Apply for vocational education and training

Apply for vocational education and training

You can apply for vocational education and training (VET) flexibly throughout the year. Complete a full degree or complement your skills with various short-term training options.

In the rolling admission process, you can apply for vocational upper secondary, further vocational and specialist vocational qualifications, apprenticeship training and preparatory education for an upper secondary qualification (TUVA).

Apply through rolling  admission if you have an upper secondary qualification, a post-secondary degree or competence acquired in working life or previous studies. You can also apply if you have been left without a study place. You can find the application instructions on the educational institutions’ websites.

In the joint application system, you can apply for vocational upper secondary qualifications, general upper secondary education, vocational education and training for students requiring intensive special support, preparatory education for an upper secondary qualification (TUVA), preparatory education and training for work and independent living (TELMA) and liberal adult education for students of compulsory education age at folk high schools.

Apply through the joint application system if you are about to complete comprehensive school or have already completed comprehensive school but not a vocational qualification, general upper secondary school syllabus or post-secondary degree.

Tuition fees for third country students introduced in upper secondary education 

Tuition fees will be introduced in upper secondary education for students who arrive to Finland from countries other than the EU member countries, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Switzerland. 

Tuition fees apply to students who start their studies on 1 August 2026 or after who arrive to Finland or have been granted a residence permit for studies.

The amount of tuition fees in the City of Helsinki schools will be approximately equal to the costs of providing education. The amount of tuition fees will be specified on this page during spring 2026.

Tuition fees will not apply to students in the following cases:

• The student is a citizen of a third country but permanently living in the European Economic Area.
• The student is an exchange student through an established exchange programme and will not be completing a qualification or the general upper secondary education syllabus in Finland.
• The student is receiving temporary protection.
• The student arrives to Finland for vocational education’s apprenticeship training and has a residence permit for an employed person.  

For more information on the residence permits for students, see The Finnish Immigration Service, Migri(Link leads to external service)

Frequently asked questions (in Finnish) on the Ministry of Education and Culture’s website(Link leads to external service)