Sweden: education providers must align with labour market needs

Amendments to the Education Act 
Under the new regulations, education providers at upper secondary level are required to consider both student demand and labour market needs when determining which courses to offer. These legislative changes entered into force on 1 July 2023 and will be applied for the first time to education programmes starting in 2025.

More specifically the amendments to the Education Act state that:

• labour market needs must be taken into account by municipalities, independent educational institutions, and regions when planning and allocating courses within upper secondary schools and municipal adult education;
• each municipality is required to collaborate with at least two other municipalities concerning tasks related to upper secondary education and municipal adult education. This collaboration must be formalised through a written agreement, which should detail the planning, allocation, and provision of educational services;
• it should be possible for individuals to apply freely for vocational subjects within the municipalities that collaborate. Education providers must clearly communicate the focus and potential outcomes of their programmes.

Regional planning documentation
The Swedish National Agency for Education (Skolverket) has been tasked with developing regional planning documentation. The purpose of these regional planning documents is to support education providers and help them make well-informed decisions about the range of education programmes that meet both student demand and labour market needs. These documents aim to help education providers when planning, allocating, and offering upper secondary education together.

Read more

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