Finland has seen widespread success in its “Yrityskylä” educational program, part of a government drive to lead the world in financial literacy by 2030.
Yrityskylä translates as “business village,” and the program looks to provide positive experiences about working life, the economy, entrepreneurship and society. The module consists of training for teachers, lessons on financial literacy and a field trip day to a dedicated learning environment.
In Finland, around 85% of all children in their last year of primary school (ages 12-13) and last year of lower secondary school (ages 15-16) participate in Yrityskylä, and the program reaches more than 70,000 students a year.
As part of the field trip day for primary school-goers, Yrityskylä hosts a miniature city where pupils work in their own professions, receiving a salary for their work. In addition, students are taught to act as responsible consumers and citizens as part of Finnish society.
At a Yrityskylä Secondary School game venue, students take part in running a real company in the international market. In doing so they compete against each other in management teams, with each pupil having their own area of responsibility.
Yrityskylä is run by the Finnish government but has commercial partners including Chinese technology firm Huawei, Finnish cell phone manufacturer Nokia, and U.S. agricultural firm John Deere.
According to the United Nations Development Index, Finland ranks sixth in the world for education as of Dec. 31.
According to the World Happiness Index, Finland ranks as the happiest nation on Earth, taking the award for seven years in a row as of March 2024.
