Adult education

Fredrik Malm (L)

Mr. Speaker! We now have to debate the Education Committee's report 13 on adult education.

Initially, I want to say that adult education is very important for Sweden. It gives many individuals a second chance and benefits society as a whole. Many can here study for a qualification that they need to be able to move forward in life. The certificate of completion opens doors into the labor market.

Adult education in Sweden means that it is never too late to get an education, even if one completely lacks primary education. For me as a Liberal, this is very important.

With adult education, we can also meet the need for skilled labor that companies are crying out for. Many companies in Sweden state that the biggest obstacle to their expansion is the supply of competence.

Adult education, and not least the university college, can plug at least some of these gaps and contribute to us making both Sweden and all our inhabitants wealthier.

Mr. Speaker! In addition, we have our aging population. Moving forward, more people will need to work. If we do not manage that, we will be forced to either lower our ambitions for the welfare state or be forced to raise taxes.

As a liberal, I want none of this. I absolutely do not want to erode our welfare, and I do not want to raise our taxes either. We simply must achieve a better matching in the labor market, a better supply of skills, and help more people to be able to transition in order to meet this future for our country.

Furthermore, Mr. Speaker, we have had a large immigration to Sweden. Every fifth inhabitant is now born in another country. Many have difficulty entering the labor market. This can be linked to the fact that one has not learned Swedish, for example, or that one has not been able to complete or even attend school in the home country as a result of war, conflicts, and other things. This also makes adult education very important for many people who have come to Sweden as adults.

The professional requirements are higher today than they have been previously. At the same time, there are many who want to study a vocational education, or who in any case could do so but who do not perceive these as sufficiently attractive.

There is also a lack of quality in adult education in some areas. This does not apply to all educations, of course; there are plenty of educations within SFI, yrkesvux, municipal adult education, and the university college that maintain a very good quality, but we also see some deficiencies. It is too complicated, and it sometimes takes too long to close educations that do not maintain a certain quality. It is simply too easy to do a poor job.

What many municipalities also do not want to talk about, Mr. Speaker, is that one often chooses what is cheapest - not necessarily what is best for the target group. Here, solutions must be found so that municipalities do not have to invest money in things that do not yield results.

It is also important that there are many different actors: own management, private actors, universities of applied sciences, folk high schools and so on. Not least, it is important in order to reach all target groups. The chance of success within adult education is much greater if there is a diversity of providers.

Mr. Speaker! The economic situation has changed the conditions in the labor market. There is an increased demand for vocational training for adults. The Government has agreed to now add 167 million kronor extra in the spring budget. This means approximately 2,000 full-time places within regional vocational adult education for this year. This is to be added to the very large investment that was also made in the budget bill for this year, which was closer to 1 billion, if I remember correctly, in increased funding. This is important so that no more people end up in exclusion in Sweden.

When one increases the places significantly, it is at the same time important that it does not become storage of people. The purpose of adult education must always be that one should get into a job. That is what is absolutely most important, so that more children can see their parents go to work every morning.

The government has also, we can note, decided to introduce a new state grant for vocational adult education at company establishments and company expansions. It concerns 125 million kronor for this year, which is primarily directed towards municipal adult education, mainly with a focus on sparsely populated counties.

We know that the demand for vocationally trained labor with competence in, for example, digitalization, automation, electrification and so on is currently increasing greatly as a result of companies establishing themselves and expanding, not least in northern Sweden.

With this, I move for the approval of the proposal in the report.

(Applause)

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Daniel Riazat (V)

Mr. Speaker! I have two questions for Fredrik Malm.

Will the future bill regarding free schools and the limitation of the marketization of the school system, which the Liberals have promised will come, also include adult education? That was the first question.

The second question concerns the Left Party's reservation number 5, which I would like to take the opportunity to move for approval of now, since I will not be able to remain when it is time for me to give my speech. It concerns the right for people who are adopted to read their mother tongue within adult education.

Today, there are requirements that one must have knowledge of the language, among other things by speaking it at home, in order to be allowed to read one's mother tongue. This is restricted to a certain group of people, and adopted children are simply excluded, that is to say, they do not have the right to read their mother tongue because the biological parents are obviously not here.

