Chapter 1. Assessment and recommendations

Sweden has made great strides in the development of its VET system

In the last decade, Sweden has introduced a wide range of reforms in its upper-secondary vocational education and training (VET) system. It has enhanced work-based learning by introducing stricter requirements on the provision of work placements by schools in vocational programmes and the role of the social partners by creating national architecture in which social partners can work with government to oversee the vocational education system. It has also established an apprenticeship system. Incentives are in place to encourage local engagement with the social partners, and more recently, new incentives have been introduced to encourage employers to pay apprentice wages, and to train workplace trainers so that they are adequately prepared to mentor workplace trainees and apprentices. A new and innovative system of post-secondary higher vocational education has continued to grow and develop. All these developments are positive.

But other challenges have emerged

The proportion of young people entering upper secondary VET has been falling. While apprenticeship has been launched the number of young people entering apprenticeship remains very small. Compared with many other countries, upper secondary VET schools, in terms of students enrolled, remain too small to deliver specialised vocational training. Despite successful national arrangements, local engagement of the social partners in the VET system remains patchy. The Swedish VET system also faces new challenges in responding to an increasingly diverse cohort of learners. The aim of this review, conducted a decade after a previous OECD review of upper-secondary VET in Sweden, and five years after a short exercise to look at post-secondary VET, is to address these challenges, and make proposals for how Sweden can advance further in the development of its VET system. Conclusions and recommendations from the two previous OECD studies are reported in Box 1.1.

This study draws on the extensive experience of the OECD in the area of VET

This is one of a series of OECD studies of VET and apprenticeship systems in more than 30 countries. As a contribution to this work, a background report was prepared on behalf of the Swedish authorities (Ministry of Education, 2018[1]). The OECD team undertook two missions to Sweden in March 2018 and in June 2018, and met and held discussions with a wide range of stakeholders, including the Ministry of Education which sponsored this exercise and other interested ministries, employers and trade union groups, and made visits to several vocational upper-secondary schools. This review draws extensively on these discussions.

This review looks primarily at upper-secondary VET

The review’s main focus is on upper-secondary VET, both for young people or adults returning to education. Post-secondary VET is addressed in Chapter 5 in the context of transition from upper-secondary VET to higher level education. Following this introductory chapter, each chapter will start with an introduction providing contextual information and comparing Sweden with other countries in relation to the chapter topic. Each chapter will then describe a policy challenge, followed by policy options. Finally, each chapter offers arguments supporting the proposed policy options and explores how these options could be implemented in Sweden.

Unemployment is low and employers are facing labour shortages

Unemployment has been falling in recent years. In 2016, 7% of the labour force were unemployed in Sweden, below the level of structural unemployment (OECD, 2017[4]). Shortages of skilled labour are appearing in many sectors, such as health, education and technology and in jobs requiring post-secondary and upper-secondary VET (Statistics Sweden (SCB), 2018[5]).

Figure 1.1. Unemployment rates have been falling in Sweden

Source: OECD (2017[4]) Economic Surveys: Sweden 2017, https://doi.org/10.1787/eco_surveys-swe-2017-en.

 StatLink https://doi.org/10.1787/888933927419

But unemployment in some groups remains high

Despite the tightening labour market, unemployment has been rising in vulnerable social groups such as non-European born migrants and those with low educational attainment (OECD, 2017[4]; OECD, 2017[6]). In Sweden, even middle-level jobs requiring no more than upper-secondary education are often skills-intensive, leaving those with low skills or poor Swedish with fewer jobs to choose from. For example, workers in Sweden in semi-skilled occupations (e.g. clerks, service and shop workers, craft and related trade workers, plant and machine operators) are more likely to solve problems, use computers and other technologies than workers in similar jobs in many other countries (Figure 1.2 illustrates the use of computers in middle-skilled jobs). Sweden is responding to this challenge by facilitating access to adult education to those with a low level of education, by building a system of skills recognition allowing migrants to have their skills and knowledge recognised, and by modularisation of VET qualifications.

