Göteborg, Sweden—
Tailor-made Competence Development (Skräddarsydd Kompetensutveckling) is an innovative adult learning programme developed by the City of Göteborg, Sweden.
Through this initiative, the city offers individualised skills development opportunities through different programmes based on people’s skills and local labour market needs.
The key objective of the Tailor-made Competence Development programme is to create conditions for the participants to apply for and get a job. While in the short-term the programme improves capacities to work, in the long-term, it contributes to obtain a full-time and higher quality job.
As a “package solution”, the programme offers an introduction to working life, entrepreneurship, skills and language development. The programme has three entry points depending on participants’ needs: i) a competence development initiative for adults; ii) a skills mapping exercise, which includes the validation of undocumented knowledge and competences, and iii) a combined health promotion programme. In addition, each programme can be combined with other educational initiatives. Regardless of the entry point, each individual pathway is designed with a clear process, output and outcome. The programme can be adapted to different lengths depending on the purpose, but it generally takes between 10 and 20 weeks.
The programme combines information gathered through labour market monitoring, employers’ needs, and individuals’ needs for vocational education and training. Each programme is based on the participants’ needs but it also takes into consideration the needs and opportunities of the labour market.
The main stakeholders involved in the project are the local labour market and education authority, which have the responsibility for the planning and quality of programmes and external providers that have the responsibility in delivering programmes.
One of the key challenges with regards to the implementation of the programme was to match the target group to the right programme offer. Similarly the language barrier was problematic for many participants since many participants were people with a migrant background with Swedish not being their first language, therefore, the programme was provided in many different languages.
OECD (2022), "Future-proofing adult learning systems in cities and regions: A policy manual for local governments", OECD Local Economic and Employment Development (LEED) Papers, No. 2022/03, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/11fa26cc-en.
