Partnering 4 Success - Ian's diary
Ian pictured on far left
Saturday 4th June
A 4am start travelling out to Helsinki. The stop-over in Amsterdam wasn`t too bad between flights. Our hotel in Helsinki was a 30 minute taxi ride from the airport, and by 5pm the blood had finally started flowing back into my hand (from Sarah squeezing it so hard on the flights).
First observations of Helsinki – a lovely city, but sparse. It`s population is only half a million. Despite being warned that it would be busy due to the end of the high school year the day before (all the graduates wore white sailors caps) there still didn`t seem many people around, although the pubs and bars got a bit busier near midnight. Even so, it was still nothing like Plymouth Barbican or Union St! It didn`t go dark at all, and it felt strange having no indication that bedtime was by then well overdue.
What else did we learn that first night (mostly from Andy, Sarah`s friend and our tour guide for the night)? There are no drug issues in Finland at all – it`s not tolerated (but they do have some drink issues). There`s very little crime, and it was nice to see the high school leavers having fun but with no indication anywhere of drunkenness or trouble brewing. English is spoken fluently almost everywhere! It`s expensive - a pint of beer is £5-6. And the travel infrastructure is excellent - trams, buses, cabs – and, as a result, very few private cars which adds to the contrast with overcrowded English cities.
Sunday 5th June
We travelled to Kauhava, a four hour journey. It`s a fast, smooth and comfortable ride, and the train station when we arrived was impressive (a legacy, maybe, from the Russian era?). We were met off the train by Esa who apologised for the train being 4 minutes late! He doesn't know how lucky Finland is compared to our rail service! First impressions of Kauhava – small townville! The town has a population of 17,289, a train station, one small supermarket, a fuel station and not much else.
We were invited to Esa`s home initially where we tried some local food - bread cake, cloud berry cake and more. We stocked up with supplies at the local supermarket as we knew there would be no shops where we were staying. Interesting that due to the alcohol issues in the country, the off licence limits the amount you can purchase.
Our accommodation was a 45 minute journey away on the edge of a lake – in fact an island in the middle of a lake. Tried my first sauna! The Spanish arrived late (and then only half of them) as two had got stuck on the train (they were rescued by Esa)
Monday 6th June
First day of the programme. An early start and a long drive to Alvarus. Luovi is one of six vocational colleges in Finland specifically for people with a disability with each one having its own specialism. Lunch was served on arrival. The Finnish seem to breakfast early, then lunch early at 11.30 ish with tea/ supper at 4.30 / 5.ish. Maybe they keep the evenings free for saunas?
The residential accommodation I saw at Luovi was nice, with each person having their own unit. Esa says, however, that it`s difficult to get learners enrolled at the college as there is so much demand to go there. The students at Luovi obtain vocational qualifications in a range of subjects. A third of them go on to become paid employees in the community, a further third go into work experience or work placements. These seem like good stats!
On to the first social enterprise, a commercial laundry with 30 employees and a core of 11 staff. It was set up as a competitive business but with tax breaks, and the local authority ‘assist’ with contracts from care homes, hospitals etc. as they see the benefit of both the business and the supported employment.
Before our tour there was a presentation by the manager (who oversees a dozen similar units). The first presentation was ok but the second was difficult to understand. It was presented in Finnish, then lost in translation unfortunately!
All the employees trained beforehand elsewhere, possibly at Luovi, and the business seems to operate commercially. The laundry had lots of specialist equipment: a dryer big enough to climb in, a drying room for drying rugs and mats, an industrial mangle, a garment steamer – all being operated efficiently by adults with disabilities.
Tuesday 7th June
An even earlier start! A presentation at Esa’s base on how disabled pupils are embedded into local schools. They have a separate curriculum but joined up services e.g. play time, lunch, assemblies etc. And they all work, for example, towards a nationally recognised IT qualification with a variety of levels for all ages which employers recognise. It`s a contrast to the confusion in the UK. Our breadth of awarding bodies, titles and types of qualifications just breeds confusion for both employers and learners alike!
Then on to see a small social enterprise selling a local bread unique to Kauhava which had stopped being produced when the bakery closed. The SE set up to make it and then sell it at the entrance to co-operating supermarkets from a tandem bike with a trailer which cleverly opens out into a sales stand and is manned by people with a disability. The best part of the afternoon was the excellent discussion facilitated by Raisa Venalainen. Raisa also joined us all for the evening`s activities which was nice.
Wednesday 8th June
A discussion first thing, then a University presentation on how Finland should reshape supported employment. The answer, as came out, is surely to find a way to include everyone. Then, after the evaluation session for Esa`s report, it was time to start the long journey back. Esa was an excellent host for the visit and nothing was too much trouble for him. In the face of adversity (mainly the army on manoeuvres) the timetable turned out to be a good mix of interesting and informative activities and good fun. We finally reached our Helsinki hotel at 11.30pm, then up at 4.15am to get to the airport for check in. A long day travelling, including losing Sarah`s case en route, but finally back through the front door at home twelve hours later.
Written by Ian Fleming, Training and Skills Manager at Pluss
