Response to interpellation 2022/23:46 on studies with transition study support
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
L argues that the government is implementing a historic reform for transition student support in line with the parties' expectations. L emphasizes that the investments in vocational training are at historically high levels and that quality must be prioritized over rapid expansion 1 2. L argues that the government is not reducing study places but maintains high ambitions 2. S argues that the government is cutting funding for adult education, yrkesvux, and higher education, which leads to fewer study places 3. S considers it absurd to reduce study places in a recession and argues that efforts should be increased when demand is high 4.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Utbildningsministern Mats Persson (L)
has asked me if I and the government have misjudged the need of people who want to study with transition study support and, if so, what measures I intend to take. Mats Wiking has also asked if I and the government are prepared to allocate more funds to higher education and adult education so that everyone who applies for transition study support can be able to attend education.
Through the bill Flexibility, adaptability and security in the labor market, a historic reform was implemented that laid the foundation for a new main agreement between the parties in the labor market. After the bill was decided in the Riksdag in June this year, representatives for Svenskt Näringsliv, the Negotiation and Cooperation Council PTK, and LO signed the new main agreement.
When the bill was debated in the Riksdag, all parties included in the government voted in favor of the bill in its entirety. Only the Vänsterpartiet voted against. The bill states that funds for the transition study support shall be added incrementally starting from 2023 until the reform is fully implemented in 2026. In 2023, 1.3 billion kronor will be added, and next year this sum will be increased to 2.8 billion kronor in line with the preparatory works prepared by the Social Democratic government together with Miljöpartiet, Liberalerna, and Centerpartiet. The government is thus introducing the reform precisely in the manner announced in the bill and in full accordance with what the parties expect.
I note that there is an unexpectedly large interest in the new transition study support, but the plans for the implementation remain fixed. A significant reason for this is that the processing authorities, primarily CSN, are to be given reasonable planning conditions.
For education at universities and colleges, the government in the budget bill for 2023 has assessed that new initiatives are not relevant. Universities and colleges have large resources for education. During 2023, the appropriations for education amount to approximately 26 billion kronor, and the number of applicants to college education is decreasing after the high demand of the pandemic years. The government also proposes that 270 million kronor shall be added during 2023 for vocational-oriented upper secondary adult education, so-called yrkesvux. How the need for education will develop in the future we do not know at the current stage, but the government naturally follows the development closely to assess the needs during the coming years.
Mats Wiking (S)
Mr. Speaker! Thank you, Minister for Education, for the answer! It is positive that the Minister states that the S-led government's plans regarding the transition support will be completed and that we were in agreement in that work. As an education politician, however, I become concerned when the government cuts the appropriations for adult education, vocational adult education, colleges, and universities.
For adult education, the cut is 1.23 billion. For vocational adult education, it is 104 million. And for colleges and universities, it is a reduction of 81 million.
We Social Democrats have conversely experienced that the grants have been important for municipalities and educational providers to dare to start new educations and dare to hire teachers.
The assessment is that the government's policy will lead to 22,000 fewer places for adults than in our budget proposal.
Does Mats Persson really think it is right to describe tens of thousands fewer educational places as an investment?
Utbildningsministern Mats Persson (L)
Mr. Speaker! Thank you, Mats Wiking, for the contribution and the question! It is obvious, I think, that Sweden is a country with very high ambitions for higher education. And it is quite clear that the investments in the budget bill on vocational training and on higher education are at historically high levels.
Some of the temporary initiatives that were made during the pandemic will disappear at the turn of the year. They were temporary. They are expiring. But the permanent level, which applies in our country for the coming years, means that thousands of young people and thousands of adults will have the opportunity to complete an education at a university or college or some form of vocational training.
It is historically high levels. When it comes to the university college, it is a doubling since about ten years ago. We thus have very high levels. I think it is very good that we have it. I also think it is a great strength that we broadly in the Swedish Riksdag have been able to find a consensus regarding this, because it is an issue where we need less political bickering and more cooperation. It is an issue where we need to look more at what is best for the country Sweden, best for the companies and best for individuals. This is more important than short-term party-political interests or short-term party-political gains. This is important for Sweden, and it is important that we cooperate.
Mr. Speaker! The transition study support is a part of this. It is when the Swedish model is at its best. The parties in the labor market sat down and negotiated - admittedly under threat from the Liberals and partly the Center Party regarding legislation - and arrived at a new Saltsjöbaden Agreement, which fundamentally changes the Swedish labor market in large parts.
