After nine years compulsory basic education (single structure education) 15 – 16 old school-leavers opt for general upper secondary education  or initial vocational education and training (vocational upper secondary education. Finnish: ammattikoulutus, Swedish: yrkesutbildningen). Lower secondary education is part of compulsory education and is discussed in chapter 5.

This chapter is divided into three parts:

• A. General upper secondary education
• B. Vocational upper secondary education
• C. Post secondary non tertiary education.

The post-compulsory upper secondary level comprises general and vocational education. Both forms usually take three years and give eligibility for higher education. About 53 percent of basic education school-leavers opt for the general upper secondary school 41 percent for vocational upper secondary education and 3.1 percent do not immediately continue to secondary level. Some 2.9 percent continue other studies, for example basic education for a tenth year on voluntary basis. 

Table 6.1. Direct transition to upper secondary level after the completion of basic education, 2010- and 2019 (%)

Source: Statistics Finland 2021