Project coordinator: Michael Adams, Eleonora Schmid

December 2000

1. Sweden in a nutshell (October 2000)
   1.1 The country
   1.2 The labour market
   1.3 Educational attainment
2. The Swedish education system
3. Vocational education and training (VET)
4. Compulsory education
   4.1 Compulsory schools
5. Upper secondary education
6. Initial Vocational Training
   6.1 Workplace training
   6.2 Gender gap between national programmes
   
7. Continuing Vocational Training
   7.1 Labour market training
   7.2 Vocational training within the framework of municipal adult education
        7.2.1 Adult Education Initiative
   7.3 In-company training
   7.4 Higher vocational programmes for technicians
   7.5 Advanced Vocational Education
8. Responsible authorities
9. Monitoring authorities
10. Expenditure
11. Trends and perspectives
    11.1 Regional imbalances and unemployment
    11.2 Reforms to meet demand in the IT sector
    11.3 Risk of increasing competence gap
    11.4 Continuing reform strategies within VET

Annex A Major Organisations
Annex B Bibliography

1. Sweden in a nutshell (October 2000)

1.3 Educational attainment
Table 1. Education level of the population, 16-74 years

Education level	Men		Women		Total
	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
Elementary school (< 9 years)	445 159	51.6	418 173	48.4	863 332	100.0
9/10 years compulsory school	534 614	52.1	490 708	47.9	1 025322	100.0
Upper secondary school, 2 years or shorter	840 942	47.6	927 436	52.4	1 768378	100.0
Upper secondary school, 3 years	576 604	56.3	447 397	43.7	1 024001	100.0
Tertiary (post secondary) education, shorter than 3 years	386 572	45.6	460 304	54.4	846 876	100.0
Tertiary (post secondary) education, 3 years or longer	316 977	48.0	343 165	52.0	660 142	100.0
Postgraduate education	30 965	74.4	10 654	25.6	41 619	100.0
Unspecified level of education	53 020	50.3	52 446	49.7	105 466	100.0
Total	3 184853	100.0	3 150283	100.0	6 335136	100.0

Source: Statistics Sweden, 2000.

2. The Swedish education system

One fundamental principle of the Swedish education system - as stated in the Education Act (Skollagen 1985:1100) - is that all children and young person must have access to education, regardless of sex, social and economic background, and locality of residence. Both compulsory and upper secondary schools are comprehensive and designed to accommodate the whole age cohort. The curricula for compulsory and upper secondary education have nation- wide validity.

The reforms in upper secondary education designed in the late 1980s and implemented during the 1990s have been supported by the idea of lifelong learning. The role of working life orientation and preparation is redefined in the new national curriculum for compulsory and upper secondary education and municipal adult education. Independent or private schools have increased during the early 1990s, due to more liberal regulation and financial support, but do not account for more than 2 % of the pupils, a figure which is low in international terms.

3. Vocational education and training (VET)

The Swedish VET-system comprises Initial Vocational Training (IVT) and Continuing Vocational Training (CVT). The VET system has many similarities to, for example Finland, and other states within the European Union. Similar developments in demographic and economic growth, industrial and technological development, and heightened awareness of the need for social skills within work organisations, are some of the factors behind this.

A clear definition of the Swedish system for vocational education and training (VET) is a complicated task since the VET-system is not a system with specific objectives and clear boundaries. There are no separate schools for vocational training within the school system. A basic idea in the Swedish education system is to narrow the gap between vocational and general education as much as possible. The consequence is a comprehensive school system, which does not separate pupils attending different programmes before upper secondary level. The Swedish VET system does therefore, have some unique features with its integration with the general education system and a common core curriculum. Another important difference is that the Swedish system does not, like Germany and Austria, have a strong tradition of apprenticeship schemes working in close co-operation with industry and commerce. Although Sweden has an apprenticeship programme at upper secondary level, this is on a very small scale.

4. Compulsory education

Compulsory education covers schooling up to the age of 16, schools for the Saami peoples of northern Sweden, schools for pupils with learning difficulties (for children with impaired sight, hearing or speech), and special schools for pupils with extra needs. Attendance is compulsory and free of charge. Neither pupils nor their parents incur any costs for teaching materials, school meals, health care, school transport, etc. The new curriculum for compulsory education, introduced in July 1995, sets out the goals and general principles. The goals relating to subject content and national curriculum are of two kinds:

(a) goals to aim for and
(b) goals to be attained.

