Providing relevant and high-quality vocational education and training (VET) often depends on collaboration between VET institutions and workplaces (e.g., Brockmann & Smith, 2023; Gessler, 2017; Hiim, 2023; Sappa & Aprea, 2014; Schaap et al., 2012). At the institutional level, collaboration often focuses on updating vocational curricula, promoting vocational knowledge and organizing work-based learning (Bakker & Akkerman, 2019; Sauli et al., 2021; Wesselink et al., 2010). However, collaboration between workplaces and educational institutions extends beyond supporting learning and it can also contribute to broader goals, such as the adoption of new technologies, workplace innovations and regional development initiatives (Olazaran et al., 2018; Terentyeva et al., 2018).  

Previous theoretical models related to collaboration between learning venues or experiences have primarily been rooted in learning and pedagogy (e.g., Akkerman & Bakker, 2011; Guile & Griffiths, 2001; Schwendimann et al., 2015; Tynjälä, 2009; Tynjälä et al., 2020). Cai and Kosaka (2024) challenge the traditional teaching- and learning-focused relationship between educational institutions and workplaces by applying service-dominant logic (see also Vargo & Lusch, 2016). They argue that VET appears as a value co-creation system, where vocational institutions and workplaces collaborate to produce and deliver high-quality services. Using the same lens, Lavía et al. (2024) highlight the need to move from provider-client perspective towards strategic partnerships between vocational institutions and workplaces.  

To promote strategic partnerships in VET, it is necessary to develop an overview of collaboration, its guiding goals and stakeholder expectations. This meta-study aims to explore how policy, employers, and VET graduates perceive collaboration in the Finnish VET context and what they expect from vocational institutions. In practice, these expectations often fall on VET teachers, who play a crucial role in facilitating and maintaining collaboration by acting as mediators between education and work (see also Ramsarup et al., 2023). 

This meta-study addresses the following research questions:  

RQ1: How have European and Finnish policy documents framed the goals of collaboration over the past 15 years? 
RQ2: How do workplace representatives talk about the collaboration between vocational institutions and workplaces? 
RQ3: How do VET graduates perceive collaboration, particularly the role of the teachers?

To shed light on collaboration between VET and workplaces, this qualitative meta-study draws on previous (yet unpublished) studies. The meta-study synthesises the key findings of the primary studies to build a comprehensive body of knowledge on collaboration (Timulak, 2009). Policy documents serve as supplementary materials that highlight the directions of collaboration development at the policy level, both in Finland and across Europe. The actual empirical investigation takes place within the context of Finnish VET. In Finland, VET is sometimes described as a service (Virolainen & Heikkinen, 2018) and it is considered "customer-oriented" toward both working life and students (Karusaari, 2020). Finnish VET is competence-based, meaning that studies and their duration can be tailored to match the individual needs of students or workplaces (Ministry of Education and Culture & Finnish National Agency for Education, 2023). The interview data (N = 24) from employer representatives from different vocational sectors was collected in 2021 and 2023. The VET graduate data includes interview data (N = 11), which is supplemented by national student feedback survey data from 2022. A discursive approach serves as the general framework for analyzing the datasets (Edwards, 2005; Wetherell, 2007). Specifically, the aim is to examine how workplace representatives talk about the future and the desired future positions of vocational institutions and companies. Regarding the VET graduate data, the focus is on the actual and ideal positions of teachers, as well as the tensions between them. Survey data are analyzed using descriptive statistics.

With regard to RQ1, the goal of collaboration in policy documents has largely focused on labour market relevance and work-based learning. However, at the EU level, the policy documents from 2020 have highlighted resilience and excellence that is supported by national and regional skills ecosystems and vocational institutions as part of wider Centres of Vocational Excellence that support regional development and provide innovative services. In contrast, Finnish Government programmes outlining the directions for VET development, have maintained a focus on meeting the needs of working life, although noticing the needs of various regions. Considering RQ2, the analysis suggests that workplace representatives recognize the need for partnerships from various perspectives. These include organizing work-based education, ensuring a skilled workforce, and supporting the development of companies and the flourishing of vocational sectors. With respect to RQ3, VET graduates identified multiple actual and ideal positions for teachers, such as teachers acting as customer service officers or gatekeepers in relation to workplaces. Overall, this study discusses the goals for collaboration and provides suggestions for promoting collaboration between education and work, which serves both the development of regions, working life and education, as well as the comprehensive professional development of students.

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