kouluttavat

Kouluttavat is the present tense, third-person plural form of the Finnish verb kouluttaa, meaning to train, educate, or drill. It is used when the subject is plural, for example: Yritykset kouluttavat työntekijöitään (Companies train their employees).

In grammatical terms, kouluttaa is a regular Finnish verb. The present tense forms are: minä koulutan, sinä koulutat, hän kouluttaa, me koulutamme, te koulutatte, he kouluttavat. The noun forms associated with this verb include kouluttaja (trainer), koulutus (training), and kouluttaminen (the act of training). The passive equivalent is koulutetaan, meaning “is trained” or “is being trained.”

Usage and scope. Kouluttavat covers training of people in skills, knowledge, or behavior, often within formal programs, workplaces, or educational settings. It can refer to corporate onboarding, safety training, professional development, language instruction, or skill acquisition. It can also describe training in non-human contexts, such as training animals, with phrases like kouluttaa koiraa (to train a dog). The emphasis is typically on practical, goal-oriented instruction and performance improvement rather than general teaching of theory.

Related concepts. Kouluttaja refers to a person who conducts training, i.e., a trainer or instructor. Koulutus denotes the program or process of training, while kouluttaminen highlights the act of training itself. In contrast, opettaa more often means to teach in a broader or more classroom-oriented sense.

Etymology and nuance. The verb derives from koulu (school) and conveys the idea of preparing someone to perform tasks competently. Kouluttavat, as a form, thus projects dynamic, action-oriented training carried out by multiple trainers or in a program with several instructors.