Figure 1.2. Use of computers by blue-collar workers

16-65 year-olds reporting using computers in their jobs

Source: Kuczera, M., T. Bastianic and S. Field (2018[7]), Apprenticeship and Vocational Education and Training in Israel, OECD Reviews of Vocational Education and Training, https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264302051-en.

 StatLink https://doi.org/10.1787/888933927438

A snapshot of the upper-secondary system

Introductory programmes

The proportion of students entering introductory programmes has increased

In recent years, the share of upper-secondary students (including those in national and introductory programmes) attending introductory programmes has been increasing and is now over 17% (Figure 1.3).

Figure 1.3. Share of upper-secondary students in introductory programmes in Sweden

Note: Upper-secondary education includes here both national and introductory programmes.

Source: Ministry of Education (2018[1]) Review of VET in Sweden. Background Report.

 StatLink https://doi.org/10.1787/888933927457

Upper-secondary VET

Adult education

Higher VET

Overview of policy development: 1990s reforms

Overview of policy development: 2010s reforms

Recent developments

Sweden has a strong evaluation culture ensuring that policy is based on solid evidence

Sweden has rich sources of data, including a national register, which identifies individuals on the basis of personal identification numbers. These are linked to a range of administrative data sets, including those on education and employment. New measures are typically introduced as pilot initiatives, and if successful, scaled up. For example, the apprenticeship path operated on a trial basis initially before being introduced more widely (Ministry of Education, 2018[1]). Areas where significant challenges are identified are examined by commissions of inquiry. For example, in the past a commission was set up to look at career guidance provision (Regeringskansliet, 2018[15]). Currently a commission of inquiry is focusing on the fragmentation of the VET system and explores whether, and how, regional co-ordination among VET stakeholders should be encouraged and enabled.

Upper-secondary VET is provided in a flexible way and allows individuals to build on their previous knowledge and experience

Specific VET courses lead to credits, not related to study time but to the goals of the course. Thanks to a modularised structure, students can transfer credits across programmes and types of education. For example, a young person who has not acquired all the credits necessary to complete upper-secondary education can take the missing courses in the context of adult education. In upper-secondary VET, school-based VET and apprenticeships lead to the same qualifications. Students who wish to obtain a VET qualification can therefore choose a path that suits them best. While it is too early to evaluate Vocational Packages, potentially they may also promote skills acquisition among those with the lowest skills levels and facilitate completion of upper-secondary education in this population.

Higher vocational education and training has been expanding

Advanced vocational education (the precursor of HVET) was launched in 2002 after a pilot phase that started already in 1996. At this point in time, a set of post-secondary vocational programmes outside of university were provided by diverse public and private institutions subject to fragmented regulation. The government judged that these diverse arrangements needed to be drawn together under the heading of HVET to ensure quality, simplify regulation, improve the information available to students and increase labour market relevance. Since then, enrolment in HVET has been increasing fast and is expected to grow further from 50 000 today to 70 000 students in 2022 (Ministry of Education, 2018[1]). HVET programmes are designed in close collaboration with employers and should genuinely match the demand for relevant skills from the labour market. The growing enrolment rate shows that these programmes are in demand both among students and employers.

Sweden has strengthened links between VET and the labour market

The first OECD review of VET in Sweden argued that the VET system in Sweden was the largely separated from the world of work (Kuczera et al., 2008[2]). At that time social partners’ involvement in VET was not systematic. Since then, series of reforms have brought the worlds of VET and of work closer together. The creation of a national framework for social partners’ engagements through National Programme Councils secured their systematic involvement in VET and work placement became mandatory in all VET programmes. These are considerable achievements. Building social partner engagement in VET is often very challenging.

Sweden is committed to help prepare young migrants to progress in education

Both asylum seeker and refugee children up to the age 18 have the right to attend school in Sweden up to upper secondary level,6 and schools are required to attempt to enrol newly arrived children within one month of their arrival. In addition, the Swedish school system has implemented measures designed to ensure that these children benefit from, and succeed in, their classes (Fratzke, 2017[16]).

