Finland: Further provisions on the examination model for professional qualifications in heavy transport

NordenBladet — In future, it will be possible to pass the initial qualification requirements for lorry, bus and coach drivers by completing a qualification examination only. Further provisions on the completion of the examination will be laid down in a decree that will enter into force on 16 November 2020. The decree also lays down further provisions on, for example, the organisers and evaluators of the examination as well as on the requirements for simulators to be used in the examination.

The purpose of the model is to offer a more flexible alternative for completing the driver qualifications. The model will, among other things, speed up and facilitate access to the profession for those who already have expertise in the field.The Government issued a decree on the matter on 12 November 2020.The examination model measures the same skills as the current training alternative, but the evaluation is based on the test only. The test in the examination model differs from the one included in the training model.

The initial qualification test consists of a theoretical examination and a practical test. The theoretical examination must consist of at least two parts, one of which may include multiple choice questions and questions to which written answers are required, or a combination of these. The second part of the theoretical examination must consist of situation review tasks, which may include questions based on a written event description, images and videos.A maximum of 30 minutes of the practical part of the initial qualification test may be carried out on a simulator or a driver training track. The simulator used in the test must be of a high quality and have a wide view. The control devices in the simulator must correspond to the ones used in vehicles of the driving licence category in question. The test performance must not be guided by the software used in the simulator.

Stricter qualification requirements for evaluators
There must be at least two evaluators of an initial qualification examination. At least one of the evaluators must be qualified to act as the party responsible for the examination. In order to ensure the high quality of the examination, the party responsible for the examination is subject to higher qualification requirements than the party responsible for the training.

The party responsible for the examination must meet the professional qualifications of a lorry, bus or coach driver and have a driving instructor licence. They must have completed the pedagogical studies for a teacher and passed the part of the examination for a specialist vocational qualification as a transport instructor concerning qualification trainers.

In addition to these, they must have at least one year’s experience of full-time driving of heavy vehicles, or alternatively a vocational qualification in the passenger or goods transport sector or a vocational qualification in logistics.Separate provisions will be laid down on the qualification requirements for the evaluators and the evaluator responsible for the examination.

Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi