Future Nordic Social Welfare and Health Care Professionals

The objectives of this project was to develop professional skills of the teachers and students in Social welfare and Health Care program in VET. Moreover, objective was to plan and develop study p...

The objectives of this project was to develop professional skills of the teachers and students in Social welfare and Health Care program in VET. Moreover, objective was to plan and develop study programs and teaching methods to meet better the requirements and needs of the future working life. The aim was to increase the professional and international competence of these special studies among the participants by working together, sharing practices internationally and finding new teaching methods in accordance with the Nordic teaching method. The aim was also to explore workplaces in the social and health care sectors in Finland, Sweden, and Denmark, and to gain insight into the needs of working life.

The project progressed as planned. In the workshops, we have gotten to know the education systems of Finland, Denmark and Sweden, as well as the social and health sector. Four workshops have been organized in the project according to the plan. The starting workshop was in September 2023 in Finland. The second workshop took place in February 2024 in Aarhus, Denmark. Third workshop was in September 2024 in Övertorneå, Sweden and the final workshop was in May 2025 in Kemi, Finland. In addition, we have had a total of eight Teams meetings between the workshops. In addition to the workshops, we’ve held several Teams meetings. Communication between partners has also continued actively via email and phone calls.

During the project, we got to learn about the organization of vocational education in the social and health sectors in Finland, Sweden and Denmark. We also got to see the workplaces in the field. We got new ideas from different educational institutions for implementing practical teaching work. During the project, we have been able to benefit from the new teaching methods we have received, which will enable us to better meet the demands of Nordic working life. We have created new opportunities for cooperation between the educational institutions participating in the project. An example is the teacher exchange of three teachers from Lapland to Sosu Ostjylland in Denmark, which will take place in February 2026. The collaboration is set to continue through a new project initiative. Under the leadership of our Danish partners, we are currently preparing an application for a small-scale partnership project. Unfortunately, Utbildning Nord was unable to participate in the planning of this new initiative. Instead, we have a new partner from Norway.