Over recent years, Sweden has committed itself to an ambitious reform programme to enhance involvement of social partners in vocational education and training (VET), to increase provision of work-based learning within VET programmes and to promote apprenticeship. The Swedish VET system has many strengths. Sweden has a strong evaluation culture ensuring that policy is based on solid evidence; upper-secondary VET is provided in a flexible way, allowing individuals to build on their previous experience and knowledge, and Higher Vocational Education and Training launched in 2002 has filled a gap in the market for professional post-secondary qualifications and has been expanding. But many challenges remain. Numerous sectors are grappling with labour shortages increasing pressure on VET to better match provision to the changing demand for skills. The Swedish VET system also needs to respond to an increasingly diverse cohort of learners following a recent arrival of humanitarian migrants.

Over recent years, Sweden has made great strides in the development of its vocational education and training (VET) system. Work-based learning is better integrated, social partners are more engaged and the VET offer for adults has been developed. Opportunity exists however, for better co-ordination among stakeholders and changes in delivery to ensure the attractiveness of VET to an increasingly diverse range of learners and their prospective employers.

This chapter describes the main characteristics of vocational education and training (VET) and recent policy developments in Sweden. It assesses the strengths of the system, the challenges that remain, and summarises suggestions for policy advanced in later chapters of the report. Subsequent chapters examine different issues by presenting the topic, describing the challenge, advancing policy suggestions, providing arguments for the proposed policy solutions and discussing how these policy solutions could be implemented.

Swedish vocational education and training (VET) is relatively decentralised and market driven with public and private providers competing for students. Chapter 2 shows that in this context, schools and school owners have weak incentives to collaborate in planning the provision of VET. In international comparison, Swedish upper-secondary schools offering VET programmes cater to few VET students. The chapter argues that to better match VET provision to labour market needs and to make the system more effective, Sweden may introduce measures that foster collaboration across schools and encourage concentration of provision in fewer institutions. The proposed measures should span the youth and adult sector and apply to all schools with VET provision, including public and independent schools.

Chapter 3 focuses on work-based learning (WBL) in apprenticeship programmes and WBL as a component of the upper-secondary VET programmes provided mainly in schools. In recent years, Sweden has successfully increased the provision of WBL in VET. Chapter 3 shows that Sweden could further improve the quality of workplace experience and increase benefits associated with WBL by vesting social partners with more responsibility over WBL. Finally, it discusses how to increase the attractiveness of apprenticeships to employers and students.

Sweden has successfully built social partners’ engagement in vocational education and training (VET) at the national level, but social partners’ involvement at the local level varies affecting the quality of education and training provision. The chapter argues that Sweden may create a framework for systematic social partner involvement at the local level. The chapter discusses college initiatives that are led by social partners and drive local provision towards specific skills requirements, often in response to labour shortages. It argues that Sweden can strengthen social partners’ involvement by drawing on this positive experience.

In Sweden, enrolment in upper-secondary vocational education and training (VET) has been falling. Chapter 5 argues that clear and workable pathways from upper-secondary VET to post-secondary education and training would increase the attractiveness of VET to students. To this end, Sweden may reinstall academic content providing eligibility for higher education into the routine coursework of VET programmes. The chapter also discusses progression pathways from upper-secondary VET to post-secondary professional programmes and argues that these post-secondary programmes should be accessible and attractive to adults returning to education.

In response to labour market demand and the recent increase in young humanitarian migrants, Sweden has recently introduced Vocational Packages that provide the possibility of obtaining partial qualifications within Introductory Programmes. Chapter 6 discusses ways to better implement this promising measure and the importance of building seamless vocational education and training (VET) pathways. This chapter also discusses ways to address the barriers faced by an increasingly diverse cohort of VET learners.