I know that it is an AMT report, but I still wonder how Fredrik Malm views the possibility for adopted children to study their mother tongue within adult education?

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Fredrik Malm (L)

Mr. Speaker! Thank you very much, Daniel Riazat, for the questions!

When it comes to the first question, there is a bit of a difference when it concerns independent schools. There are different regulatory frameworks. In primary and secondary school, it is a matter of applying to the School Inspectorate and starting a school. At the establishment, when the school is started, the question becomes how free it should be and what objections should be considered from, for example, the municipality where one wants to start the school, and it becomes ownership and management reviews and a number of such questions.

In adult education, it works differently, Mr. Speaker. It is about contracts. There, I would say that the School Inspectorate has a supervisory responsibility. It is important that this is strengthened.

A few years ago, very strong criticism followed a primarily media revelation; it was the media that first drew attention to it. It concerned, if I remember correctly, some construction training programs in Stockholm County that were on contract. As I mentioned in my speech, one must be able to close training programs that do not meet the standard more quickly. In that regard, the university college (yrkeshögskolan) is a much better example, as they have greater mobility in this.

When it comes to mother tongue instruction, my view is that the regulatory framework we have in Sweden is actually quite good. It is not my view that municipal adult education should have the mandate to provide mother tongue instruction, but we shall, of course, have it in primary school and upper secondary school.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Daniel Riazat (V)

Mr. Speaker and Fredrik Malm! When it comes to the question of the marketization of adult education, it differs, just as Fredrik Malm said, compared to for example upper secondary school and primary school in terms of the form itself. In one case, it is outsourced, and in the other case, it is private companies that themselves apply to start the operations.

They nevertheless proceed from the same mechanism and the same market logic. We have private actors who run upper secondary schools and primary schools and who are also involved in and conduct, for example, adult education. There we know that much criticism has been leveled because they have demonstrably done this to earn as much money as possible, not to directly contribute to society, make adult education better or secure the needs of the labor market.

The Liberals have been beating the big drum when it comes to the marketization of schools in general and the education system, and we have not seen any practical action at all after all the talk over the last few months. Therefore, I wonder: Will you also address the issue of unserious private actors within adult education, or do you make a difference in this case and consider it okay with greedy actors who are only out to make money? That was the first question.

The second question is: In what way do the Liberals mean that people who have been adopted and live in Sweden should be able to learn their mother tongue if it is not to take place through the education system? I do not quite understand how that is supposed to work. Since they do not have that right today, I just wonder: When are they supposed to learn this?

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Fredrik Malm (L)

Mr. Speaker! We have contracting solutions in many areas in Sweden, and we have the Public Procurement Act and much more.

If we have actors who do not behave themselves, this can partly be a consequence of the municipalities or the regions, for that part, not being sufficiently competent when it comes to procurement rules and how the procurements are carried out. It can also be actors who themselves have deficiencies. This must, of course, be followed up and inspected. I mean, however, that this is partly a different issue than the one regarding the independent school system.

It is two different systems. What the investigation is looking at is precisely the friskolorna. One does not always have school fees in that way in outsourcing solutions either. When there are deficiencies, these must of course be corrected, just as I mentioned in my speech.

When it comes to mother tongue instruction, I have the same view as the majority of the committee. It is clearly stated in the report that the majority of the committee does not see the need to make changes regarding this, as we believe that mother tongue instruction should not be a task for adult education.

It can however occur - absolutely! There is nothing that prevents it. We also have modern languages and other things that make it possible to read some parts in one's native language.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Caroline Helmersson Olsson (S)

Mr. Speaker! An informed and educated population is an important prerequisite for the defense of democracy. FRA, the Defence Research Agency, says that knowledge is Sweden's first line of defense.

