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The concept of On-the-Job Learning (OJL) at
Optima complies with that defined by the Finnish
National Board of Education. On-the-job learning
is a learning method, not a separate course. In on-
the-job learning, the student is expected to learn
some of the professional skills included in his/her
qualification by working in an actual workplace.
The student will get a chance to familiarise with
real working life and work at various workplaces.
Thanks to on-the-job learning, the student may
also specialise in certain domains within his/her
qualification. The present on-the-job learning
resembles the master craftsman-aapprentice
system in the old days. It will make the transition
from school to working life easier and, for many
students, it provides the gateway to working life.
Skills demonstration is a working life situation
which the school, the working life representative,
and the student together plan, implement,
and assess. In on-the-job learning, the student
trains core skills and tasks at work, and then
gives proof of his/her mastery of them in a skills
demonstration. In other words, the student works
as usual with his/her tasks during his/her on-
the-job learning period, and when the period is
drawing towards its close, one such task or work
stage is marked out and the student’s performance
in it assessed and evaluated.
On-the-Job-Learning
and
Skills demonstrations
8
WELCOME TO OPTIMA