The goals to aim for indicate the direction of the school's work and thus the development of the standards desired. The goals to be attained are an expression of the minimum pupil attainment required on leaving school. From the school year 1998/99, curricula have been amended to cover not only compulsory schooling, but also the pre-school class and leisure-time centres.

4.1 Compulsory schools
Compulsory education takes the form of a nine-year comprehensive school (Grundskola ) for children aged 7 to 16. Since 1991 children have had the right to start school at the age of six, if their parents desire and if the municipality has sufficient capacity. This additional tenth year was available in all municipalities by the school year 1997/98.

The number of pupils in compulsory school is broadly equivalent in size to comparable age cohorts. In the school year 1998/99 there were 1 010 227 students aged between 6/7 and 16 in compulsory school. The other forms of compulsory schools are very small with regard to numbers of pupils.

5. Upper secondary education

The number of students in the upper secondary school has increased since 1990, despite a reduction in numbers in the 16-18 age group. In total there were 309 143 students in upper secondary education in the year 1998. One of the reasons for the total increase is that three-year programmes have gradually been replacing the previous shorter and special courses. During the 1990s, upper secondary schooling was reformed and currently consists of 17 national programmes, of which 15 are primarily vocationally oriented, while two (also called general programmes) prepare for higher education.

Most national programmes, in the second and third year, are divided into different specialisations reflecting the labour market.

During the school year 1998 there were 624 upper secondary schools in Sweden run by the following organisations:

• municipalities (92.2 %)
• counties (4.3 %)
• independent bodies (3.5 %)

6. Initial vocational training

Initial vocational training (IVT) provides basic skills and general qualifications, qualifying the newly trained to carry out certain functions in an occupation. In principle, all initial vocational training (IVT) in Sweden is provided within the upper secondary schools. IVT is more than 99 % financed by public money. IVT empowers about 150 000 pupils. In relation to all pupils in upper secondary schools, this represents about 50 %. The transition rate from upper secondary education to tertiary education has increased significantly during the past decade. Today, almost 45 % of upper secondary students continue to higher education within three years.

6.1 Workplace training
In the vocationally oriented programmes at least 15 % of the students' total time should take the form of workplace training (Arbetsplatsförlagd utbildning - APU). This is syllabus-guided training. Local decisions determine which parts of these courses are to be located at a place of work. School boards at municipal or county level are responsible for the procurement of training opportunities and for supervision during workplace training. The workplace training is highly valued by students. In a national survey conducted in 1995, almost nine out of ten students in vocationally oriented programmes stated that they were satisfied with APU. One factor the students appreciated was that the APU made them see the connection between the knowledge they acquired at school and the demands imposed by working life. The schools, however, regard APU as a difficult area requiring major efforts in terms of planning and implementation. Another difficulty with APU is that many people in working life who are responsible for arranging APU, regard themselves as not having the knowledge and resources necessary to ensure high quality training connected to the goals of education.

6.2 Gender gap between national programmes
Distribution between the sexes is very different within the vocational programmes. In 1998 the proportion of women compared to men was 86% in the programme for Health. On the other hand, the proportion of women was only 1.8% in the Electrical engineering programme. Vocational programmes where gender distribution is fairly equal were the programmes for Business and administration, Hotel restaurant and catering, Food, Media and Natural resource use.

7. Continuing vocational training

Continuing vocational training (CVT) is viewed by the social partners as a prerequisite for maintaining a highly qualified labour force in the face of rapid technological and industrial change. Well-educated employees are a prerequisite for adaptation and renewal. Accordingly, the social partners agree that almost all IVT and most CVT (with the exception of in-company training) should be publicly funded, as is the case in Sweden today. This has to do in part with the extensive representation of the social partners in the various administrative bodies, especially at regional and local levels. Providers of CVT can be subdivided into public institutions, trade unions and employer associations, private enterprises, and training companies.

While formal education has been developed as a result of decisions by parliament and the government, vocational education has also been influenced by the social partners. Thus, a major part of CVT is not regulated by the government or parliament, but is subject to the negotiations and local solutions of the social partners. This is particularly true of in-company training and various forms of workplace training. The legal basis for CVT in the public school system for adults is the Education Act and the Municipal Adult Education Ordinance (Förordningen 1992:403 om kommunal vuxenutbildning).

The volume and extent of CVT is, to a large extent, influenced by changing supply and demand patterns on the labour market. CVT comprises:

• labour market training
• vocational training within the framework of municipal adult education
• in-company training
• higher vocational programmes for technicians
• advanced vocational training

Individual incentives for participating in CVT are to a large extent determined by the new labour market context and particularly the motivation to avoid unemployment. Education and training have become an increasingly necessary tool to respond to new skill demands and a more efficient and flexible work organisation. This also has an impact on individual study motivation and incentives for lifelong learning.