A colleague in the Riksdag, as well as the chair of ABF, Helén Pettersson, visited NATO's headquarters before our entry into NATO. She told me that a very high-ranking senior official within NATO was asked what Sweden can contribute to NATO. We often talk about what NATO can do for us. He answered without blinking that Sweden's greatest asset is our strong civil society and a well-organized and well-educated population. According to Helén, he said that Sweden's population is so aware and well-educated that it could never be deceived by its government.

Adult education contributes to this, and today's debate is very important. Our actually world-unique model with generous opportunities for lifelong learning, our libraries, our strong civic life and not least our folkbildning (popular education) we must be careful of and protect. It is important for democracy.

In this debate, I want to highlight the importance of adult education for education. According to the Education Act, it also aims to give adults the opportunity to develop their knowledge and their competence in order to strengthen their position in the labor market and in social life, as well as to promote their personal development.

Mr. Speaker! One can draw the conclusions that the NATO official made if one looks at the latest PIAAC survey. PIAAC stands for - I will not say it in English but make a free translation - the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies. It is OECD that is responsible for it, just like the more well-known PISA survey, and SCB is responsible for the survey in Sweden.

The survey measures all skills judged to be necessary to cope in professional and social life, such as reading, arithmetic, and problem-solving. Sweden performs very well there, and Sweden also ranks highest when it comes to the ability to solve problems via computer and the internet. It is good, but the risk of being exposed to disinformation and manipulation has, according to researchers, never been as high as it is now. Adult education also needs to strengthen the work of giving participants a source-critical approach.

The Pia survey is currently underway and will be presented at the end of the year. I look forward to then being able to witness the Education Committee's commitment and desire for debate, just as it usually is when the Pia survey is released. To be continued, Mr. Speaker!

The path to work goes through education, and the path to growth for Sweden is that everyone who can work shall work. The importance of adult education for the skills supply is crucial. Almost all industries signal an acute and major skills shortage of people with vocational training at the upper secondary and YH level.

During our government's tenure, we actually reformed the education policy with regard to the labor market. We introduced a new goal in the Education Act, namely that adult education shall constitute a basis for the national and regional supply of skills to the working life. We implemented a reform so that the labor market's needs shall be weighed in when principals decide which educations shall be established and offered.

We introduced vocational packages in adult education and upper secondary school. We introduced regional vocational adult education, the funding for which we actually tripled during our time, and we doubled the number of places in the university college. We actually had a plan to double the number during this parliamentary term as well.

We invested in combination courses where vocational training is combined with SFI, and we made SFI a part of komvux to enable this. We also did this with adapted komvux. We introduced a compulsory education requirement for newcomers who participate in the establishment program and who are assessed to be in need of education to obtain a job.

We tasked the Swedish Schools Inspectorate with reviewing adult education at the school level because society needs to tighten the control of quality. The Swedish Schools Inspectorate has made a good start and conducted some quality surveys and reviews of, for example, SFI, which was presented in the committee today, as well as the teaching time in komvux and vocational training for heavy trucks and trailers.

If you place the investigations side by side and perform an analysis, one can actually see that there is a lack of equality, quality deficiencies, and clear signs that the pursuit of profit is great even in this part of the education system. Education Minister Persson should perhaps do as Lotta Edholm and wake up, or at least change the rhetoric - or if it is someone else, or Pehrson, who should do it.

Mr. Speaker! With great ambitions for expansion follows also a great ambition to do so with equal conditions and high quality. As I have previously said, we knew that there was a competence shortage, and we wanted to do something about it. But we also knew that there were quality and equality problems that needed to be addressed.

We commissioned investigations into the university colleges, komvux, yrkesvux, and SFI. All the reports are now on the government's desk, and many proposals are presented and referred while others are coming. The investigation on more paths to working life will come later this year. I hope that the government's level of ambition is high enough for it to take the proposals further. I really hope so. I don't really find any such ambitions in the lists of government bills or in the Tidö Agreement, but I hope.

Mr. Speaker! I would still say that this government has made some progress. One must give it that: There are signs that the government has woken up after the first year's austerity shock. One didn't think it was true—first, the government delivered a gigantic cut in adult education, and furthermore, it shut down the vocational schools and cut back on labor market training. It even cut back on YH, this jewel in the competence supply system.

