Finpro insight on Education

Trends, opportunities and potential markets for Finnish companies in the Education sector

The education sector is experiencing growth in several countries and regions boosted by new government initiatives aimed at im-proving current education systems and the overall quality of the state education they provide.

A number of trends are impacting the global education system. For three of these, Finpro has identified several potential mar-kets in which their impact will be the most significant, offering Finnish education companies and educational institutions great opportunities:

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growing middlE-class dEmands quality EducationIn emerging markets, the middle class are wealthier than ever before. They now want to invest their wealth in their children – especially in education. Parents want better lives for their offspring.

Vocational up-skilling and EntrEprEnEurship training in global dEmandLabor market and educational needs are changing more rapidly than ever before. When you are competing for the best jobs in the market, continuous learning and ongoing development of your personal skills are essential.

national Education systEms Facing ExtEnsiVE rEFormsIt is acknowledged worldwide that education is the driving force behind individual and societal success. Citizens expect their governments to be capable of providing a high and uniform quality of education.

Learn more about Finpro Insight on Education sector in the following pages!

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All over the world, the needs of societies and the business sector are changing so much that current levels of education are no longer adequate. Nowadays, people’s expectations are significantly higher, and traditional educational institutes may not be capable of meeting the demand for the types and quality of education required. People with excellent educational backgrounds are needed to ensure that the society they live in remains competitive in an increasingly-competitive global environment.

• In emerging economies, there is a specific need for knowledge about how to implement sustainable educational reforms and establish educational systems that will be sustainable in the long term

• Inadequate and unequal levels of performance between different schools and educational institutions

• The variable quality of different educational curriculums

• Political and economical drivers at national level, include permitting the entry of foreign educational institutions

• As public sector educational institutions can not provide sufficient education in terms of quality and places, the education sector is opening up to organizations from the private sector

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national Education systEms Facing ExtEnsiVE rEForms

opportunitiEsmarkEtsCentral & Eastern Europe, East & Southeast Asia (China), Latin America (Chile, Peru), Middle East (Saudi Arabia, UAE) and North Africa.For Finnish companies, opportunities lie in the productization

and internationalization of educational concepts. There are also a number of opportunities in school construction and providing interior design services for educational establishments. Finns are also experts on how the world’s education and learning systems can be developed – from both the knowledge management and technological perspectives. • Providing consulting services in educational and learning

contexts, including the integration of different players’ solutions within large-scale public projects

• Tailor-made training-programs• Consultation services connected with developing structures

in educational systems that reinforce existing capacity in higher education and vocational training facilities

• Curriculum development aimed at achieving knowledge societies

• Learning environments (physical, i.e. school architecture and virtual educational worlds)

• Tie-ups like “multi-campus” and public-private ventures by development consortia

• The Triple-Helix model, i.e. developing interaction between enterprises and academia

intErEsting ExamplEs• As education is widely considered to be essential for

modernization and growth, the educational sector has become an important focus area for governments in the Middle East region: http://www.alpencapital.com/includes/GCCEducationIndustry-Report-September-2010.pdf http://www.booz.com/media/uploads/BoozCo-Private-School-Expansion-GCC.pdf

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CENTRAL & EASTERN EUROPE, EAST & SOUTHEAST ASIA, LATIN AMERICA, MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICATARGET MARKETS:

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The combination of a growing middle class and parents’ increased willingness to invest in the education of their children will lead to a transfor mation of educational systems. Many governments are looking for solutions which can meet this challenge, including the new solutions required to provide high-quality education for everyone on demand. Technology is a an excellent enabler, as soon as solutions which address the required learning needs have been created. Online platforms may also constitute a viable alternative to traditional educational institutions. In addition to formal education, informal education and self-study courses are popular.

