OSAO (Oulun seudun ammattiopisto, Oulu Vocational College) is the vocational college of the Oulu region and one of the largest in Finland: about 9500 students, about 840 staff and eight sites. It is owned by a joint authority of eight municipalities led by Oulu. OSAO is an authorised IB World School with one programme, the IB Career-related Programme (IBCP), which it has offered since 2004 in cooperation with Oulun Lyseon lukio. The IBCP is part of the Vocational Qualification in Business (merkonomi), 180 competence points, with a planned duration of three years. It is a full-time day programme for students aged 16-19 after basic education. The college says the programme is 'delivered completely in English'; Finnish as a second language and customer service Finnish are part of the qualification. It includes IB Diploma Business Management SL and English B SL, the CP core and vocational units: customer service, acting in a business environment, marketing communications, sales work and event arrangements. Studies take place at the Kaukovainio campus in Oulu. Graduates receive the Finnish vocational qualification, which gives eligibility for Finnish universities and universities of applied sciences.
Key facts
Programmes
IB · CP · National programme
Languages of instruction
English
Students
about 9500 students across the college
About the fees The college is public. Students in compulsory education, including minors who arrived with their families, study free until the end of the year they turn 20. From 1 August 2026, citizens of countries outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland without a permanent residence permit pay tuition: the Vocational Qualification in Business costs 10000 EUR a year, fixed for the whole programme and paid before instruction starts. The college gives no separate fee for the IBCP. The fee does not include free meals, learning materials or a dormitory. The card shows what a family that moves to Finland and lives here pays: tuition is free; the fee above applies to students who come alone on a student residence permit.
Admissions Admission to the English-language programme is a separate youth admission for those who have completed basic education and have no vocational qualification: an online form in a fixed window (for 2027, 16 February to 16 March); the college follows the national joint application criteria. Requirements: completed basic education (about nine years), good written and oral English, basic Finnish at level A1.3, which is tested. The entrance exam is held in person in Oulu, not online; it measures English, learning skills and motivation, and points come from school grades and the exam. Foreign students are accepted: each year the college admits 'a few applicants' without Finnish basic education qualifications if they have the capacity to study and a well-grounded reason to study in Oulu. 'Foreign applicants under 18 years old must have a legal guardian living in the Oulu area'; non-EU applicants may need a residence permit valid before studies start; foreign certificates need certified copies and an English translation. Upper secondary or higher education graduates are accepted only in exceptional cases if places are free.
Stages and year groups The college does not teach school grades: this is upper secondary vocational education after grade 9. Programme: Vocational Qualification in Business (merkonomi), 180 competence points (145 vocational and 35 common), three years, entirely in English. It includes the IB Career-related Programme with the CP core (Personal and Professional Skills, Community Engagement, Language and Culture Studies, Reflective Project) and two IB Diploma courses at standard level: Business Management and English B. The college says 'IBDP English B, IBDP business management and IBCP core studies are included in the vocational qualification'; the site does not name a separate IB credential. This line does not offer the Finnish lukio programme or the ylioppilastutkinto.
Address Kotkantie 2 C, 90250 Oulu
Accreditations and programmes verified against official registries
IB · CP · authorised programmeThe IB register lists the Career-related Programme at the college; it is built into a three-year Finnish vocational qualification in business and taught in English. It is the vocational college of the Oulu region.
school is in an official registryconfirmed by a school document, by membership or by taking part in a networkclaimed by the school, no confirmation, not counted in the scoreGuide to all organisations → What stands behind each entry
IBInternational Baccalaureate
A Swiss non-profit, working since 1968. Its programmes are among the most widely recognised school programmes in the world. Authorisation is granted stage by stage, so a school with the final stage does not necessarily run the younger ones; which stages this school holds is set out in the line below.
What the badge means for this school. The school is allowed to run this programme and to award its certificate. This is a confirmation of the programme, not a judgement on the school as a whole. The entry stands in the organisation's public register - anyone can check it. At this school: CP (ages 16-19, with a vocational slant). CP is the final stage with a vocational slant, ages 16 to 19: some of the DP subjects plus an applied qualification. It is meant for those heading into a trade or an applied degree rather than an academic one.
Register to check for yourself, and the full guide →National programme
The state school programme of the country the school stands in: it is set by that country's ministry of education, which also licenses the school and awards the leaving certificate. That certificate is used for entry to local universities, and abroad it is matched to the local one.
What this means for this school. This entry does not count towards the score, and that is deliberate. Every lawful school in a country works to the national programme, so on its own it tells one school apart from no other - unlike the French, German or Russian programmes, which are carried abroad and confirmed by the register of their organisation. We show it because a parent needs to know what programme their child is taught and what certificate the child will get. Counting it would lift the whole ranking at once and still tell nobody apart.
Exams and destinations from the school's official website
The school publishes nothing about where its leavers go: no share going on to university, no exam results, no list of universities.
Facilities from the school's official website
·Swimming poolnot stated on the website
·Sports hallnot stated on the website
·Laboratoriesnot stated on the website
·Theatre or assembly hallnot stated on the website
·Librarynot stated on the website
·Cateringnot stated on the website
·School transportnot stated on the website
·Boardingnot stated on the website
Teaching staff from the school's official website
·Teachers listed by namenot published
·Teacher qualificationsnot stated
·Number of teachersthe school does not say
·Students per teacher or class sizenot stated
The programme is led by Head of Department Tiina Karvonen; Guidance Counsellor Anni Saaranen helps with admissions. The college has about 840 staff. It does not publish teacher qualifications.
Safety and wellbeing from the school's official website
·CCTVnot stated on the website
·Security staffnot stated on the website
·Access controlnot stated on the website
✓Nurse or medical room
✓Counsellor
✓Child protection policy
·Staff trainingnot stated on the website
✓Anti-bullying policy
The college has a student welfare plan: counsellor and psychologist staffing is set by law, and the nurse and doctor carry out statutory health checks. The plan covers preventing bullying, violence and harassment, and each site names harassment and substance-use contact persons. Every site has a rescue plan, evacuation and sheltering drills are held yearly, and the college has safety officers and crisis teams.
Reviews
No reviews yet. The community rating counts towards the score once a school has five verified reviews - until then we do not show a zero, so as not to mislead.
Criteria breakdown criterion weight in brackets
Academics and programmes (16%)82 Community rating (16%)no dataparent reviews are needed: the criterion switches on at the fifth verified one Exams and destinations (12%) scored on disclosed data55 Safety and wellbeing (12%) scored on disclosed data75 Accreditation and verifiability (10%)85 Teaching staff (10%) scored on disclosed data55 Facilities (10%) scored on disclosed data55 Clubs and activities (8%) scored on disclosed data55 "Scored on disclosed data" stands where we count only what the school has written about itself on its own site: exams and destinations, safety and wellbeing, teaching staff, facilities, clubs and activities. A low score here means the school does not write about this, not that the school does not have it: a school with good security and a sparse site will score low. A school can fill in its profile, and the score will be counted again.
The score is counted from 8 of the 9 criteria.Only those with checkable data count: programmes and accreditations from official registers, the fee from a published price list. Where it says "scored on the median", the school has no data and the middle of the list is put in its place, so that a gap gives no advantage. Admissions, teaching staff and reviews come in as their data arrives.
The full methodology → Similar schools in the country
Oulu, Finland · State