- 2015Design
- 2016Design
- 2017Design
- 2018Design
- 2019Design
- 2020Design
- 2021Design
- 2022Approved/Agreed
Background
A coherent system for validation is needed, since validation is carried out by a variety of providers, both in education and working life, which results in a system that is somewhat difficult to navigate. In addition, validation is defined differently in different sectors. Thus, there are differing views on the purpose of validation and even on the definition of the term itself. This situation creates uncertainty about the value of validation and, as a consequence, validation is not carried out to the desired extent.
However, a labour force with the right skills is of vital importance for innovation and growth. In a labour market characterised by rapid change, validation is the key to smooth transitions and skills development for people in the workforce. It is also a tool for jobseekers who can utilise validation to enhance the visibility of their skills. The aim of validation is to identify, assess and recognise knowledge and skills that people have acquired in contexts outside of the formal education system, thus benefiting individuals and employers as well as education providers. People must be able to adjust their skills to the needs of the labour market throughout their entire working life. A range of relevant education and training programmes must, therefore, be available to meet this need. To be effective for individuals as well as for society, education needs to be tailored to everyone´s individual needs. The possibility to have existing skills and knowledge assessed and recognised is, therefore, important. Adequate regulations, organisation and funding are important institutional conditions to make a coherent and permanent system possible.
Objectives
The overall objective of the national strategy for validation is to ensure that significantly more individuals are able to have their knowledge and skills validated throughout the country at all levels of the education system and to have a broader range of qualifications in working life. Further, as a pathway to a qualification, validation should have the same high level of legitimacy as formal education.
Description
In 2015, a National Delegation for Validation was appointed by the Swedish Government to follow up, support and promote coordinated development work in the area of validation at the regional and national level and to propose a national strategy for validation. The Delegation proposed a strategy in March 2017, expressing its view of the significance and function of validation, and of the development areas that need to be prioritised. A formal consultation on validation was launched by the government in preparation for a bill.
In December 2019, the final report, Validation - for skills supply and lifelong learning (SOU 2019:69) of the National Delegation for Validation, was presented to the government. The report proposes measures for a coherent, permanent national system for validation.
The National Delegation for Validation´s proposals include, in short:
- a modified definition of validation to be entered into the Education Act. The suggested definition is 'a structured process for in-depth identification, assessment and recognition of knowledge and skills that a person has, regardless of how they were acquired';
- a new ordinance outlining general provisions on validation. The ordinance is to contain the Education Act's definition of validation as well as additional provisions that describe how validation is to be carried out;
- a national, coherent strategy for skills supply and lifelong learning in which validation is an important component;
- that the responsible minister convenes a council that will be granted overall responsibility for validation;
- an amendment to the Education Act stipulating an obligation for municipalities to offer an initial evaluation before an individual begins their studies or undergoes examinations in the adult education system;
- learners need to be offered validation so their studies can be designed in line with their own needs and goals. However, current regulations in the Education Act only state that validation may be carried out.
In January 2020, the final report, Validation: for skills supply and lifelong learning (SOU 2019:69), of the National Delegation for Validation, was handed over to the Minister for Education and Research.
A State grant was introduced, which is accessible to social partners who promote measures that aim to develop qualifications and models of validation. The National Agency for Higher VET is responsible for the administration of this grant.
In 2021, a proposition is scheduled to be decided 2022 by the parliament.
In July 2022, the parliament approved the proposed measures to establish a national validation system. It came into force on 1 January 2023 and the National Agency of Education is responsible for its implementation.
Bodies responsible
- Ministry of Education and Research
Target groups
Learners
- Young people (15-29 years old)
- Adult learners
- Unemployed and jobseekers
Thematic categories
Governance of VET and lifelong learning
This thematic category looks at existing legal frameworks providing for strategic, operational – including quality assurance – and financing arrangements for VET and lifelong learning (LLL). It examines how VET and LLL-related policies are placed in broad national socioeconomic contexts and coordinate with other strategies and policies, such as economic, social and employment, growth and innovation, recovery and resilience.
This thematic category covers partnerships and collaboration networks of VET stakeholders – especially the social partners – to shape and implement VET in a country, including looking at how their roles and responsibilities for VET at national, regional and local levels are shared and distributed, ensuring an appropriate degree of autonomy for VET providers to adapt their offer.
The thematic category also includes efforts to create national, regional and sectoral skills intelligence systems (skills anticipation and graduate tracking) and using skills intelligence for making decisions about VET and LLL on quality, inclusiveness and flexibility.
This thematic sub-category refers both to formal mechanisms of stakeholder engagement in VET governance and to informal cooperation among stakeholders, which motivate shared responsibility for quality VET. Formal engagement is usually based on legally established institutional procedures that clearly define the role and responsibilities for relevant stakeholders in designing, implementing and improving VET. It also refers to establishing and increasing the degree of autonomy of VET providers for agile and flexible VET provision.
In terms of informal cooperation, the sub-category covers targeted actions by different stakeholders to promote or implement VET. This cooperation often leads to creating sustainable partnerships and making commitments for targeted actions, in line with the national context and regulation, e.g. national alliances for apprenticeships, pacts for youth or partnerships between schools and employers. It can also include initiatives and projects run by the social partners or sectoral organisations or networks of voluntary experts and executives, retired or on sabbatical, to support their peers in the fields of VET and apprenticeships, as part of the EAfA.
Transparency and portability of VET skills and qualifications
European principles and tools, such as EQF, ESCO, ECTS, Europass and ECVET, provide a strong basis for transparency and portability of national and sectoral qualifications across Europe, including the issuing of digital diplomas and certificates.
This thematic category looks at how individuals are supported in transferring, accumulating, and validating skills and competences acquired in formal, non-formal and informal settings – including learning on the job – and in having their learning recognised towards a qualification at any point of their lives. This is only possible if qualifications are transparent and comparable and are part of comprehensive national qualifications frameworks. Availability of qualifications smaller than full and acquirable in shorter periods of time is necessary; some countries have recently worked on developing partial qualifications, microcredentials, etc.
This thematic sub-category refers to the application of EU transparency tools that allow recognition of qualifications among EU Member States (EQF, Europass, ESCO, ECTS). Among others, it includes linking national VET platforms and databases to Europass in accordance with the Europass Decision and EQF Recommendation and the use of the ECVET principles and tools, such as memoranda of understanding or learning agreements applied in mobility actions. The sub-category also covers measures on recognition of foreign/third-country qualifications for specific target groups, e.g. migrants or highly skilled professionals.
European priorities in VET
VET Recommendation
- Flexibility and progression opportunities at the core of VET
Osnabrück Declaration
- Establishing a new lifelong learning culture - relevance of continuing VET and digitalisation
Subsystem
Further reading
Country
Type of development
Cedefop, & ReferNet. (2025). National strategy for validation: Sweden. In Cedefop, & ReferNet. (2025). Timeline of VET policies in Europe (2024 update) [Online tool].
https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/tools/timeline-vet-policies-europe/search/28541