Malgorzata Kuczera

One of a series of studies on vocational education and training, this review focuses on the vocational education and training (VET) in Sweden and concludes with policy recommendations.

Over recent years, Sweden has launched a series of reforms to enhance involvement of social partners in VET, to increase provision of work-based learning in VET programmes and to promote apprenticeship. Higher vocational education and training launched in 2002 has been expanding. At the same time, numerous sectors are grappling with labour shortages increasing pressure on VET to better match the provision to changing demand for skills; and fewer young people opt for VET programmes than in the past.

This report suggests several ways in which the Swedish VET system may respond to these challenges. Sweden may encourage co-operation between schools, for example by linking it to school evaluation and funding criteria. The report also argues that Sweden may further enhance social partners’ involvement in VET by creating a framework for systematic social partners’ involvement at the local level and by providing social partners with more responsibility over some aspects of VET.