• Demographic growth is leading to increased competition for limited study opportunities

• The increased willingness of parents to invest in educating their children

• Limited offering of alternative education providers

• The perception of inadequacies in mainstream schooling constitutes a major driver for the provision of private tutoring services

• Increased presence of the private sector as a result of the public sector’s inability to improve educational standards

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opportunitiEsThe education of middle-class offspring offers companies or organizations that can deliver Finnish know-how a number of opportunities. Demand for ICT solutions and applications that enable self development regardless of time and place is especially high. Both pedagogically and technically, golden opportunities beckon for solutions that are well designed, and the best can be localized for use all over the world.

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intErEsting ExamplEs• New middle-class parents are ready to invest in

improving their offspring’s educationand language skills from kindergarten age. The Maple Bear Kindergarten from Canada, for example, is currently operating two Maple Bear Schools in Vietnam. http://www.maplebear.vn/index.php?page

• In 2010 the Danish Niels Brock Business College established a new bachelorprogram jointly with the Foreign Trade University in Hanoi - ten years after opening up its first joint Asian program with Shanghai Finance University. http://eng.brock.dk/niels-brock-international/niels-brock-international-activities/niels-brock-in-vietnam/

• Self-learning solutions (ICT) • Teacher training e.g. in K-12 and vocational education• Technical and vocational educationtraining (TVET) • Creation of new public-private partnerships (e.g. cooperation

with national development agencies)• The construction of new learning environments (physical, i.e.

school architecture and virtual educational worlds) • Finnish know-how in special education,learning processes

and learning environments (“learning for all”)

East & Southeast Asia (China, Vietnam), India, Latin America (Brazil, Chile, Mexico), Middle East (Saudi Arabia, UAE), North Africa and Russia.

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Society’s needs and people’s working environments are changing at an increasing rate. Governments want their citizens to keep pace with this change, especially in nations where the proportion of younger people in the population is high. As not all young people have the opportunity to study at university, vocational up-skilling and education in different types of professional skill are essential. High-quality education which supports the acquisition of professional skills helps ensure that everyone can gain the skills and knowledge required to obtain well-paid jobs. Vocational up-skilling of this type can be organized in co-operation with private companies.

opportunitiEsFinnish educational know-how in vocational up-skilling is highly regarded. For example, models for co-operation between companies and educational institutions have been developed In Finland. Professional education center concepts are also based on the benefits that flow from good co-operation between companies and academia.

• Customized training for company employees to develop and upgrade their practical and technical skills

• Cooperation between industry and training providers in foreign markets to develop up-skilling programs

• Training in entrepreneurship (consultancy, business incubators, hubs)

• Public-private partnership concepts• Migrating multinationals in a global economy: up-skilling of

the local labour force

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• Employing young people is a positive factor in achieving stable societies

• Focus on lifelong learning • The lack of skilled labor in emerging economies

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markEtsCentral & Eastern Europe, East & Southeast Asia, India, Latin America (Chile), Middle East, North Africa (Tunisia), Russia and Sub-Saharan Africa.

intErEsting ExamplEs• The Middle East region suffers from very-high levels of

youth unemployment, with resulting demand for “Education for Employment”. The main opportunities in this sector consist of the following three sub-areas; 1. Vocational education and training 2. University education and 3. Work-readiness skills. http://e4earabyouth.com/report.php

• Tunisia is suffering from high levels of youth unemployment (35.5% in 2011). As youth employability is closely linked to achieving smooth national economic and social transition, there is pressure to develop the quality of tertiary education and workforce development systems. Source: MIC GRANT: Support for youth employment in Tunisia: an introduction to the Finnish Model linking education/training institutions to the socioeconomic environment

• 50% of the Indian population is aged 25 years or less. India’s approximately 300 universities and over 22,000 affiliate colleges of education and skills development produce more than two million graduates each year. http://www.nsdcindia.org/about-us/organization-profile.aspx

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CENTRAL & EASTERN EUROPE, EAST & SOUTHEAST ASIA, INDIA, LATIN AMERICA, MIDDLE EAST, NORTH AFRICA, RUSSIA AND SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA

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