Database of labour market practices
This database gathers practices in the field of employment submitted by European countries for the purposes of mutual learning. These practices have proven to be successful in the country concerned, according to its national administration. The European Commission does not have a position on the policies or measures mentioned in the database.
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| Original Title: | Arbetsmarknadsutbildning med Sfi |
| Country: | Sweden |
| Responsible body: | The Swedish public employment service (PES), ten |
| Name(s) of other organisations involved (partners / sub-contractors): | Vocational companies working for the PES and employers |
| Start Year of implementation: | 2010 |
| End Year of implementation: | Ongoing |
| EU policy relevance: | The Swedish for Immigrants programme aims to provide linguistic tools for communication and active participation in everyday, social and working life and thus to increase the employability of immigrants who are disadvantaged in the labour market. This goal matches the policy priorities set by the Europe 2020 strategy, particularly the EU’s aim to foster inclusive growth, and is in line with the EU’s flagship initiative “An agenda for new skills and new jobs”. |
| National labour market context: | Labour Market Training targeted to unemployed job seekers has a long tradition in Sweden and since the mid-1990s has been an important labour market policy instrument. The purpose of labour market training is to provide unemployed persons basic or supplementary vocational training. Another objective is to promote both occupational and geographical mobility to support structural changes in the economy, to counter labour shortages that arise in the labour market, and to strengthen the position of disadvantaged groups in the labour market. The rate of unemployment in Sweden increased from 6.2 % in 2008 to 8.3 % in 2009 and has since then remained at a level around 8 %. This significant increase of unemployment has also coincided with an increase of participants in various |
| Policy area: | Active labour market policies, Education and training systems, Labour market participation |
| Specific policy or labour market problem being addressed: | Difficulties in finding employment experienced by immigrant groups who do not have knowledge of the Swedish language; meeting the needs of employers for skilled staff. |
| Aims and objectives of the policy or measure: | The Labour Market Training Programme with Swedish for immigrants is targeted at non-native job seekers in need of training in Swedish. Initiated in 2008, this programme provides language courses combined with training for vocational skills, in order to facilitate labour market integration for immigrants. The overall aim is to get non-native job seekers into employment as quickly as possible after completing the training and, thus, help them become self-sufficient. The training also helps participants become integrated into society, improve their language skills, and enable them to obtain certificates and licences for their profession. |
| Main activities / actions underpinning the policy or measure: | The vocational skills training offered includes cleaning and servicing of buildings, welding, retail and kitchen services. Courses last from 60 to 80 weeks. The courses are generally run full-time for 40 hours a week; consisting of 15 hours a week Swedish language training and 25 hours a week vocational employment training in a training institution. A language teacher is present during vocational training to complement courses with work-related language instructions and classroom communication skills. |
| Geographical scope of policy or measure: | Regional |
| Target groups: | Non-native job seekers who need language training |
| Outputs and outcomes of the policy or measure: | It is reported that around 50% of participants from 2010-2012 obtained employment within one year of completing training. The success rate varied depending on the profession. The highest employment rates within one year of having completed training were noted in forestry (86%), health care (79%) and kitchen and food services (69%). The lowest were reported for computer numerical control (22%), household services (40%) and personal care assistant (40%). It was also found that the training programme sped up participation into society, self-sufficiency and language progression. Further, it is suggested that the programme motivated participants and stimulated learning abilities. |
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Labour market training programme with Swedish for immigrants