Top Performers Featured in an Informational Clip
This week, an informational clip produced by Skills Finland is being shown on the YLE1 channel, featuring three exceptional students who chose vocational education.
Inka Myyryläinen, Toivo Särkkinen ja Iida Lepistö. Photo: Anni Ketola / Skills Finland.
Toivo Särkkinen and Inka Myyryläinen have both excelled in skills competitions. Inka won gold in the Practical Nurse category at the 2022 Taitaja competition in Pori and was named the Competitor of Competitors. Toivo won a silver medal in Laboratory Technology at the EuroSkills competition last autumn.
Read interviews with Inka and Toivo
The third young individual featured in the video is Iida Lepistö, a 16-year-old first-year student at Perho Business College. She completed her basic education in Vihti and moved to Helsinki in the autumn to pursue both sports and education. She also switched sports clubs and now plays basketball with ToPo in the southern first division.
– “I study in the sports program, which includes five subjects from upper secondary school and a vocational qualification. The studies incorporate morning training sessions related to my sport, which earn study credits,” Iida explains.
– “I am completing a dual qualification, and it’s going surprisingly well. I enjoy the variety. The two different institutions operate differently, which is also interesting to observe. There isn’t too much to handle, and my upper secondary courses have gone well. I got used to efficiently combining sports and school already in basic education.”
Although the Taitaja semi-finals didn’t fit into Iida’s schedule during her first autumn of studies, she is considering participating next year. Her future goal is to build momentum for her sports career. She feels that a vocational qualification provides security and a foundation for the future, enabling her to work while possibly pursuing further studies.
The informational clip is also available on Skills Finland's YouTube channel