This country note provides an overview of the governance of the adult skills system in Sweden. It is part of an extensive review of all 38 OECD countries. The main findings across all countries are summarised in the OECD policy paper The Role of Subnational Governments in Adult Skills Systems. Representatives from the Swedish Government reviewed the country note in December 2024 and published it in June 2025.
The role of subnational governments in adult skills systems: Sweden
Note: For more information on the definitions of the governance models, please see (OECD, 2025[1]).
Source: (OECD/UCLG, 2022[2])
Sweden has a combined adult skills system. National ministries set the framework for adult skills policies, which are then implemented by a mix of stakeholders across levels of government, including national agencies in combination with deconcentrated local offices, social partners, and municipalities.
Active labour market policies (ALMPs) are overseen by the Ministry of Labour (Arbetsmarknadsdepartementet) in cooperation with the National Public Employment Service (Arbetsförmedlingen) and implemented through a structure of deconcentrated local offices.
Vocational Education and Training (VET) and higher VET (HVET) are overseen by the Ministry of Education and Research (Utbildningsdepartementet) in cooperation with multiple national agencies and implemented by various stakeholders, mainly at the national and local level, including municipalities (upper secondary VET and VET for adults and migrants).
Municipalities are also responsible for implementing adult education (AE) (komvux) together with other adult education providers such as folk high schools (folkhögskolor). Continuous Education and Training (CET) is integrated into various parts of the skills system, including VET for adults, ALMPs and AE. In 2024, the Swedish Government introduced a new form of upper-secondary vocational education for adults (national yrkesutbilding), which offers targeted, industry-relevant training for adults at the upper-secondary level. The new training form will complement municipal vocational training at the upper secondary level.
Regional governments have a statutory responsibility to set goals and priorities for regional skills supply and demand. Regional Skills Councils have been set up in some regions to implement this responsibility. Recent legislative changes have strengthened the regional level and efforts to link education and provision, especially at the local level, with changing labour market needs.
Legend: ✓ = Yes; - = No
Note: For more information on exact definitions of policy areas and responsibilities, please see (OECD, 2025[1]).
Note: Colour code: Dark blue → government/national/subnational agencies, Green → social partners, Lighter blue → private actors and education providers, Yellow → Expert councils/foundations/associations/research institutions. For more information, please see (OECD, 2025[1])
Source: OECD compilation based on available information.
At the national level, the Ministry of Education and Research (Utbildningsdepartementet() and the Ministry of Labour (Arbetsmarknadsdepartementet) are tasked with developing policies and strategies across VET, HVET, CET, AE and ALMPs:
The Ministry of Education and Research oversees several national agencies that implement adult skills policies, including the Swedish National Agency for Education (Skolverket), the Swedish National Agency for Higher Vocational Education (Myndigheten för yrkeshögskolan), and the Swedish Higher Education Authority (Universitetskanslersämbetet).
The Ministry of Labour oversees the Swedish Public Employment Service (Arbetsförmedlingen), which implements ALMPs through a network of deconcentrated regional and local offices and contracts with independent providers.
In 2019, the Swedish Government established an Inter-agency Co-operation Structure for Skills and Lifelong Learning to coordinate activities across multiple national agencies. This co-operation structure has overseen a national arena for skills supply work until 2024, which serves as a strategic platform for engaging stakeholders (e.g., social partners) in skills policy issues.
There is a longstanding tradition of social partnership, and stakeholder involvement in the Swedish skills system is substantial. Since the 1970s, social partners have operated transition organisations (Omställningsorganisationer), aiding workers who have experienced layoffs driven by economic factors with career guidance and training. With the introduction of the social-partner-driven “transition package” by the government in 2022, re- and upskilling programmes targeted workers have been boosted through the introduction of a new state-funded study grant (omställningsstudiestöd), which provides financial support for training of individuals in employment not covered by collective agreements.
Legend: ✓ = Yes; - = No
Sweden is divided into 21 regions with substantial competencies and decision-making prerogatives across various policy domains, including health, transport and regional development.
In the skills area, the regions can voluntarily offer specific types of upper secondary education, including adult education. They are also often involved in providing liberal adult education and manage around one-third of folk high schools funded by the government.
