Exploring Vocational Education Students’ Visions of a Successful Transition to Working Life from the Perspective of Societal Belonging

Abstract

AbstractThe emphasis on paid employment is strong in Finnish vocational education. However, the world of work is changing and becoming more insecure. Many researchers have expressed concern about the impact of these uncertainties on employment opportunities for young people. This paper discusses vocational education students’ possibilities for societal belonging in their transition to the changing labour market in Finland. It explores the students’ visions of a successful transition to working life and a decent life after this transition. The qualitative data were collected by organising six functional workshops for vocational students (58 participants). In the conclusion, the paper argues that in the vocational students’ visions, paid employment constitutes an important definer of their societal belonging. Furthermore, it demonstrates how strongly the traditional ideals of worker-citizenship fostered in vocational education influence the meanings the second- and third-year students ascribe to societal belonging. The paper suggests that this issue needs to be critically examined in view of the changing labour market. The question is whether vocational training is able to guarantee graduating young people a realistic opportunity to build their belonging to society while at the same time to responding to the needs of the labour market.