The regional workshop in Vaasa, Finland was held on 13th January 2021 with more than three dozen participants. Within the workshop, four breakout rooms were created in which lively discussions took place. In Finland, VET education providers at EQF level 4-5 is considered in the national framework and curricula stated by the Finnish National Agency of Education for some time now.
In the Vaasa Region there are 2 VET institutions: Vamia and Yrkesakademin i Österbotten (YA!). However, the Finnish system is very flexible. It is possible to develop the curricula to local and regional needs. Focus is also on the individual, as a personal competence development plan is made separately for each student.
In Vaasa region there are three universities: University of Vaasa, Åbo Akademi University and Hanken School of Economics. University level education in Finland provides multi-dimensional competences to the students.
During this workshop the participants identified several competences provided by the VET institutions as relevant for green innovation. In Finland it is important to build green innovation as part of the formal education system. In this sense several suggestions of how the missing competences that are needed for green innovation could be implemented were discussed.