I am a shop teacher so I was very interested to see how the shops operate in Finland. The shop is one long wing with dividers between the different dedicated machines. The main room consists of the work benches and a projector and screen for lessons. Below are a few pictures of the room and the variety of machines.
Metal lathe
Sand blaster
Metal storage room
Welding area
Sander and welding masks
Grinders
Work Benches
Woodwork room
Wood lathe
Band saw
Planer
wood storage room
Looking from the wood shop towards the rest of the shop
Table saw
Jointer
Different Wood shop angles
Student begin taking shop classes in grade 3 and they are continued to be required until grade 7. After their first year at high school the classes become optional. The class sizes are very small around 7-10 students which allows the teacher to give proper attention to the students. Since the students begin working with the tools at a young age they develop the skills and interest very early. As they choose whether or not to go to the practical school at age 16 it is good to get as much exposure to the work as possible before they make their choice.
Next week I hope to have the opportunity to visit the Practical school so I will be able to give you an update on how the post-secondary system operates