Well-being week teams up with skills competitions

Taking care of one’s well-being and taking others into account are also an important part of a top professional's skills. VET institutions combine these two themes during the Hyvivointivirtaa week as many institutions organise local skills competitions as part of the week’s activities. Both offer opportunities for communal encounters and doing things together.

The whole institution participates in Keuda

In Keuda, the competition was organised for the second time during the well-being week. The experiences from last year were good, as the number of applicants for the Taitaja semifinals almost doubled. All fields of education were given the opportunity and guidance to organise a competition.

"Organising a competition in their skills gives students and teachers the opportunity to do something together and become a group. Students who did not want to compete were given tasks helping with the organisation of the event. It was great to see how adults put themselves on the line and built the event together with students", says Keuda’s competition coordinator Janne Jousiaho.

"The whole educational institution was involved. Campus leaders supported and encouraged teachers. We also had a separate KeudaSkills guidance group, whose experienced members helped participants who were not so familiar with the competition. The fields of education were also given the chance to market themselves through events by inviting lower secondary school pupils to learn about them. Many close partners also joined in", says Jousiaho.

Skills Actor of the Year organised a joint award ceremony

Brahe Education Centre organised its own Brahe Skills competitions in weeks 39 and 40. At the same time, the Centre also organised the Hyvinvointivirtaa well-being week. Competitions in different fields were organised as part of teaching for one day. This year, a joint award ceremony was organised for the winners of all categories for the first time to share information about the Taitaja competition. Category winners received gift cards for pizza. The awards were handed out by two Taitaja competitors from last year.

The categories in Brahe Skills correspond to Taitaja categories. The competition included 19 categories: Logistics, Horse Care, Animal Care, Graphic Design, Game Production, Beauty Therapy, Hairdressing, Electrical Installations, Cooking, Restaurant Service, Building Construction, Welding, Automobile Technology, Plumbing and Heating, Laboratory Technology, Cleaning Services, Property Management, Painting and Decorating, and Entrepreneurship.

Watch the video made by Brahe students on YouTube

Internationally in Tredu

In Tredu, events during the well-being week were organised at all locations. The programme of the week included physical activity programmes, a nutrition information pop-up, and blood pressure tests by students in the social and health care sector. The first Friendly Competition pilot was organised as a Skills competition together with Koning Willem 1 College from the Netherlands. Six students from the Netherlands and three from Tredu participated in the competition.

The guests arrived in Finland on Monday, and the programme started on Tuesday with a welcome event. Wednesday was a training day where the participants learned about the products of SIM Finland Oy who was the event’s business partner and sponsor. The competition itself took place on Thursday. Friendly Competition included two tasks that were based on the tasks in the Taitaja semifinals. Working life representatives and hairdressing teachers at Tredu judged the competition. The week also included a company visit to the SIM Finland factory in Ylöjärvi. The closing and awards ceremony for Friendly Competition was held on the Friday of the Skills week.

Competitions continue later in the autumn

Stadin AO will start its own skills competitions with a single-category trial. The competition of the Beauty Therapy skill will be organised in November, and experiences from it will also benefit other fields.

Local vocational skills competitions have been organised in their current form at the JEDU training centre since 2013. The competitions are usually organised mainly in week 42. The competition is arranged in cooperation with the personnel and companies of the various JEDU offices. This year, the competition will include 15 categories. The awards for the JEDU competitions will be handed out by category, and the results will be published on the JEDU website and in local newspapers.