Since 2010, Swedish regions have been legally mandated to foster collaboration and alignment between regional skills supply and demand under the Swedish Act on Regional Development Responsibility (Lagen om regionalt utvecklingsansvar). This statutory responsibility was further strengthened in 2022 through an amendment to enhance the connection between regional development and skills initiatives. The amended act now requires regions to set goals and priorities for regional skills supply and demand and to assess the demand for skills in both public and private sectors over the short and long term.
In some regions, this takes the form of Regional Skills Councils (Regionala Kompetensråd), which aim to facilitate structured, long-term engagement with key regional stakeholders on skills-related issues.
The regional PES branches have budgetary responsibility in ALMPs and, to some extent, hold decision-making power for implementing programmes.
Sweden has 290 municipalities, which, like the regions, possess significant autonomy and independent taxation powers and wield subnational competencies and decision-making powers across various policy fields, including education, social affairs, housing, and migration.
The municipalities fund and provide upper secondary education (including initial VET), municipal adult education (komvux), and education for immigrants within their respective jurisdictions. They also manage support programs for unemployed and inactive individuals, reflecting their role in social policies and minimum income benefits. They are tasked to support those furthest from the labour market.
Recent reforms have sought to create a stronger link between municipalities' education and training programmes and the labour market's general needs. Since 2023, municipalities have been obliged to consider the needs of the labour market and co-ordinate with at least two other municipalities when planning education and training provision
Beyond the municipalities, the deconcentrated structure of local PES offices plays an important role locally in providing ALMPs for the unemployed in cooperation with private providers. In addition, folk high schools (folkhögskolor), study associations (studieförbund), and private providers operate locally to provide liberal adult education (folkbildning).
Legend: ✓ = Yes; - = No
References
[4] CEDEFOP (2023), Vocational education and training in Sweden: short description., http://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2801/800830.
[3] CEDEFOP (2023), Vocational Education and Training Policy briefs, Sweden, https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/country-reports/vocational-education-and-training-policy-briefs-2023-sweden.
[12] European Commission, Eurydice (2023), 8. Adult education and training, https://eurydice.eacea.ec.europa.eu/national-education-systems/netherlands/adult-education-and-training.
[7] European Commission, Eurydice (2023), Sweden, Administration and governance at local and/or institutional level, https://eurydice.eacea.ec.europa.eu/national-education-systems/sweden/administration-and-governance-local-andor-institutional-level.
[6] European Commission, Eurydice (2023), Sweden, Lifelong learning strategy, https://eurydice.eacea.ec.europa.eu/national-education-systems/sweden/lifelong-learning-strategy.
[10] Government of Sweden (2022), Flexibility, adaptability and security in the labour market, https://www.government.se/information-material/2022/04/flexibility-adaptability-and-security/#Transitionandskillssupport.
[1] OECD (2025), “From national to local: Exploring the role of subnational governments in adult skills systems across OECD countries”, OECD Local Economic and Employment Development (LEED) Papers, No. 2025/XX, OECD Publishing, Paris.
[8] OECD (2024), Report on Relevant International Practices in the Field of Skills Governance, https://www.oecd.org/en/about/programmes/dg-reform/strengthening-the-governance-of-the-swedish-skills-system.html.
[11] OECD (2023), “Organisation of public employment services at the local level in Sweden”, OECD Local Economic and Employment Development (LEED) Papers, No. 2023/03, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/24edca19-en.
[5] OECD (2023), Strengthening the Governance of the Swedish Skills System: Situation Analysis Report, https://www.oecd.org/en/about/programmes/dg-reform/strengthening-the-governance-of-the-swedish-skills-system.html.
[2] OECD/UCLG (2022), 2022 Country Profiles of the World Observatory on Subnational Government Finance and Investment., https://www.sng-wofi.org/country-profiles/sweden.html.
[9] TUAC (2018), The Swedish Job Security Councils – A case study on social partners’ led transitions, The Trade Union Advisory Committee (TUAC) to the OECD, https://tuac.org/news/the-swedish-job-security-councils-a-case-study-on-social-partners-led-transitions/.
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The full paper is available in English: OECD (2025), The role of subnational governments in adult skills systems, OECD Local Economic and Employment Development (LEED) Papers, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/d452e8b7-en
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