Den svenska yrkesutbildningsmodellen

Författare

Alexandru Panican
Jonas Olofsson

Redaktör

Håkon Høst

Summary, in English

The purpose of this article has been to examine the Swedish vocational education and training model with a special focus on basic education, within and outside the upper secondary school system. What can be said about the institutional structure of the educational system and how are new demands from working life concerning qualifications and mobility channelled through the system?

The Swedish VET-model has some special characteristics. The basic vocational education for young people is mainly school based which makes it different from VET in many other countries. Apprenticeship is and has been a marginal phenomenon in the upper secondary school system. Another essential characteristic is that vocational education at basic level for adults has been relatively limited. There has, however, existed a lot of courses directed to unemployed in need of re-education and such courses has mainly been offered within institutions connected to labour market policy. But the supply of these courses is much more limited today. A third characteristic is that the training at the college level, in the form of higher vocational education, is a relatively new feature. Most likely higher vocational education will be a more prominent feature in the Swedish vocational training model in the future.

Our conclusion is that the Swedish educational model is characterised by fundamental changes. Vocational programs at upper secondary schools will be closer connected to the demands of working life and a regular apprenticeship education will be introduced from the second half of 2011. Furthermore, there will be more vocational education within the municipal schools for adults at the same time as new vocational programs at college level gets more and more appreciation. A review of the Swedish educational model will probably look very different in just a few years. But at the same time, the regulations concerning the influence of working life on vocational education are most likely the key to success for the reform ambitions. And exactly this urges for a second thought because the exchange between schools and working life have historically been a weak point in the Swedish educational system. The most important question is then if it will be possible to create an efficient organisation for the participation of working life in vocational education. Earlier attempts in this direction have not been very successful. The big challenge is to change a historical pattern.

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