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This paper aims to explore the implementation of vocational qualifications and the reform of the National Core Curricula in Finnish upper secondary vocational education and training (VET) during 2001-2003. The purpose is to analyse the implementation process of local curricula against the changes in national and local governance of education. The analysis is based on a survey carried out by the Finnish National Board of Education, which covered all education providers offering upper secondary VET in 2002. The curricular work of education providers is still an ongoing issue at a local level. According to the survey, reformed upper secondary vocational qualifications are mostly considered by Finnish education providers to be good. Indeed, the national reform had considerably expedited curricular work among education providers and helped to focus local development work. However, one fifth of education providers have not approved their curricula. These results indicate that it is still rather difficult to link local implementation of vocational curricula to larger strategies of education providers. According to the survey, they observed different interpretations and there was some confusion in terms of the concepts of the National Core Curricula. On the other hand, local emphasis on the needs of working life was not very visible in local curricula; in many cases, they were just copies of the National Core Curricula. The analysed local curricula lacked many important components, such as the key values and strategies of education providers. Education providers found that the survey helped them to pinpoint and reflect on the most important things in local curricula. The main result of the survey was that the key goals of the reform had not yet been completed at a local level.