, +358 40 341 5889