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 between the top-rated schools are very small.

Reputation and Trust Analytics has been tracking the reputation of vocational schools Reputation&Trust since 2022. The sector’s reputation has remained consistently at a moderate level throughout the entire measurement period.

On the five-point scale Reputation&Trust, reputation is considered moderate if the reputation score falls 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, forcing 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 sector as a whole. The reputation of all the educational institutions surveyed is at least moderate, and more than half are rated as good.

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, as evidenced in our study by, among other things, a willingness to support the sector with tax revenue. Citizens feel that education is one of the state’s core responsibilities, and taxpayers do not want the vocational education sector to be 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 the public’s willingness to support vocational education institutions.

“In these difficult times, focusing on our core mission—that is, high-quality education—is what is expected of vocational education and training. Vocational education providers have indeed 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 the threshold for a good reputation,” Saarenpää notes.

This is how we conducted the study

The aim of the " 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 between January 22 and February 22, 2026.

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 sub-areas. The sub-areas are the organization’s governance, finances, leadership, innovation, interaction, products & services, workplace, and 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 approximately 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, Senior Advisor, Reputation and Trust Analytics,
+358 50 303 0204, andrei.sergejeff@reptrust.com