- 2021Approved/Agreed
- 2022Implementation
- 2023Approved/Agreed
- 2024Completed
Background
The development of society and the education system over the last 30 years has necessitated changes. The reform will look at all aspects of upper secondary education, with a focus on VET.
With the Completion reform, the government will change the content of upper secondary education to get more people to complete education and enter the labour market. The biggest changes in upper secondary education since Reform-94 are being implemented with this reform. Development is moving away from the line of thinking that all students need to fit into a model, to a model in which the school needs to adapt to the learner.
In Norway young people aged 20-29 with only lower secondary education who were not in education, training or work have increased by 10 % during the last 9 years. Higher upper secondary education completion rate will increase the work opportunities.
In the world of work, it has become increasingly difficult to cope without upper secondary education. Also, requirements are changing, for example related to the Industry 4.0 digitalisation and automation.
Objectives
The reform aims to give people the freedom to choose. Completion of upper secondary education gives young people and adults the freedom to choose their way forward in life, more people will have equal opportunities for better lives.
The government aims for nine out of ten to complete and pass upper secondary education by 2030. The Completion reform, with open doors to the world and the future, contains measures to equip more young people and adults with key and/or professional competences, and to be well prepared for further education and working life.
Description
The reform will include more options for completing upper secondary education, including for adults, along with more relevant training and a right to apprenticeship in VET.
All students in upper secondary education, including both IVET and CVET, will benefit from the policy development.
These are the most important measures foreseen in the Completion reform:
- everyone who starts upper secondary school will have the right to complete an upper secondary degree;
- training courses will be better adapted to learners;
- all students who have a short period of residence and weak skills in Norwegian will receive an introduction course when they start upper secondary school;
- a duty to work systematically and preventatively with students who are at risk of failing subjects;
- students will receive more specialisation, more relevant education and more freedom of choice;
- all students must have Norwegian, Mathematics and English as subjects, as well as a brand new subject, a subject for the future;
- introduce measures to ensure that more people get an apprenticeship;
- it will be possible to take several trade certificates;
- a right to an apprenticeship or an equivalent offer;
- to strengthen the quality of the option to take a vocational certificate in school, so that these are equal to the vocational certificate achieved as an apprentice;
- it proposes an extended right that will allow adults to return to upper secondary school.
The reform will include more options for completing upper secondary education, including for adults, along with more relevant training and a right to apprenticeship in VET.
All students in upper secondary education, including both IVET and CVET, will benefit from the policy development.
These are the most important measures foreseen in the Completion reform:
- everyone who starts upper secondary school will have the right to complete an upper secondary degree;
- training courses will be better adapted to learners;
- all students who have a short period of residence and weak skills in Norwegian will receive an introduction course when they start upper secondary school;
- a duty to work systematically and preventatively with students who are at risk of failing subjects;
- students will receive more specialisation, more relevant education and more freedom of choice;
- all students must have Norwegian, Mathematics and English as subjects, as well as a brand new subject, a subject for the future;
- introduce measures to ensure that more people get an apprenticeship;
- it will be possible to take several trade certificates;
- a right to an apprenticeship or an equivalent offer;
- to strengthen the quality of the option to take a vocational certificate in school, so that these are equal to the vocational certificate achieved as an apprentice;
- it proposes an extended right that will allow adults to return to upper secondary school.
The Cabinet of ministers approved the Recommendation for the Completion reform (White paper 21) on 26 March 2021.
As a follow up of the Completion reform, the Government strengthened the following initiatives in 2022:
- improved school-based training in upper secondary vocational education and better follow-up of students in work-based learning;
- improved opportunities for persons without the right to upper secondary education;
- vocational re-qualification;
- trade certificate at work;
- flexible and adaptable training;
- increased effort for vocational teachers and trainers;
- pilot with investment of equipment in upper secondary vocational schools;
- increased opportunities for employees from enterprises to be directly involved in vocational training at upper secondary level (the scheme is called Yrkesfaglærer 2 in native Norwegian language).
The Government has agreed to change the right to upper secondary education to the right to complete upper secondary education with a qualification. The Ministry of Education and Research launched a public consultation on lowering the age limit for a study loan, from 25 to 21 years of age and to make the study loan more flexible and for younger people to complete education. The public consultation seeks input on whether applicants who have completed upper secondary still should be entitled to loan-based education support regardless of age. The deadline for the public consultation was April 2023.
After the public consultation on the right to upper secondary education ended in April 2023, the Ministry of Education and Research processed the input. The Government approved the new Education Act in July to come into effect the following year. During the autumn of 2023, the connected regulation was changed accordingly.
The updated Education Act came into force on 1 August 2024. The main changes are as follows:
- extended right to upper secondary education - a right to complete with a degree;
- expanded right to change from one education programme to another. Previously, one could only change once. Now, there will be a free right to change up until the age of 19;
- the right to re-qualify in vocational education;
- training provision in the transition to upper secondary education for students who lack the academic or language prerequisites to be able to participate in and pass upper secondary education;
- a right to a bridge year from vocational education to general education without an upper age limit;
- right to career guidance for apprentices in companies;
- the target group for the follow-up service has been expanded from 16-21 to 16-24. The service provides support to young individuals who are entitled to upper secondary education but are not engaged in education or employment.
The Directorate for Education and Training has initiated a pilot with the option to do a combination of a written and oral exam in two subjects from spring 2025: the cleaning operator subject and the cook subject. The aim of the pilot is among other things, to investigate whether a written-oral exam form is more suitable than a five-hour written exam for adults combining work with a vocational education (EQF4). A written-oral exam will give the candidates the opportunity to express their competence in several ways. The pilot will be implemented for the exams in the spring 2025, autumn 2025 and spring 2026. The assessment criteria and tasks were being drawn up for the two subjects.
Bodies responsible
- Ministry of Education and Research (KD)
Target groups
Learners
- Learners in upper secondary, including apprentices
- Young people (15-29 years old)
- Young people not in employment, education or training (NEETs)
- Learners at risk of early leaving or/and early leavers
- Learners with disabilities
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 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.
This thematic sub-category refers to making VET pathways and programmes inclusive and accessible for all. It concerns measures and targeted actions to increase access and participation in VET and lifelong learning for learners from all vulnerable groups, and to support their school/training-to-work transitions. It includes measures to prevent early leaving from education and training. The thematic sub-category covers measures promoting gender balance in traditionally ‘male’ and ‘female’ professions and addressing gender-related and other stereotypes. The vulnerable groups are, but not limited to: persons with disabilities; the low-qualified/-skilled; minorities; persons of migrant background, including refugees; people with fewer opportunities due to their geographical location and/or their socioeconomically disadvantaged circumstances.
European priorities in VET
Osnabrück Declaration
- Resilience and excellence through quality, inclusive and flexible VET
Subsystem
Further reading
Country
Type of development
Cedefop, & ReferNet. (2025). The Completion reform: 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/41538