Then the government changed its mind after half a year and put back a part, which was good. They also added another part in this year's budget and now an additional 167 million. So it is actually starting to work. But the planning conditions need to become better for the contractors out there.

There are ready-made proposals and materials to take hold of. I am of a constructive and reformist nature, so I truly believe that it will be done. But I strongly doubt that the government will even acknowledge that komvux has for too long been allowed to constitute a market where the economic incentives have been in focus rather than the core mission of providing a good education.

We naturally stand behind everything we write and say, including all reservations, but for the sake of time, I will move for approval only of reservation 10, which concerns quality in komvux.

(Applause)

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Oliver Rosengren (M)

Mr. Speaker! Between Sweden's 480,000 unemployed and 200,000 vacant jobs stand active labor market policy, functioning SFI teaching, vocational training, higher education, high school graduation, and plenty of personal effort. When the Social Democrats ruled Sweden, they caused high unemployment, severe matching problems, and growth barriers for Swedish companies rather than demanding that unemployed people without education educate themselves for work. It is new times now.

Mr. Speaker! Sweden shall reach full employment, and we shall demand that everyone without work strives to secure their own livelihood. It is also our duty that the measures intended to support people until they find jobs are functioning, accessible, and effective.

In the budget for 2023, we decided to add 5,000 more vocational adult education places than what was planned by the Social Democratic government. In the budget for 2024, a major investment of 16,500 places was implemented, and in the year-end budget, an additional 2,000 places are added on top of this.

Since we have simultaneously begun the work of restoring the work line, the positions must not only be financed but also filled. That almost every third position has stood empty despite being financed from the state budget is a trend from the Social Democrats' time in government. We shall now reverse that trend.

The Fiscal Policy Council recently presented in its report for 2024 elaborations regarding labor market policy and highlights the lack of specific skills as the most decisive explanation for our relatively high unemployment in Sweden. They simultaneously state that it is not a question of a lack of resources. As stated, on average, one in three crowns allocated in state grants for vocational adults since at least 2017 has not been used.

Mr. Speaker! During two parliamentary terms in Växjö municipality, I was responsible for the labor market, social services, and adult education as committee chair and municipal councilor. We doubled the number of places in vocational adult education, and we applied almost free admission. In areas where the labor market demanded labor, it was free to apply. At the same time, the proportion who got jobs after completing their education increased.

Yrkesvux is, in summary, an underutilized labor market measure in many municipalities, Mr. Speaker. The responsibility for this is, of course, twofold. The municipalities need to open up adult education and use it to supply the entire labor market, not just themselves as employers, but it is this chamber's job to ensure that there are legal conditions for an offensive local labor line so that the positions can also be filled. The education obligation needs to be expanded.

Mr. Speaker! Swedish for immigrants lacks clear requirements for progression today, often for both participants and providers. It gives us appalling examples of people who linger for years without even being able to handle everyday matters in Swedish. The Government and the Sweden Democrats agree on setting requirements that immigrants must exert as much effort as is required to not only attend SFI but also learn Swedish.

There are many obstacles regarding the work to ensure that everyone in Sweden can speak Swedish. Three examples: segregated residential areas where one can get by completely without Swedish, profit-seekers who do not fulfill their mission among SFI organizers, and criminal gangs where exclusion is part of the gangster ideal.

We will not give up in the fight against any of this.

Mr. Speaker! In recent years, I have visited 305 companies and welfare operations. With their experiences, stories, and challenges, they have contributed to our policy development. Many problems are common despite the operations being different. Whether it is a farm, a preschool, or a manufacturing industry, it is difficult with the supply of skills. In many cases, the difficulty of finding the right skills risks becoming a growth barrier, and people without work are thus also deprived of a job opportunity. Companies today are making grand efforts with their own training, skills development, and introduction of persons who are hired more because they have the right attitude than because they have the right education.

Budget initiatives are one thing, but vocational education is also one of the government's prioritized reform areas. Vocational courses at the basic level and new upper secondary vocational education according to the YH model are two examples. An investigation is underway regarding a two-year vocational school as a third track in upper secondary school, and we recently received exciting proposals, for example on apprenticeship training within adult education, from the state Vocational Adult Education Inquiry.

