OECD comparison report: Finns educate themselves longer and longer

Fine for knowhow, but not so good for the job market

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According to a report published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Finns over 20 years of age attend education clearly more than young people in OECD countries on average.
      Of the 20-29 -year-olds, 43 % study either full-time or part-time, while in OECD countries on average only one in four studies.
     
In 2007, the attendance rate of this age group in Finland (43 %) was the highest in all OECD countries. The next highest attendance rates were found in Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, and Australia.
      In Great Britain (17%), France (20%), Ireland (21%), Switzerland, and the USA, this age group’s education attendance rate was below 25%.
     
In the period between 1995-2007, the education attendance rate of the 20-29-years age group grew in Finland by 15%-points, but in the OECD countries as a whole by just 7%-points.
      From the point of view of the nation’s competence reserve, participation in education is a good thing but at the same time it entails later transition to labour market, the Ministry of Finance explains.
     
The differences between various OECD countries are indicated by Education at a Glance, the OECD’s annual compendium of comparable statistics on education systems, published on Tuesday.
      The report’s information concerns mainly the year 2007, which means that it does not display for example the unemployment of young Finnish adults, which has been increasing recently.
     
At the same time, while in Finland the education attendance rate in the 20-29-years age group is high, among men aged 20-24 a larger share (8.3%) than the OECD average (7.3%) is outside education and unemployed.
      The education attendance rate of the Finnish 15-19-year-olds falls from the top of the OECD rankings.
      In Belgium, Poland, Ireland, and in the Czech Republic, 90% or more of the 15-19-year-olds attended education, while in Finland the figure was still quite high at 88%.
     
In Finland, the attendance rate is reduced by the fact that part of the 19-year-old male cohort are doing their military service, and also by the fact that some of those who have completed secondary education take a gap-year off or have not been accepted directly to further education.
      By comparison, in Great Britain for instance, this age group’s education attendance rate was only some 70%, and even in the United States the figure was below 80 %.
      The figures are seen to reveal the selectivity of the education systems in these countries.
     
On the basis of the OECD report, Finland is facing at least two challenges relating to education. A number of those below the age of 20 have no post-basic education, which is why they are at risk of marginalisation.
      At the same time Finnish 20-29-year-olds enter the labour market later than young adults in the other OECD countries.


Links:
  Ministry of Education: OECD comparison report: Finns schooling themselves more than ever
  Education at a Glance 2009: OECD Indicators

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