In international literature, Finland has one of the best education systems for more than two decades. Its innovation performance is based on a high trust model of business innovation and publicly funded quality public services in areas such as education, research and social well-being. Today, the sustained success of its approach now depends on creating building blocks for a better future of work, in the context of rapid technological advances in AI and related technologies, where it aims to be a global leader in human-centric digital innovation.
The country therefore
offers a unique opportunity to understand speeches, political interventions, which shape the perception of the future of work and education in Europe. Finland has more recently introduced three major policy initiatives:
- AI strategy: The age of Finland’s artificial intelligence
- Future of Work 2030
- Reform of continuous learning
In this respect, the government’s approach to implementing the reform of lifelong learning through the establishment of the National Lifelong Learning Services Centre to further stimulate the supply of skills-based short courses, as well as the strategy and vision proposed by the Innovation Fund SITRA through a place-based skills ecosystem model and based on systematic experimentation presents two distinct scenarios for achieving Finland as a learning intensive society. The latter model could position Finland as a world leader, presenting new pathways towards a digitally inclusive society and a future of work based on a sense of personal agency, competence and sense. In such a scenario, learning in ecosystems can materialise so that working lives renew skills and competences renew working lives.
In the light of the Finnish AI strategy process and the recent reform of lifelong learning, the document discusses the implementation of foresight as a means to address critical uncertainties and plausible prospects as a means of long-term policymaking. Secondly, the document illustrates that while Finland has built substantial capacities for the future, challenges remain in terms of policy implementation. The problems that arise relate to who is invited to the table and the latent risks of the group. More importantly, however, Finnish experiences suggest that it is necessary to analyse how foresight methods can inform policy implementation processes and what this would imply in terms of institutional mechanisms and capacities.