Competence foresight
Foresight is important to everyone, and you should always monitor the operating environment in your field with a future-oriented mindset. Foresight refers to sounding the future, i.e., “seeing” and planning for the future, i.e., “creating” the future. Foresight outlines future forecasts to be used in current decision-making. Influencing the future requires awareness of the importance of one’s own actions and choices, challenging current assumptions, imagining desired futures and discussing them.
Asking the “right” questions as a starting point:
- What do we know that we understand about the future?
 - What do we not understand?
 - What kind of trends and uncertainties can we identify?
 - What kind of different potential futures do we have?
 - What kind of risks related to our actions can we identify?
 - How should we prepare for different future developments?
 - What kind of competence do you need to survive in the future operating environment?
 - How do we produce effective competence?
 - What factors/variables should be taken into account in curriculum work?
 
How can continuous foresight be used in curriculum work?
- It’s easy to get too comfortable with the familiar, the safe and the same. What kind of futures do we not want to see? Let’s challenge ourselves!
 - The evaluation of the current written curriculum based on the strategy, feedback and future forecasts.
 - Future-oriented development and implementation.
 - Preparing for different and surprising futures, such as opportunities for continuous learning.
 - More agile development through monitoring and foresight of a continuous operating environment.
 
What to foresee and how?
PARTICIPATION, KEEPING UP WITH YOUR FIELD
- National cooperation in the vocational field, Competence Foresight Forum
 - Statistics, studies, reports, analyses, journals in your field, social media…
 - Legislation, strategic policies, quality work
 - International networks
 
INCLUSION, THROUGH STAKEHOLDER COOPERATION
- Interaction, discussions and meetings
 - Your surveys, feedback and studies
 - Project work, FutureFactory, projects, theses, alumnus work
 
YOUR SURVEYS AND ANALYSES
- Operating environment analyses
 - Competence needs surveys
 
Links
Links and tips for your own foresight work:
Tips on Foresight (Elmo, login required)
Anne Hakala 17.10.2022