The recognition of professional qualifications means the issuing of a decision on whether professional qualifications obtained in another EU/EEA member state or Switzerland make you qualified to practice a corresponding regulated profession in Finland.
A person who has obtained professional qualifications abroad needs a decision from a competent authority to become qualified to pursue the corresponding regulated profession in Finland. Traficom can grant qualifications for the professions of driving instructor, driving test examiner and head of instruction at a driving school.
The applicant must hold a professional qualification obtained from another member state for the profession for which they are applying for a qualification in Finland. If the profession or the education and training leading to it are not regulated by the other member state, the applicant must have worked in the profession in the member state in question full-time for a total of one year during the last ten years or part-time for an equivalent amount of time.
The decision may require the applicant to complete an adaptation period or aptitude test if the applicant’s education and training substantially differs from the education and training required for the profession in Finland or if there are significant differences in the duties associated with the profession.
In this case, the decision may be influenced by knowledge, skills and competences acquired by the applicant in the course of their professional experience or through lifelong learning and which have been formally validated to that end by a relevant body.
The adaptation period consists of the pursuit of the regulated profession in Finland under the supervision of a qualified practitioner of the same profession. The adaptation period may also include continuing education and training.
The aptitude test is a procedure for measuring the professional knowledge of the applicant with the aim of assessing their ability to pursue the regulated profession in Finland. The aptitude test is usually carried out in Finnish or Swedish.
Recognition of professional qualifications for the professions of driving instructor, driving test examiner and head of instruction at a driving school is applied for from Traficom using electronic services.
Once the applicant has completed the adaptation period or aptitude test, they must submit an application to Traficom for the issuing of the final decision on the recognition of their professional qualification using electronic services.
The decision-making is based on the Act on the Recognition of Professional Qualifications. The act applies to the recognition of professional qualifications obtained by a national of an EU/EEA member state or Switzerland in another EU/EEA member state or Switzerland.
The act also applies to the recognition of professional qualifications obtained in non-EU/EEA member states, provided that
- the applicant is a national of a member state,
- the applicant’s professional qualification has been recognised in another member state and
- the applicant has at least three years of professional experience in the profession concerned in that member state.
The act also applies to the recognition of professional qualifications obtained in an EU/EEA member state based on Union legal provisions pertaining to the status of third country nationals.