For example, newly arrived students have the legal right to tuition in their native language. Although the capacity of schools to meet existing needs varies considerably in practice, almost half of foreign-born students have benefited recently from native-language tuition. Short of tutoring, newly arrived students may receive study guidance in their native language before, during or after lessons and or in special language workshops (Berglund, 2017[17]).

In order to support municipalities in providing newly arrived learners with appropriate education, towards the end of 2015 the National Agency for Education allocated SEK 200 million (approximately EUR 20 million) to 46 municipalities in which at least 10% of all the children in the municipality were newly arrived migrants. Then, in January 2017, a further SEK 2 138 million (approximately EUR 210 million) was allocated (2017-25) to support the capacity of public and independent schools (friskolor) to provide newly arrived students with education of high quality. The most relevant areas of investment are reportedly language learning, study counsellors, teachers’ didactical skills, and proper organisation (Bunar, 2017[18]).

Chapter 2: Strengthening collaboration and consolidation of the VET provision

Swedish VET is relatively decentralised and market driven with public and private providers competing for students. Chapter 2 shows that in this context, schools and school owners have week incentives to collaborate in planning the provision of VET and that VET provision for youth is fragmented. In international comparison, Swedish upper-secondary schools offering VET programmes cater to few VET students. The chapter argues that to better match VET provision to the labour market needs and to make the system more effective, Sweden may introduce measures that foster collaboration across schools and encourage concentration of provision in fewer institutions. The proposed measures should span the youth and adult sector and apply to all VET schools, including public and independent VET schools.

Policy options include:

• As a first step, collaboration between VET schools should be encouraged. Collaboration may cover diverse options, including sharing facilities and teachers, helping with the work-based learning component of programmes, offering specialist training to students from other schools lacking relevant teaching expertise, collective engagement with the social partners and other matters. Collaboration efforts may build on some existing initiatives, such as branch schools.

• To improve the match between the provision of VET and labour market needs, social partners should be part of this process and be able to convey their needs. Currently, provision is heavily driven by students’ preferences and schools competing for students, and less so by labour market needs.

• As a second step, in programmes where economies of scale can be reached VET schools should be merged to create larger institutions, drawing on the positive experience of many other countries that have consolidated their VET school systems. In practice it would mean that VET programmes would be offered in fewer schools and the schools with VET provision would enrol a larger number of VET students. Consolidation would not prevent schools from offering both VET and Higher Education Preparatory Programmes.

• Funding incentives may be necessary to encourage and reward collaboration, and sometimes mergers, when the effect is to improve the quality of provision.

• These policy options, as well as options discussed in other chapters of this report, should apply to all VET schools, including schools run by private and public providers. Including independently run schools into this process may be a challenge. But excluding them would result in different arrangements for different providers, which would contribute to unfair competition and would discourage collaboration. This would be highly undesirable. The proposed policy options should apply to VET for youth and adults, so as different provisions complement each other. Such co-ordination of provision would allow to offer a more diverse range of courses and programmes and better address individual and local labour market needs. This is consistent with the mandate of the National Commission of Inquiry on dimensioning of upper-secondary education that focuses both on the upper-secondary system for youth and adult education.

Chapter 3: Enhancing work-based learning

Chapter 3 focuses on work-based learning (WBL) in apprenticeship programmes and WBL as a component of the upper-secondary VET programmes provided mainly in schools. In recent years, Sweden has successfully increased the provision of WBL in VET. Chapter 3 shows that Sweden could further improve the quality of workplace experience and increase the associated benefits by vesting social partners with more responsibility over WBL. It argues that by giving more prominence to WBL in planning VET provision, Sweden could tie VET delivery more closely to employer needs. Finally, it discusses how to increase the attractiveness of apprenticeships to employers and students.

Policy options include:

• To address quality challenges, WBL tasks currently assumed by individual VET teachers could be usefully shared with and supported by other bodies, such as reinforced local bodies where social partners are represented, as argued in Chapter 2 and Chapter 4.

