Expert meeting on higher education in youth work, Helsinki, 20-23 September 2022
Opening address by Dr Jukka Määttä
President/CEO Humak University of Applied Sciences
Wednesday, 21 September 2022
Scandic Simonkenttä, Simonkatu 9, Helsinki
Dear Guests and other Participants,
On behalf of myself, and my organization, I would like to welcome you all to this rare gathering where youth work educators and academics on higher education get to meet each other. My name is Jukka Määttä and I work as the rector of Finnish University of Applied Sciences Humak. We are also the organizers of this event with support of the youth department of the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture.
The idea to organize this event came years ago, when we organized a conference together with the Ministry of Education and Culture during Finland’s presidency of the Council of Europe, conference where educators, administrators and youth workers met. The conference was held in Helsinki in February 2019, just before the covid-19 pandemic. The pandemic, as we know, interrupted international activities as well. We kept this idea in mind for a long time. Now, fortunately, we get to meet each other face-to-face.
Why is this seminar necessary? The year of European youth work is currently underway and the content is Youth Europe. The timing of this seminar is now particularly suitable. Youth issues are important in all countries, and the same applies to youth work education at the European level. As the Secretary of State said, we need to learn from each other. There is a great opportunity for this – in this seminar.
In my speech, I will give a brief summary of the situation in Finnish higher education and especially regarding youth work education. At the same time, I will also tell you about the youth work education of my own university, Humak, and the desire – that we have – for promoting this issue in the future.
Dear listeners,
In Europe, the forms of organizing youth work on higher education differ according to the national education system. In Finland, youth work and youth work education, have a strong institutional position. Finland has its own youth act, its own union for youth workers and its own professional youth work education. This is rare in the world. As we know, youth work education is often integrated into other education programs or does not exist as a separate study unit at all. In Finland, youth work education is organized in universities, universities of applied sciences and institutions for vocational secondary education. Furthermore, there is a range of additional training available, which can be attended by youth work professionals, other professionals working with young people, and volunteer youth workers.
Finnish higher education consists of two higher education sectors: traditional academic universities and universities of applied sciences. We call it the dual model. In addition to education, universities focus more on research activities. Universities of applied sciences focus more on applied research and development activities in close cooperation with organizations in working life. Nowadays, In Finland, higher education institutions are seen as a necessary investment in future competence. In connection with this, higher education institutions are developing their networks both nationally and internationally. In addition to these, we emphasize active research and development activities and opportunities for lifelong learning.
University education in youth work is organized by some universities, for instance in Tampere under the subject of youth research. There is also an active and strong Youth research society and network in Finland, which does active research related to young people and youth work. The members of the network work at different universities. Many universities have disciplines close to youth work, where research and development activities related to young people are carried out. In this case, we usually talk about education and social sciences.
In universities of applied sciences, youth work education belongs to the field of Humanities and education. The degree title is Bachelor or Master of Humanities, NGO and Youth Work. Students graduate as Community educators. It takes three and a half years to complete the BA studies. The Master’s degree lasts two years. By far the majority of youth workers in higher education are educated in universities of applied sciences, where Humak is clearly the biggest educator. Humak is a national university and our goal is to serve all of Finland, both in youth work education and research and development work. We have 6 campuses in different parts of Finland. Our main campus is located in Helsinki. Currently, we have about 1,300 bachelor students and about 200 master students in community educator degree (NGO and Youth work). In recent years, the number of students has increased because of the greater number of study places at higher education institutions. We have also started new degree programs that have been very popular. For example, a degree in adventure education, one of the traditional methods of youth work, is conducted in English attracting students from all over the world. Currently, more than half of the students are studying in blended-learning or online programs. The reason is that we want attract students from everywhere in Finland. In addition, we have about 2,000 open university students on various courses in this field.
During the twenty-five years that the universities of applied sciences have been in operation in Finland, about 6,000 community educators have graduated. About 300 of them graduate every year. The number is growing. Qualified youth workers find work in very different fields and different parts of Finland. The largest employment areas are in the capital area and large cities. The most common areas of employment are related to different kinds of work with young people either directly or indirectly. This work takes place in various communities: for example, in municipal youth services, youth organizations in the NGO-sector, schools and free time activity service providers, but also in so-called non-formal environments such in different kinds of hobbies. Community educators specializing in adventure education may also find employment in tourism companies in Lapland. Work with young people in the social sector is also one of the employment sectors, for example child welfare services. Some graduates also end up working in early childhood education, although the degree does not give a formal qualification for permanent positions. As we can see, the skills acquired during the education give a wide range of employment possibilities.
Finally, I hope that during the seminar we will get a broader understanding of what youth work education can look like in the future. You, dear guests, can also take a look at how it is done in Finland. I also hope that thoughts and ideas about what we could do together in the coming years will arise during the seminar. As the Secretary of State said, our goal in Finland is to further cooperation between states, not only in youth policy, but also concretely in youth work education and development activities. We have to remember that digitalization gives new opportunities for this cooperation. In terms of the professional development of youth work at the European level, it would be very useful to strengthen networks where partners can learn from each other – peer learning. I see many opportunities in this co-operation. Humak wants to be an active participant in this work.
Thank you and I wish you all a very successful seminar!
