The reputation of vocational education has held its ground in a challenging operating environment – Luovi is the most prestigious educational institution

In T-Media’s Reputation&Trust survey of vocational schools, the public’s perception of educational services remained high. However, the reputation of upper secondary education is still seen as stronger than that of vocational education in Finland. Of the vocational schools surveyed, Luovi has the best reputation and was also the biggest climber in terms of reputation this year.

Reputation&Trust was conducted for the fourth time in the field of vocational education. T-Media examined the reputations of a total of 25 educational institutions offering vocational training, as well as the overall reputation of vocational education among the active workforce. For the first time, the survey also examined the public’s perceptions of upper secondary education. A total of over 5,000 Finns responded to the survey.

The cuts to vocational education and training decided by the government last year are posing a challenge to education providers, and educational institutions are facing significant changes.

“The reputation of vocational education has held up despite challenging times, and the strength seen in previous years—the rating of the services provided—remained just barely at a good level. As was the case last year, none of the most prominent vocational schools came close to having a poor reputation. Every vocational school surveyed now has a better reputation than vocational education in general,” says Susanna Saarenpää, an expert at T-Media.

 

Vocational education excels in innovation and collaboration – upper secondary education is stronger in leadership and services

As part of the study, citizens were asked to evaluate the reputation of secondary education across eight different areas. Upper secondary education received a higher overall rating of 3.49 from citizens, while vocational education was rated at 3.37 on a scale of one to five.

“The most significant differences in perceptions relate to products and services, as well as organizational management. Finns feel that upper secondary education is clearly stronger in these areas. In contrast, vocational education outperforms upper secondary schools by a few percentage points in its ability to innovate or interact, and the ratings for these themes in vocational education have risen compared to a year ago,” says Saarenpää.

“Although public trust in vocational education providers has declined somewhat, the study shows that people still want to hear their views. This is extremely important for public discourse,” Saarenpää continues.

“Over the past year, vocational education has come under enormous pressure from policymakers—in addition to ensuring the availability of a skilled workforce, education providers are expected to contribute to the vitality of their regions and to provide training for both students and adults. It’s really great that people want to hear what education providers have to say,” says Laura Rissanen, Chair of the Association for the Development of Vocational Skills (Amke ry).

 

Vocational special education schools have a strong reputation – Luovi regained its status as the most prestigious

The vocational special schools Luovi, Live, and Spesia rank as the top three among the vocational schools surveyed. Luovi Vocational College is the most prestigious of the schools surveyed and has also seen the greatest increase in its reputation compared to the previous year.

The last time Luovi was ranked highest in the survey was in 2023. The perceptions associated with Luovi are particularly strong, especially in the areas of interaction, the workplace, and responsibility.

“We are delighted and proud of this result. Our strong reputation is the result of the hard work done every day across Finland, and for that we owe a huge thank you to our skilled staff and students. Interaction, employer image, and responsibility are the themes we have particularly emphasized, and it’s great to see that this is also reflected in the results,” says Susanna Kangas, Director of Information and Communications at Luovi.

 

This is how we conducted the study

The results are based on Reputation&Trust of vocational schools conducted by T-Media in January–February 2025. The survey examined the general public’s perceptions of 25 vocational schools, as well as vocational and upper secondary education in general. The vocational schools surveyed represented a wide variety of organizations in terms of both their educational profiles and ownership structures. The survey included educational consortia, specialized adult education centers, business-oriented schools, and special education schools.

Data for the survey was collected via an online questionnaire between January 22 and February 18, 2025. A total of 5,052 Finns participated in the survey. The survey targeted Finns aged 15–65, excluding residents of the Åland Islands. The sample was weighted to be representative of the population by gender, age, and region of residence.

Reputation&Trust T-Media’s Reputation&Trust, an educational institution’s reputation score is calculated as the average of eight different categories: how well-managed, financially stable, and innovative each surveyed vocational educational institution was considered to be, as well as how the price-quality ratio of its products and services was perceived, how well the institution interacts with others, and how well the institutions were perceived as employers, as well as in terms of their proper functioning and responsibility. A five-point rating scale (1–5) was used in the study.

 

For more information:

Susanna Saarenpää

,Expert +358 40 706 6019, susanna.saarenpaa@reptrust-staging.fi-p.seravo.com

Illustration: Luovi