ProHarkka Western Finland – Guidance on language and culture awareness training in the social and health care sector

We boost language- and culture-aware training guidance in health and social

Duration of the project

1.1.2026 – 30.6.2028

Source of funding

European Social Fund (ESF+)

Total funding

868 948 €

The project strengthens the capacity of health and social care organizations to support international students by developing language and culture aware practical training guidance. It provides supervisors with materials, digital training modules and workshops that enhance their skills and harmonize guidance practices across the region. In addition, the project builds regional networks and creates a unified supervision model for Western Finland to support students’ linguistic and cultural development. The overall aim is to improve the quality of practical training and promote equal opportunities for students in the field.

The number of foreign-language students in the social and health care sector has increased. Students need language‑ and culture‑aware guidance, but there is a shortage of supervisors and training placements. In Western Finland, nursing education is provided in English and with Finnish-language support, and physiotherapy and social services degree programmes are offered in English. The project has emerged from a shared need to develop the language and cultural awareness competencies of practical training supervisors, other staff, and university of applied sciences teachers working with foreign-language nursing, physiotherapy and social services students in Western Finland.

Objective

The project aims to develop uniform language‑ and culture‑aware supervisory practices for the Western Finland region and to support the development of training placements into effective learning environments for Finnish and Swedish. The goal is to improve the supervisory skills of practice instructors working with foreign-language social and health care students, increase supervisors’ language and cultural awareness, harmonize supervisory practices, create regional networks, and produce a guidance model that supports student supervision.

Methods

The project strengthens language and cultural awareness in the social and health care sector through multiple methods. Experts provide on-site support to supervisors and teachers during the practical training of foreign-language students. A digital training package is developed for supervisors and social and health care personnel, and workshops are organized on language- and culture-related topics. A language mentor team pilot is implemented and an operating model created. In addition, a unified guidance model is built for the Western Finland cooperation area to support the learning of Finnish and Swedish during competence-enhancing practical training.

Results

The project provides language‑ and culture‑aware materials and guidance, strengthening the competence and professionalism of student supervisors. The developed unified guidance model supports foreign-language social and health care students in learning Finnish and Swedish, as well as developing cultural understanding, and it promotes cooperation between the public and private sectors. Improved supervisory practices facilitate access to training placements and reduce staff workload. A network of practice instructors enables discussion and the sharing of good practices.

Summary

The project harmonizes the supervision of foreign-language social and health care students across the Western Finland cooperation area and promotes collaboration among different actors. Through these actions, organizations’ capacity to offer language-supported training placements is improved, tools are created for managing diverse work communities, and the transition of foreign-language students into working life is supported.e.