ALPHA. Demokratiskolan.se is a PROTOTYPE · Content review in progress
Demokratiskolan
The Jobs & career card from MethodKit for Society and Politics
Card 45 of 128 · MethodKit for Society & Politics
  • AreaEconomy & work
  • Centre of gravityCentral government
  • Points of influence2 on the journey
  • Decisive electionThe general election
Economy & work

Jobs & career

Making a living & finding meaningful occupation

Which jobs exist, what they require and how you change track midway through life are shaped by an interplay: the social partners negotiate the conditions, the central government pays for education and transition, the municipality (kommun) runs adult education. The career is your own, but the steps are to a large extent publicly built.

Where does the power lie?1

  • Municipality · komvux & guidance · approx 20 %
  • Region · skills needs & folk high schools · approx 10 %
  • State · study support & transition · approx 55 %
  • EU · free movement & qualifications · approx 15 %

The central government funds study support and transition, the municipality runs adult education. The conditions at work are set by the social partners in collective agreements (kollektivavtal).

How it works: the breakdown

The municipalityAdult education
The regionThe county's skills
Central governmentThe study support & the transition · centre of gravity
Who decides?
The municipal council (kommunfullmäktige) and the committee responsible for komvux.
The regional council (regionfullmäktige) and the regional development committee.
The Riksdag, CSN (the Swedish Board of Student Finance), the Public Employment Service (Arbetsförmedlingen) and Skolverket (the Swedish National Agency for Education).
What do they decide?
Komvux, vocational adult education, Swedish for immigrants (sfi) and study and careers guidance for adults.
Maps shortage occupations, coordinates skills supply and runs some folk high schools (folkhögskolor) and agricultural upper secondary schools.
Student aid, transition study support, labour market training and the rules for the education system.
Where are decisions made?
In the municipal hall and at learning centres. What is offered differs between municipalities.
In the regional council and together with employers and municipalities.
In the Riksdag and at the agencies. CSN decides on your support.
Who pays?
The municipal tax, with national grants for vocational adult education.
The regional tax plus national funds.
The central government budget. The transition study support was built after an agreement between the social partners.
Fastest way in?
Municipal election Citizen's proposals (medborgarförslag) on what education is offered, contact with the responsible committee.
Regional election Take part when regional skills plans go out for consultation (remiss).
General election Respond to referrals (remiss) on education policy, get involved in a union or trade organisation.
EUThe EU gives the right to work across the whole union and rules so that professional qualifications are recognised across borders. Influence it in the European Parliament election.

Read the table by column to understand one level, or by row to compare the levels. The green level is the area's centre of gravity.

How it works: follow the decision

The case A career change midway through life
  1. EU

    The labour market is European

    You have the right to look for a job across the whole EU, and education and professional certificates should be recognisable across borders. For many occupations both the competition and the opportunities are greater than in Sweden.

  2. State

    The social partners and the central government build the transition

    After an agreement between unions and employers, the Riksdag (Sweden's parliament) created the transition study support: whoever has worked for a long time can retrain midway through life with compensation for a large part of their wage.

    Point of influence

    The general election steers the study support, and as a member of a union or employer organisation you have an influence on the social partners' agreements.

  3. State

    CSN calculates on your application

    You apply for transition study support at CSN, which examines your years worked and the education's relevance. A transition organisation can give guidance before you choose.

  4. Municipality

    The classroom is at komvux

    The vocational education you have chosen is given by the municipality's adult education, sometimes in cooperation with neighbouring municipalities. The study and careers guide helps you plan your studies.

    Point of influence

    The municipal election decides which courses komvux offers in your town.

  5. Region

    The county knows where the jobs are

    The region's mapping of shortage occupations steers which courses are prioritised and where employers are looking for people. The education you take matches a real need.

  6. Your everyday life

    A new title on the business card

    Two terms later you start the new job. The career change was your own decisions, but the staircase was built by the social partners, the central government and the municipality together.

The journey looks the same in reverse: what has been built came the same way, through the same decisions. Whoever knows where the decisions are made also knows where they can be changed.

Questions to discuss

  1. Which job would you retrain for if money and time were no obstacle?

  2. Whose responsibility is it that you can adapt when your occupation changes: yours, the employer's or society's?

  3. Which occupations will your town need in ten years, and is anyone training for them?

  4. What does a job mean to you beyond the wage?

  5. The career ladder looks different depending on where you live and who you are. What would be the fairest thing to change first?

Glossary

Omställningsstudiestöd
State support via CSN for someone who, midway through working life, wants to train for something new.
Komvux
Municipal adult education, from single courses to whole vocational programmes.
Validering
An assessment that gives you a certificate for knowledge you already have, for example from an occupation.
Parterna
The collective term for the unions and employer organisations that negotiate the conditions on the labour market.
Bristyrke
An occupation where employers find it hard to find trained staff.

Go further

Footnotes

1) This is an estimate of how decision-making power over the issue is split between the municipality, the region, central government and the EU, based on how responsibility is divided in legislation. A teaching guide, not an exact measurement.