In spring 2019, Statistics Finland will carry out an inquiry related to the education and training of the foreign population, as announced on its website. The inquiry is directed to persons with foreign background living in Finland whose qualifications attained abroad are not known.
“Based on already made studies, we know that foreigners are more educated than shown by registers. For this reason, we want to improve the quality of education statistics with this inquiry,” says Senior Statistician Mika Witting.
According to Statistics Finland's population data, 268,700 persons aged 18 to 64 with foreign background born abroad were living in Finland at the end of 2017. “At the moment, we know very little about qualifications attained abroad by foreigners. According to Statistics Finland's education statistics, only 44 per cent of foreigners aged 18 to 64 have completed a post-comprehensive level qualification,” Witting says.
Respond online or in paper form
Responding to the inquiry is important and helps to improve the image of education and training of the foreign population living in Finland. “If you receive a letter related to the inquiry, please respond. Tell us how much you have studied and what qualifications you have passed. If you do not have any education, please tell us that as well,” says Witting.
The inquiry is short and easy to answer either online or in paper form. The inquiry is translated into 21 languages.
Statistics Finland will not release data obtained in the inquiry to other authorities. The collected data are published as statistical data, from which information given by individual respondents cannot be identified. Results from the data collection will be released towards the end of 2019.
