Oulu Vocational College home pages

Sports Upper Secondary School,  Oulu Polytechnic,  University of Oulu

The Oulu Vocational College has a special educational assignment granted by the Ministry of Education that concerns the organising of basic vocational education for athletes. Above all, vocational training is aimed at the achievement of adequate vocational skill. The basic three-year vocational qualification also leads to acceptance for continued studies at polytechnics and universities. Oulu Vocational College has nine educational institutions, which organise studies that lead to a final qualification for, practically speaking, all types of work.

The morning training at OSUA is accepted as 10 credits for the optional studies part of the basic examination. A totality of four optional credits belonging to the general studies may also be awarded. Depending on the sport and qualification sought, a unit of 10 optional credits towards vocational training can be extended to include training. In this case the training must primarily fit in with the credit units mentioned above. The proportion of credits given for training sessions for the final qualification can thus vary from 10 to 24. The approval of over 14 credits demands particular success in both their studies, and even sporting activities, by the athletes.

The personal studies and training plan (HOVS) prepared together with the athlete ensures progress in studies and is realised through participation in regular morning training sessions with OSUA on 3–5 mornings of the school week. The institutions of the Oulu Vocational College there is a liaison person for the athletes, who can be consulted in matters pertaining to HOVS and concerning problems that might arise.

Students’ experiences

“Competitive events in my sport and schooling take up the greater part of my time. The week’s routine consists of, in addition to daily studies, matches and travel, practice, match meetings, etc. When all the time spent on ice hockey is calculated, it easily becomes30 hours a week striking the puck. Exercises have to be done at some point. Combining studies and playing is both a question of use of time and a question of will. So there’s no time to look at television after the evening’s practice session, but the school exercises have to be done. It should also be remembered that for an ice hockey player the start and the end of the term are generally easier from the point of view of studies, because the national series take place between September and March. After the season, training nevertheless continues and the trainers, struggling for the success of their teams, demand active participation by all in all the practice sessions, training camps and matches.