7.1 Labour market training
Labour market training is primarily intended to help unemployed persons and hard-to-place job seekers lacking occupational skills. The training programmes are largely vocational, but can cover introductory and general theoretical instruction as a necessary adjunct to vocational training. Applicants must be at least 20 years of age and registered with the public employment service as a job seeker. During the recent years of high unemployment, labour market training in Sweden has increasingly been oriented towards applicants with both occupational experience and a relatively good educational background - a shift from risk groups to resource groups. Today, it is operated on the principle of contractor-provider. Public investment in employment training is channelled through the Swedish Labour Market Board and its regional labour market boards. The former National Employment Training Board, nowadays reorganised into to Lernia, is just one of many providers competing on the training market.

7.2 Vocational training within the framework of municipal adult education
Municipal adult education (Kommunal vuxenutbildning) for persons over 20 years of age, has existed in Sweden since 1968. It includes:

• basic adult education,
• upper secondary adult education, and
• supplementary education for adults.

Studies lead to formal qualifications in individual subjects or to the equivalent of a complete leaving certificate from the compulsory school and/or the upper secondary school. The 1991 ordinance on subsidies for popular education regulates some of the conditions for state grants, e.g. to folk high schools. Some of the special aims of popular education are stated, but there are essentially no rules on how popular education should be organised, nor on its content. The purpose of supplementary adult education is to provide vocational courses that are not available in the youth sector. Courses lead to higher professional competence or competence in a new profession. In 1997 the proportion of studies corresponding to compulsory school amounted to 17 %. Approximately 80 % participated in studies corresponding to the upper secondary school and 3 % in supplementary or advanced education.

7.2.1 Adult Education Initiative
In 1997 the Adult Education Initiative (AEI) was started in municipal adult education. AEI (Kunskapslyftet) is a reform principally intended to cater for adults lacking an upper secondary school education. The AEI reform that continues until the year 2002 has brought about a large increase in the number of pupils. During the school year 1996/97, the number of students increased to 237 128. In the year 1997/98 the numbers increased by 79 570 (34%) to 316 698.

7.3 In-company training
In-company training provided by companies and public authorities has expanded faster than any other form of CVT during the 1980s and is currently the dominant part of CVT. Over the last decade the participation rate in in-company training has almost doubled. Statistics for the first six months of the year 2000 show that 40 % (roughly 1.5 million) of Swedish employees participated. In-company training is, by definition, financed by employers. The costs of in-company training in year 1997 were about 95 % of the total cost of CVT.

To a great extent, in-company training takes place during working hours, but there are also cases where training is supported by employers outside working hours. The training is organised partly by companies and administrative authorities. Its growth has also generated a competitive market for education in which municipalities and universities, as well as private educational consultants are active. The employer makes decisions on in-company training, but the trade unions are able to exert varying degrees of influence. Today there are very few collective agreements concerning in-company training. One exception is the teaching sector where training is regulated by law and in collective agreements.

7.4 Higher vocational programmes for technicians
Higher vocational programmes for technicians (YrkesTeknisk Högskoleutbildning - YTH) are for those who have at least four years of relevant work experience. The purpose of the programmes is to give students who wish to develop themselves, a wider and deeper knowledge within a defined technical occupation. In the 2000/01 school year, there are around thirty different programmes available at seventeen different locations around Sweden. Areas where technical programmes are arranged cover: Building construction; Industrial electronics; Steel and metal production processes. The length of a technical programme is generally 1.5 years (60 academic points). After graduation the students receive a University diploma.

7.5 Advanced vocational education
The pilot project on advanced vocational education (AVE) was launched in 1996. The purpose of AVE is to meet new and higher level demands from industry and commerce for skilled labour and the decentralisation of curriculum design from a national to a local level. The legal basis for AVE is based on Government Bill 1995/96:145 and Ordinance 1996:372. With AVE one third of the course time is devoted to advanced application of theoretical knowledge at a workplace. The intention is that the courses should not be organised as a traditional traineeship period, but rather revolve around active workplace-based learning and problem solving in an overall educational context. The length of AVE courses ranges at present from 40 points up to 120 points, where one point is equivalent to one week's study. Courses are built around close co-operation between the enterprise and various course providers (upper secondary school, municipal adult education, higher education, and commercial training companies) as follows:

• municipalities 50 %
• private training companies 30 %
• higher education institutes 20 %

Today there are no restrictions in terms of the sectors in which AVE is provided. AVE is open to those coming directly from upper secondary school and also to people who are already gainfully employed and wish to develop their skills within a defined area.

