Commencing 1.9.2022 Careeria will begin using electronically signed and distributed certificates for vocational qualification training and preparatory education for an upper secondary qualification training (TUVA). The need for this change has been accelerated by regulation 22.12.2021, KA/15906/07.01.01.00/2021 issued by the National Archives of Finland in which it is stipulated that as of 1.1.2022 all documents created for permanent archiving shall be exclusively in electronic form.
The student and electronic form certificate
From the student point of view the switch to electronic certificates means that upon completion of studies, certificates in paper form will no longer be distributed and that only electronically signed certificates will be distributed via secure e-mail. The certificate will be attached to the e-mail in PDF form which the student can then save. Should a certificate ever be lost, a replacement certificate can be obtained from the educational institution of distribution.
At the bottom of each certificate page the signature provider’s information can be found and the authentication ID:
In addition to this each certificate will include a final page displaying the name of the signee and signature related strong level authentication and ID information.
Get to know the Opintopolku.fi – service
In addition to this, the certificate information concerning the completed qualification can be found in the Finnish National Agency for Education Opintopolku.fi service. The Opintopolku service does not provide actual certificates, but reliable study and certificate information can be distributed via this service.
Levels for electronic signatures
The European Union’s Identification, Authentication and Trust Services – eIDAS-regulation ((EU) 910/2014) specifies in EU regulation that electronic signatures be divided into three categories. These are:
• electronic signature
• advanced electronic signature, AES
• qualified electronic signature, QES
The level of electronic signature at Careeria is advanced electronic signature (AES), in which the signee can be individualized, and the signature also assigned to other electronic data. If the electronic document is later edited, the earlier provided signature is no longer valid to the document.
Certificate format
The Careeria electronic certificate is in PDF format and applies to PDF/A-1b-standard. The standard is determined by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and PDF/A-standard for long term electronic document archiving.
The PDF/A-1b standard defines the minimum visual layout requirements for valid reproductability to all viewers. During any possible PDF modification, the edit document will be compared to the defined standard. If the PDF document does not meet the defined ISO-standard the user will be advised to cancel all changes or to create a document which does not conform to the standard.
