The reputation of vocational schools has withstood the challenges

The Reputation&Trust " survey of vocational schools indicates that the overall reputation of vocational education providers has remained stable. The reputation of all the schools surveyed is at a good or moderate level, and the differences in reputation scores among the top-rated schools are very small.

Reputation and Trust Analytics has been studying the reputation of vocational education institutions Reputation&Trust since 2022. The sector’s reputation has remained consistently at a moderate level throughout the entire measurement history.

On the five-point scale Reputation&Trust, reputation is considered moderate if the reputation score is between 3.00 and 3.49. Reputation is considered good if the score exceeds 3.50.

The overall reputation score for vocational education providers this year is exactly the same as last year: 3.37.

“In recent years, vocational schools and the entire education sector have been subject to reforms, budget cuts, and skepticism, which have forced these institutions to operate in a highly reactive manner. However, the sector’s overall reputation has remained surprisingly stable, which is a significant achievement given the circumstances,” saysAndrei Sergejeff, Senior Advisor at Reputation and Trust Analytics.

“However, it will be difficult to improve the overall reputation of vocational schools until there is peace in the education sector,” Sergejeff continues.

Perho, Luovi, and Spesia Lead the Way

In the study, the reputation ratings of individual educational institutions are generally higher than the reputation of the field as a whole. The reputation of all the educational institutions surveyed is at least at a moderate level, and more than half reach a good level.

The differences among the top three are very small: Perho Business College received a reputation score of 3.66, Luovi Vocational College 3.64, and Spesia Vocational College 3.62.

“Vocational schools are doing a great job of maintaining their reputation, and Finns generally hold vocational schools in high regard, which is reflected in our study, among other things, in the desire to support the sector with tax revenue. Citizens feel that education is one of the government’s core responsibilities, and taxpayers do not want to see the vocational education sector dismantled,” saysSusanna Saarenpää, an expert at Reputation and Trust Analytics.

The impact analysis Reputation&Trust also shows that the quality of products and services has a particularly strong influence on citizens’ willingness to support vocational schools.

“In these difficult times, focusing on the core mission—that is, high-quality instruction—is what is expected of vocational education. Vocational education providers have, in fact, succeeded very well in maintaining the reputation of their products and services; the reputation score for this area is 3.46, which is very close to anseende good anseende , anseende Saarenpää notes.

This is how we conducted the study

The goal Reputation&Trust survey of vocational schools was to assess the reputation of selected vocational education providers among the general public. Data for the survey was collected via an online questionnaire from January 22 to February 22, 2026.

The organizations were evaluated using Reputation and Trust Analytics’ Reputation&Trust, in which an organization’s reputation score is calculated as the average of eight different subcategories. These areas are governance, finances, leadership, innovation, engagement, products & services, workplace, and corporate responsibility. The study used a five-point rating scale (1–5).

A total of 6,938 Finns participated in the study. The study’s target group consisted of Finns aged 15–65 nationwide (excluding the Åland Islands). The sample was weighted to be representative of the population by gender, age, and region of residence.

The margin of error for the entire dataset is at most about 1.18 percentage points in either direction.

For more information:

Susanna Saarenpää, Reputation and Trust Analytics, Specialist, +358 40 706 6019, susanna.saarenpaa@reptrust.com

Andrei Sergejeff, Reputation and Trust Analytics, Senior Advisor,
+358 50 303 0204, andrei.sergejeff@reptrust.com