There is much left to do to strengthen vocational education in Sweden!

Mr. Speaker! Swedish prosperity depends on hard work, ingenious inventions, and secure welfare. If we fail to provide the drivers for work, the competence for companies, or the staffing for the welfare system, it threatens not only Sweden's identity but also our future.

I vote in favor of the committee's proposal.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Patrick Reslow (SD)

Mr. Speaker! Let me first and foremost move for approval of reservation 13.

The three speakers before me in the debate have already said quite a lot of the things that I would take up. I can agree with much of what Fredrik Malm and Oliver Rosengren have already raised, and even though I am not clairvoyant, Mr. Speaker, I am sure that I will be fully able to stand behind what Mathias Bengtsson will say in the next speech.

It is important that we have a strong adult education that maintains high quality and that prepares people for future occupations or studies. Sweden also has an extensive need for competent labor moving forward, which we have already heard. If we are to succeed in being self-sufficient in labor as much as possible moving forward and not be dependent on people who travel here from other countries to work here, it is important that not only the primary and secondary schools equip students well, but also that the adult education functions well and is directed towards the needs Sweden actually has.

When one follows the debate and discussion regarding investments in adult education, one becomes a bit concerned at times, because it is usually jobs in the public sector that have been at the center. Certainly, labor is needed in the public sector as well, but we must not forget that it is within the private labor market sector that there is a very large need for skills development. A strong business sector presupposes employees with the right competence, and a strong business sector is also the prerequisite for a strong Sweden.

As we heard earlier, the Sweden Democrats and the government parties have aimed to strengthen the supply of skills, and to meet the companies' skill requirements, we have also introduced a pilot project with a new form of vocational training for adults at the upper secondary level. The University of Applied Sciences, which has so successfully integrated participants into work, has served as the model for this training. We already see now that there is a very large interest in this entirely new form of national vocational training, and it is pleasing that several programs will start around Sweden. These are programs in electricity and energy, industrial technology, vehicles and transport, natural resources, civil engineering, and maritime—large and important areas for our country.

Mr. Speaker! The municipal adult education was for a long time a successful education for people who needed to supplement education from Swedish primary or secondary school. It was a way to study for the eligibility needed to enter upper secondary school or a higher education institution.

Today, komvux is something completely different. The mass immigration policy has resulted in that komvux to a significantly greater extent is an education for newcomers and other foreign-born individuals who have a need for education. Today, it is the one who has the greatest need for education who takes precedence over others, which means that in most cases it is precisely the foreign-born who are pushing out those who have a need for individual supplements. The statistics on how this has developed are very clear, not least when it comes to teaching at a basic level.

Nor the operations are functioning particularly well. While the professional university is a good example of well-functioning adult education, the exact opposite applies to Swedish for immigrants. The Sweden Democrats have for a long time had critical views on the SFI teaching. It is in many ways a lax and requirement-free existence that the students encounter within the framework of SFI. There are no requirements at all for any form of knowledge progression. One can go and linger around in the SFI courses for as long as one wants. There is no upper limit. The average time to complete the education is also very high. This must, of course, be changed.

When Skolverket and Skolinspektionen have made an impact, one has been able to see very heterogeneous groups receiving very homogeneous instruction. One could see different educational backgrounds and different levels of knowledge in the Swedish language, but it was still the same type of instruction. This is of course not good. The effect is that certain students have to sit and repeat things instead of moving forward in the instruction.

When the committee had both authorities visiting as recently as today, this picture was clear: There are many students who drop out or even disappear from the system. The latter is, by the way, the ultimate sign that something needs to be done. The authorities have no idea where the large number of dropouts are located. What are they doing? Will they return at all? This is also about people who need to learn the Swedish language and be integrated into Swedish society.

But now the era of effortless existence is over. The Sweden Democrats and the governing parties have agreed on an upper limit of three years for Swedish for immigrants studies. Only if there are special reasons can an extension be permitted.