8. Responsible authorities

The overall responsibility for education in Sweden is borne by Parliament and the Government. With some minor exceptions, all education and vocational training comes under the auspices of the Ministry of Education and Science. Responsibility for the main types of VET, is shared in the following way with those responsible in brackets:

• adult education initiative (Ministry of Education and Science)
• municipal adult education (Ministry of Education and Science)
• advanced vocational education (Ministry of Education and Science)
• labour market training (Ministry of Industry, Employment and Communications)
• in-company training (Employers)

9. Monitoring authorities

The main central authority for monitoring the school system is the National Agency for Education (Skolverket). Its foremost tasks include responsibility for national follow-up and evaluation of all school activities, as well as for central development work within the school sector. The responsible central authority for labour market training is the National Labour Market Board (AMS).

Other central level agencies for supervision are:

• Swedish Agency for Special Education
• National Agency for Higher Education
• National Agency for Procurement

Their main tasks are to:

• be responsible for follow-up and evaluation of school performance;
• ensure that the municipalities follow the regulations in the Education Act and that the rights of individuals are respected;
• provide a basis for proposals for development of the formal school system;
• draw up syllabuses.

10. Expenditure

The total cost, both private and public, of the education system in Sweden for the year 1997 was estimated roughly at about SEK 200 billion (EURO 24 billion), which is about 11.5 % of gross domestic product (GDP). The major components of VET are publicly financed with the exception of in-company training of which around 50 % takes place within the public sector and is thus financed by public funds, although not through the State education budget.

11. Trends and perspectives

11.1 Regional imbalances and unemployment Today, in Sweden as in many Member States, youth employment is a major problem. This trend is accompanied by an increasing regional imbalance between the growing cities in the south of Sweden and the mid- and northern parts of Sweden, which suffer from a high rate of unemployment.

11.2 Reforms to meet demand in the IT sector The continuing high speed of changes in the labour market has an impact on the need for skills and competence in the workforce. To meet this demand, the Government launched in 1997 a reform called SwIT-education. Over a period of three years (1997-2000), 11 000 students were educated to supply the Information Technology sector. In December 1999, the Government appointed a Commissioner to analyse and design a system of individual learning accounts. The Government in its Budget for the year 2000 proposed that special funds be set aside to stimulate continuing individual competence development. The financial frame set out for individual competence development amounted to SEK 1.35 billion for year 2000 and thereafter SEK 1.15 billion annually.

11.3 Risk of increasing competence gap In recent studies on the Swedish labour market, statistics show that well educated people receive extensive CVT and the poorly educated receive very little. A worrying trend is that if the latter group cannot get sufficient competence development in their work today, they will not be able to carry out their jobs in the future.

11.4 Continuing reform strategies within VET Developments within the workplace and work force diversity, form another major challenge. In order to respond to this development within the IVT system, a project group at the Ministry of Education and Science was set up to prepare strategies for workplace training (APU) in the future. In June 2000 the Ministry of Education and Science considered three proposals on the future organisation of post-secondary and higher vocational education. One of the proposals suggests a radical reorganisation with new post-secondary vocational academies.

Annex A

Major organisations

Committee on Advanced Vocational Education
(Kommittén för Kvalificerad Yrkesutbildning)
Birger Jarls Torg 5
SE-103 33 Stockholm
Phone (46-8) 8 405 17 17
Fax (46-8) 8 405 44 98
http://www.ky.gov.se

Ministry of Education and Science
(Utbildningsdepartementet)
SE-103 33 Stockholm
Phone (46-8) 405 10 00
Fax (46-8) 723 11 92
E-mail: lena.lunden@education.ministry.se
http://www.education.ministry.se

Ministry of Industry, Employment and Communications
(Näringsdepartementet)
Jakobsgatan 26
SE-103 33 Stockholm
Phone (46-8)-405 10 00
Fax 08-411 36 16
E-mail: registrator@industry.ministry.se
http://www.naring.regeringen.se

National Agency for Education
(Skolverket)
SE-106 20 Stockholm
Phone (46-8) 723 32 00
Fax (46-8) 24 44 20
E-mail: skolverket@skolverket.se
http://www.skolverket.se