• While retaining an important role for individual VET teachers, social partners would therefore be more involved in the organisation and management of WBL than they are now. Within this framework, the social partners, working collectively and in co-ordination with VET schools, might offer systematic support to individual companies with the provision of WBL, certification of companies offering WBL according to criteria agreed with social partners, and provide regular guidance and feedback to schools and National Programme Councils on the content of WBL and methods of assessment of practical skills.

• The responsibility of VET schools and social partners for WBL should be clearly defined and both parties should be kept accountable for delivery of WBL. The school inspectorate and social partners may share the responsibility for quality assurance of WBL in VET programmes.

• Employer willingness to offer WBL could be used more fully to steer students towards occupations in demand in the labour market, and to adjust school provision. This should improve the match between the mix of training provision and skills in demand among employers. To facilitate the match, a website platform may be created where companies and schools announce their needs in terms of WBL.

• Over recent years, the involvement of social partners in formal VET in Sweden has been gradually increasing. Apprenticeship has been growing, as have the numbers of apprentices receiving wages, but numbers remain small. Building on these trends, employers in Sweden should:

  • Be allowed to select their apprentices (as in other countries).

  • Be granted a stronger influence over the content and modes of delivery of WBL in apprenticeship.

  • Be more strongly encouraged to pay apprentices a wage.

• Wages for apprentices and stricter regulation on WBL quality would increase the cost of apprenticeship provision for employers. Financial and/or non-financial incentives may therefore also be necessary to maintain the attractiveness of the scheme to employers. Current grant support to employers providing apprenticeships should be evaluated and if necessary adjusted.

• Changes in apprenticeship schemes should be designed to increase the attractiveness of apprenticeship to employers. Governments may help employers provide good quality training and meet requirements for WBL, for example by providing a framework for co-operation across companies.

Chapter 4: Empowering social partners

Sweden has successfully built social partners’ engagement in VET at the national level, but social partners’ involvement at the local level varies affecting the quality of provided education and training. The chapter argues that Sweden may create a framework for systematic social partners’ involvement at the local level. The chapter discusses college initiatives that are led by the social partners and drive local provision towards specific skills requirements, often in response to labour shortages. It argues that Sweden can strengthen social partners’ involvement drawing on this positive experience.

Policy options include:

• Building on existing local consultation arrangements, and the successful experience with colleges, Sweden could establish a more systematic institutional framework to engage the social partners at local level. This would promote collaboration between different stakeholders, and reinforce links between national and local bodies in which social partners are represented. A model inspired by the college initiative, in which programmes and institutions collaborate and meet the quality requirements of the social partners, could be encouraged.

• This proposition is linked to policy options advanced in other chapters of this report. Chapter 2 proposed the consolidation of VET provision in fewer but larger VET schools, facilitating social partner engagement as social partners would not have to engage with so many small institutions.

• Drawing on the Danish experience, local social partner organisations may serve as a link between local and national levels, ensuring that National Programme Councils are fully apprised of local circumstances and interests, and that local approaches take full account of national development.

• Stronger local engagement of the social partners would facilitate an enhanced role for the social partners in the quality assurance of local VET provision. This role could involve ensuring that national VET programmes are taught and configured so as to meet local labour market requirements, supporting the provision of work placements and apprenticeships, and quality assuring the work placements that are delivered. This might be underpinned by making school evaluations give credit to schools for facilitating such local engagement of the social partners, and the quality assurance which might follow.

Chapter 5: Increasing the attractiveness of VET

In Sweden, enrolment in upper-secondary VET has been falling. Chapter 5 argues that clear and workable pathways from upper-secondary VET to post-secondary education and training would increase the attractiveness of VET to students. To this end, Sweden may reinstall academic content providing eligibility for higher education in the routine coursework in VET programmes. The chapter also discusses pathways of progression from upper-secondary VET to post-secondary professional programmes and argues that these post-secondary programmes should be accessible and attractive to adults returning to education.

