This article explores a new kind of political ethos in education: the alliance of projectisation and precarisation and their individual-based implementation. It is a critique of project based activities working with ‘at risk’ groups in Finland, specifically in the preparation of immigrants and those with criminal backgrounds, for a life of precarity. The projects discussed refer to publicly funded, short-term educational programmes that operate outside or on the edge of the formal education system. The authors' argument is that while projects have become an ideological method of introducing a market orientation to welfare politics, this political ethos places people considered to be ‘at risk’ in positions where insecurity is inevitable, and flexibility may be either a help or a hindrance.
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