National Agency for Higher Education (Högskoleverket)
Birger Jarlsgatan 43
Box 7851, SE-103 99 Stockholm
Phone (46-8) 453 70 00
Fax (46-8) 453 70 50
E-mail: hsv@hsv.se
http://www.hsv.se

National Labour Market Board
(Arbetsmarknadsstyrelsen)
SE-103 33 Stockholm
Phone (46-8) 730 60 00
Fax (46-8) 82 70 18
E-mail:
http://www.ams.se

2. Social Partner and other organisations

National Federation of Teachers
(Lärarnas Riksförbund, LR)
Box 3529, SE-103 69 Stockholm
Phone (46-8) 613 27 00
Fax (46-8) 21 91 36
E-mail: lr@lr.se
http://www.lr.se

Swedish Association of Local Authorities
(Svenska kommunförbundet)
SE-118 82 Stockholm
Phone (46-8) 772 41 00
Fax (46-8) 641 15 35
E-mail: biblioteket@svekom.se
http://www.svekom.se/

Swedish Employers' Confederation
(Svenska arbetsgivareföreningen, SAF)
SE-103 30 Stockholm
Phone (46-8) 762 60 00
Fax (46-8) 762 62 90
E-mail: info@saf.se
http://www.saf.se

Federation of County Councils
(Landstingsförbundet)
Box 70491, SE-103 87 Stockholm Phone (46-8) 702 43 00
Fax (46-8) 702 45 90
E-mail: landstingsforbundet@if.se
http://www.lf.se/

Trade Union Confederation
(Landsorganisationen, LO)
Barnhusgatan 18
SE-105 53 Stockholm
Phone (46-8) 796 25 00
Fax (46-8) 796 28 00
E-mail: info@lo.se
http://www.lo.se

Joint Industrial Training Council
(Arbetsmarknadens yrkesråd)
Blasieholmsgatan 4A
SE-111 48 Stockholm
Phone (46-8) 762 60 00
Fax (46-8) 762 62 90
http://www.yrkesguiden.com/yrk/ay/info.htm

International Programme Office for Education and Training
(Internationella programkontoret för utbildningsområdet)
Kungsbroplan 3A
Box 22007, SE-104 22 Stockholm
Phone (46-8) 453 72 00
Fax (46-8) 453 72 01
E-mail: info@eupro.se
http://www.eupro.se

Lernia AB
Lövholmsvägen 2
Box 47329, SE-100 74 Stockholm
Phone: (46-8) -709 70 00
Fax: (46-8) -19 20 89
E-mail: raija.ryynanen@lernia.se
http://www.lernia.se

Statistics Sweden
(Statistiska Centralbyrån)
SE-701 89 Örebro
Phone (46-19) 17 60 00
Fax (46-19) 17 64 44
E-mail: infoservice@scb.se
http://www.scb.se

Swedish Institute
(Svenska institutet)
Box 7343, SE-103 91 Stockholm
Phone (46-8) 789 20 00
Fax (46-8) 20 72 48
E-mail: si@si.se

Annex B

Bibliography

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Andersson, Ronnie. The financing of vocational education and training in Sweden Financing portrait. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities 2000. (Cedefop Panorama series).

TNTEE Publications, Volume 1, No. 1, August 1998. Vocational education and training in Germany and Sweden. Strategies of control and movements of resistance and opposition. TNTEE Editorial office, University of Umeå.

Ds 2000:33. En ny eftergymnasial yrkesutbildning [New Post-secondary vocational education]. Utbildningsdepartementet. Stockholm.

The National Agency for Education, (1999). Beskrivande data om barnomsorg och skola 1999 [Descriptive data on child care and school for the year 1999]. Skolverkets rapportserie No 173. Stockholm.

SOU 1995:38. Yrkeshögskolan. Kvalificerad eftergymnasial utbildning [Vocational colleges - Advanced Post-secondary Education]. Utbildningsdepartementet. Stockholm.

SOU 1999:119. Utvärderingen av KY [Evaluation of Advanced Vocational Education]. Utbildningsdepartementet. Stockholm.

SOU 2000:28. Kunskapsbygget 2000 - det livslånga lärandet [The Adult Education Initiative]. Slutbetänkande från kunskapslyftskommittén. Utbildningsdepartementet. Stockholm. ISBN 91-38-21175-0.

Statistics Sweden, (2000). Statistisk årsbok för Sverige [Swedish official statistics].

Statistics Sweden, (1998). Utbildningsstatistisk årsbok [Yearbook of educational statistics].