The YFI and SFX Programmes to Support Migrants

Abstract

Stockholm, Sweden—

• Partly funded by the European Social Fund, the city of Stockholm in collaboration with other municipalities in the region runs two programmes – YFI (Integrated Swedish language and vocational training for newcomers) and SFX (Swedish language course for professionals) that set out to promote the employment of migrants.

• The success of both programmes has been the ability to provide migrants – with or without prior education - with better possibilities to enter the labour market and thus shortening the time between arrival in Sweden and getting into employment.

What are the objectives?

The key objectives of the two programmes are to provide Swedish language courses for migrants who are previously professionally or vocationally trained and, thus provide them with a quicker way to employment and/or studies (SFX) and to offer vocational training for migrants with integrated language education targeted at newly arrived migrants (YFI). Students are new in the country, but not new to their profession. They need to learn the language and to be oriented in how their professional field works in Sweden. When employment-ready they will contribute to the regional skill supply and bring international experience to their work field.

How does it work in practice?

Courses within the SFX programme start at different levels depending on the knowledge of Swedish and include SFI (Swedish for migrants) and SVA (primary and secondary school Swedish). Students get to study with other students from the same professional or vocational field and some of the courses offer internships, mentoring programmes and workplace training or prepares for complete education at college level. The intention of the courses is to offer a tailor-made path through the system and to collect all the pieces of the puzzle required for the students to start working in their professional field as soon as possible. The programme is meant to be a quick route for those who already have a professional background when they come to the country.

The YFI programme, on the other hand, offers vocational training for migrants with integrated language education targeted at newly arrived migrants. For the implementation of the digital skills pilot, the City Council has teamed up with DNAsix, a digital e-programme already in use in other boroughs.

The SFX is a regional collaboration, offered to all interested in the Stockholm metropolitan area. The main stakeholders are all 26 municipalities in the Stockholm region that collaborate to send applicants to the SFX courses delivered/provided by a smaller number of municipalities in the region.

The YFI is delivered by the Adult Education Administration in the City of Stockholm, where it is also implemented. The programmes were part of the European FAC (Facts-track Action Boost) project that seeks to respond to refugees’ needs by transferring and adopting good practices for job inclusion within European cities. The project is co-funded by the programme EaSI of the European Commission DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion and is implemented by a consortium of 10 partners in 6 countries.

What has been the impact?

The SFX-programmes have been studied and evaluated and research suggests that SFX-studies improve, or speed up, labour market integration by at least 20-25 % as an overall measure. Swedish for bus drivers and Swedish for lorry drivers have had a very high percentage (90-95 %) of students reaching the desired employment directly after completion of their studies or within the first year after SFX-studies. Many adult education providers, including the city of Stockholm, have difficulties in finding methods and resources to do reliable follow-ups of students a few years after they are no longer registered students.

In interviews with current or former SFX-students, they also stress many other values of SFX such as the encouragement and opportunity to cultivate their professional identity.

Swedish for licenced medical professionals (provided by Huddinge municipality) has recently tried out contacting former students two years after finalizing their studies at SFX finding that the vast majority are either working in their profession (participants with EU-medical degrees have obtained their Swedish licence) or are conducting supplementary studies to obtain their medical licence (third country medical degrees).

What can other communities learn from this example?

According to the city, the development of strong regional cooperation across all 26 municipalities in the region for the SFX has been challenging. However, once the cooperation was set up, the success of both programmes has been the ability to provide migrants – with or without prior education - with better possibilities to enter the labour market and thus shortening the time between arrival in Sweden and getting into employment. SFX is always keen to interact and exchange experiences with other regions or cities that works or takes initiatives to make use of the competences and skills that migrants bring.

Further information

• FAB (fast-track Action Boot) project

• Swedish for professionals (SFX)

OECD resources

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.