Policy options include:

• A strong VET system needs to be attractive to a diversity of students, including those with stronger academic performance as well as those who are less academically oriented. The evidence suggests that the declining popularity of VET in Sweden may be related to the weak pathways from VET to higher education, and VET being perceived as an option for low performing students.

• To reverse this trend Sweden may reinstall academic content in the routine coursework in VET programmes,7 but allow students who are less interested in academic subjects to opt out of them. Currently, all upper-secondary programmes including school-based VET and apprenticeships last three years. Combining demanding VET and academic coursework may therefore require an extension of the programme duration leading to a double qualification. The Technology Programme that can be topped up with a fourth year leading to an ‘upper-secondary’ engineering degree provides an example of a programme leading to both vocational and academic qualifications.

• Links between upper-secondary VET and the post-secondary level could usefully be strengthened and entry points from upper-secondary VET to post-secondary education diversified. For example, individuals may receive extra credits in the admission process if they bring with them the relevant work experience. Stronger and more diverse progression pathways between upper-secondary and post-secondary VET would require co-ordinated provision and co-operation among upper-secondary and post-secondary providers. Post-secondary institutions, including HVET institutions and/or university colleges, should be part of the proposed regional co-operation scheme discussed in Chapter 1.

• Post-secondary VET provision should be available to adults who wish to upgrade their competences. To attract working adults, programmes should be provided in a flexible way allowing for a combination of work and study. (Currently, most post-secondary VET programmes are full time).

Chapter 6: Unlocking the potential of migrants through VET in Sweden

Sweden is experiencing shortages of vocational upper-secondary graduates and this is expected to continue. In this context, the recent increase in humanitarian migrants presents a set of opportunities, but these can only be fully realised if Sweden can address associated challenges. Sweden already has measures supporting entry of young humanitarian migrants into vocational programmes and the labour market such as introductory programmes and, in particular, the Language Introduction Programme, which is explicitly designed for newly arrived students. However, many newly arrived students in the Language Introduction Programme experience difficulty in transitioning to a national vocational programme, exhibiting relatively low transition rates compared to other introductory programmes and to those in other countries.

As a means to address barriers preventing the success of such learners at risk of poor outcomes, Sweden recently introduced Vocational Packages into the introductory programmes. While Vocational Packages are an attractive alternative for newly arrived students, there are potential risks in introducing the possibility of obtaining partial qualifications within introductory programmes. Vocational Packages may prevent young people from considering occupations that are difficult to be modularised into shorter training programmes, resulting in young people ultimately foregoing the opportunities of building long-term employability. The introduction of Vocational Packages within introductory programmes may unintendedly provide an early exit from the initial education system for young people who otherwise show significant potential. Social partners in some sectors are concerned that young people may move into the labour force with limited work experience and academic proficiency.

For humanitarian migrants, transitions between educational institutions or programmes unfortunately present opportunities to leave or drop out of the education system. While Sweden has a strong and well-functioning adult education system, such discontinuity is a matter for concern. For young people without an upper-secondary qualification, the transition to upper-secondary adult education is not automatic.

Policy options include:

• The policy priority should continue to be that young people, including humanitarian migrants, attain full upper-secondary qualifications. Vocational Packages should be primarily regarded as an entry point to full VET, while ensuring that partial qualifications are well integrated into the qualifications system. This can be implemented by actively providing feasible and attractive opportunities to continue in VET after Vocational Packages through building seamless VET pathways, by strengthening the co-operation between upper secondary schools and municipal adult education, and by strengthening individual assessment, personalised approaches and career guidance.

• Sweden should continue to address barriers preventing newly-arrived young migrants from accessing VET, given that newly arrived learners, in particular those who arrive in Sweden when they are in their late-teens, face extra barriers when entering into a national vocational programme. With more flexible entry requirements, more young people would enter into and complete national vocational programmes. For those who missed the chance to obtain upper-secondary qualifications within a national programme, adult education remains essential. Sweden should continue to develop and adjust a range of adult VET provision and supporting measures to better suit those students who have not attained upper-secondary qualifications and overcome institutional issues in the transition to upper-secondary adult education, including information transfer between education institutions.