- 2020Pilot
- 2021Pilot
- 2022Pilot
- 2023Pilot
- 2024Completed
Background
Piloting scholarship for skilled workers is a measure suggested in the skills reform launched in 2019 and is in keeping with the priorities of the government to consider incentive schemes for lifelong learning.
Objectives
The objective of the pilot is to gain knowledge about how financial incentives can influence participation in further education and training for skilled workers and whether it has an important connection to the labour market.
The pilot should show if a scholarship scheme makes a vocational career more attractive and if it motivates skilled workers to invest in further education and training.
Description
Skilled workers were selected as the target group because they leave working life relatively early and traditionally seldom participate in continuing education. The pilot will be based on a random selection where one group is selected to receive information about further education for skilled workers and offers of a scholarship, while another group will only receive information about further education. A third group will receive no information and is used as a control group.
The pilot will include selected skilled workers in the age group 30-57, including both those who are, and those who are not, working.
The selected participants will have the same rights as every student to apply for other loans and scholarships in addition to this new pilot scholarship.
The suggestions for the pilot went to public consultation in 2021; the pilot is expected to run until August 2023 leading to a possible decision to implement the scholarship as a measure on a more permanent basis in 2024 (the earliest).
The pilot started.
Recruitment of participants has started.
The pilot is ongoing.
The pilot ended and the evaluation started.
The pilot was evaluated, and the results were published on 18 January 2024.
The main findings include the following:
- scholarship and customised information may increase the number of skilled workers in continuous education
- 2.5 % of skilled workers who did not receive any kind of incentives chose to take more education
- offers of both scholarships and targeted information increased the number of applicants to continuous education to 3 %.
- only targeted information about education choices also had a positive effect, with 2.7 % participating in continuous education.
A second evaluation will be initiated and will examine the completion rate of the skilled workers participating in this pilot.
Bodies responsible
- Ministry of Education and Research (KD)
Target groups
Learners
- Adult learners
- Older workers and employees (55 - 64 years old)
- Persons in employment, including those at risk of unemployment
Other
Thematic categories
Supporting lifelong learning culture and increasing participation
Lifelong learning refers to all learning (formal, non-formal or informal) taking place at all stages in life and resulting in an improvement or update in knowledge, skills, competences and attitudes or in participation in society from a personal, civic, cultural, social or employment-related perspective (Erasmus+, Glossary of terms, https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/programme-guide/part-d/glossary-common-terms). A systemic approach to CVET is crucial to ensure adaptability to evolving demands.
This broad thematic category looks at ways of creating opportunities and ensuring access to re-skilling and upskilling pathways, allowing individuals to progress smoothly in their learning throughout their lives with better permeability between general and vocational education and training, and better integration and compatibility between initial and continuing VET and with higher education. Individuals should be supported in acquiring and updating their skills and competences and navigating easily through education and training systems. Strategies and campaigns that promote VET and LLL as an attractive and high-quality pathway, providing quality lifelong guidance and tailored support to design learning and career paths, and various incentives (financial and non-financial) to attract and support participation in VET and LLL fall into this thematic category as well.
This thematic category also includes many initiatives on making VET inclusive and ensuring equal education and training opportunities for various groups of learners, regardless of their personal and economic background and place of residence – especially those at risk of disadvantage or exclusion, such as persons with disabilities, the low-skilled and low-qualified, minorities, migrants, refugees and others.
This thematic sub-category refers to initiatives that promote VET and lifelong learning implemented at any level and by any stakeholder. It also covers measures to ensure and broaden access to information about VET to various target groups, including targeted information and promotional campaigns (e.g. for parents, adult learners, vulnerable groups). Among others, it includes national skill competitions and fairs organised to attract learners to VET.
This thematic sub-category refers to all kinds of incentives that encourage learners to take part in VET and lifelong learning; VET providers to improve, broaden and update their offer; companies to provide places for apprenticeship and work-based learning, and to stimulate and support learning of their employees. It also includes measures addressing specific challenges of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) willing to create work-based learning opportunities in different sectors. Incentives can be financial (e.g. grants, allowances, tax incentives, levy/grant mechanisms, vouchers, training credits, individual learning accounts) and non-financial (e.g. information/advice on funding opportunities, technical support, mentoring).
This thematic sub-category refers to providing the possibility for individuals who are already in the labour market/in employment to reskill and/or acquire higher levels of skills, and to ensuring targeted information resources on the benefits of CVET and lifelong learning. It also covers the availability of CVET programmes adaptable to labour market, sectoral or individual up- and reskilling needs. The sub-category includes working with respective stakeholders to develop digital learning solutions supporting access to CVET opportunities and awarding CVET credentials and certificates.
European priorities in 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). Scholarship pilot for skilled workers: Norway. 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/38983