An important part of this is flexibility. It is increased opportunities for the individual entrepreneur, the medium-sized company, or the large company to have flexible tools to be able to adapt production according to what the demand looks like. But it is also an opportunity for more people to change careers in the middle of life, to further educate themselves in the middle of life, to find a new path in life in the middle of life, a new education, a new profession. This creates incredible opportunities not only for the individual but also for our society.
The transition study support is very important, and the levels the government is at are precisely in line with what the labor market partners have wanted to see.
We do this because it is an important agreement for Sweden. For the Swedish labor market to function, it is important that more people get the opportunity to further their education and that more people get the right skills. It is good for the individual individuals. It is also good for the companies and thus for all of us, because the companies are the foundation of our common welfare. That is where the tax revenues come from.
Overall, it is these important reforms that make the Swedish labor market function better and that make us, at least step by step, move in the direction of reducing the skills shortage that exists today and which is a major obstacle for many companies and many individuals.
Mats Wiking (S)
Mr. Speaker! Thank you, Minister for Education, for the answer! We Social Democrats think that educational initiatives are very important. When the Minister for Education cuts back on vocational training, higher education, and adult education, we see that it is a reduction of resources. It is about meeting the needs we have now as we face a recession and so on.
I would like to bring up the transition support a little bit. We saw in an article – I believe it was yesterday – that 20,000 applications have been received, Mr. Speaker, to study via transition study support, which must be considered a success.
Unfortunately, CSN signals that the majority will not have their applications approved. The main reason is that the number of applicants is four times larger than the budget allows. At the same time, applications continue to stream in. One can say that there is an enormous need for education in this country, something that both people themselves and companies see.
Based on this, I want to ask what preparedness the government has to adjust both the transition study support and the educational supply to meet the large demand that exists.
Utbildningsministern Mats Persson (L)
Mr. Speaker! Thank you, Mats Wiking, for the excellent question!
Now the applications are coming in. They are handled by CSN, and 20,000 applications have been received, just as Mats Wiking says. In this situation, it is too early to speculate on how many of them will be approved and how many of them will be rejected. It is a task that the authorities are now handling, and I believe it is important that we politicians do not interfere in it.
It will take some time, because more applications have come in than the forecast predicted. This is about people receiving a correct and legally secure assessment. Therefore, it must take the time required so that a correct assessment can be made and thus know which measures one is entitled to.
It is therefore too early to answer what proportion of these 20,000 will be granted the support and what proportion will be rejected. It remains to be seen, but we are following this very, very closely, partly because it is important that there is legal certainty in the assessment, and partly because we naturally need to see to what extent the needs exist.
This stands high on the government's agenda, and we are following it very closely.
Mats Wiking (S)
Mr. Speaker! Thank you for the answer, Minister for Education!
In my head, the equation doesn't quite add up. First, a number of educational places are withdrawn, and then the government says that we are covering the needs that exist, because there has been a gigantic investment during the pandemic. Now we end up in a situation where we enter a recession with tougher times, and we can be quite sure that long-term unemployment will increase.
Meeting these needs by reducing the number of educational places feels very wrong to me, Mr. Speaker. We Social Democrats believe that in this situation it is important to invest precisely in educational initiatives and in transition. If there is a need and demands from the citizens in society, we should rather increase the efforts.
In this situation, the government is cutting back on all forms of education for adults and abolishing Äldreomsorgslyftet. The undersigned knows that it is not the Minister for Education's responsibility, Mr. Speaker, but it is the bourgeois, right-conservative government that has made the cut, and even this was an important educational initiative.
Does Mats Persson really think that this is the right way to address the social problems that have arisen?
Utbildningsministern Mats Persson (L)
Mr. Speaker! Let me be very clear: The Government has very high ambitions when it comes to education for both children, young people, and adults. We are making no cuts to the educations, we have very high ambitions, and we are at historically high levels when it comes to what vocational education is offered to the Swedish people.
It is also important not to expand the operations all too quickly, because the operations must maintain a high quality. If one expands an operation too quickly, there is a great risk that quality is compromised and that those who undergo the training do not receive the training they are entitled to and thus do not have the qualifications that the labor market requires.
It is very important that we have high ambitions when it comes to higher education, adult education, and the Swedish school system. This government is not cutting the number of educational places; instead, we have historically high levels.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.