We also ensure that information is handed over in cases where one moves to a new primary person, so that there are no possibilities to start over from year one and remain in the system because there are no requirements for information exchange.

Our ambition is that this shall lead to substantial reforms of the SFI teaching with clear requirements on the individual participant. It is also something that is lacking. The requirements on the individual participant must increase, both here and in the school system in general.

Mr. Speaker! Good knowledge of the Swedish language is central for one to be fully assimilated into Swedish society. Therefore, it is important that the conversational language in preschool is Swedish. This is particularly important for children who do not come into contact with the Swedish language at home, at least not for the time being. As Sverigedemokraternas policy is launched, this will of course also be improved, but for the time being, we are not there.

The adult staff are role models for the children. The same requirements for Swedish language skills should be imposed on persons who have a language other than Swedish as their mother tongue and who wish to study to become childcare workers or preschool teachers. We therefore believe that the government should consider tightening the requirements for certification in Swedish at level C1 for admission to vocational training to become a childcare worker. This is what our reservation 13 covers.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Mathias Bengtsson (KD)

Mr. Speaker! There can be many reasons why one needs to educate themselves as an adult. It is not uncommon for a student who struggles with reading to, after a number of years, become motivated to take hold of their studies and supplement their grades to obtain eligibility for higher education or to enter a vocational training program. It can also apply to newcomers who need to be integrated into Swedish society to become self-sufficient. They may have a profession with them but need to supplement it with what is specific to Sweden in order to be able to practice the profession here in our country. They may even want to acquire a new profession that offers better opportunities for work.

If a newcomer is to enter the Swedish labor market at all, the language is absolutely crucial. Almost a quarter of the companies state that a lack of language skills is the main reason for their recruitment problems. Therefore, SFI must function significantly better than it does today.

Mr. Speaker! There are far too many children in Sweden who have never seen their parents go to work or come home after experiencing a day of workplace community with colleagues. The adult role models that these children should have had in the family, they instead get in criminals who recruit directly into youth gangs and organized crime.

Then not only is a shadow society and parallel societies of exclusion growing, but actually also an ethnically and culturally segregated Sweden. It speaks for itself that it is dangerous and wrong if people who come to our country already from the outset experience themselves as being doomed to fail and get stuck in these parallel societies. In a society where large groups of people do not speak the same language, trust, safety, and the sense of belonging will naturally decrease.

Adult education in the form of SFI is therefore an immensely important piece of the puzzle for more people to be able to become a part of Swedish society and for Sweden as a country to manage the great integration challenge that we face. Language is a key for a society where everyone is given the opportunity to develop to their full potential. No one shall be held back, and no one shall be left behind. It is time, Mr. Speaker, for a policy that starts from the premise that everyone can and shall learn Swedish. It is in this way that we improve integration and counteract exclusion.

It cannot be emphasized enough how important it is for newcomers to enter employment quickly. It is important so that the family can receive the income that a job entails. It is important so that children can see their parents go to work. But it is of course also important for the individual's self-esteem to enter employment as soon as possible, become self-sufficient, and avoid being dependent on benefits.

Many testify that studies in Swedish in combination with studies within vocational training significantly increase the opportunities for jobs and establishment for newcomers. The best way to learn Swedish is to use it, preferably in a natural environment. Therefore, it is important that as many as possible get the chance to learn vocational Swedish at work combined with SFI.

It can create a better context and motivation for students to learn Swedish when the goal of the education becomes vocational knowledge and when there is a clear path to livelihood. Therefore, it is important to have great flexibility so that one can combine SFI with internship, other education or gainful employment.

Mr. Speaker! In Sweden, lifelong learning must be prioritized. Here it is, and here it must be possible to return to studies to build upon one's competence at komvux, folk high schools, or learning centers whenever needed. Many of us here in the chamber, or among those listening to the debate, have changed or will change careers several times during life, either because we want to ourselves or because for some reason we need to change career paths. Therefore, it is important that there is always an opportunity to improve one's own situation and realize life dreams through education and hard work. In that respect, all different types of adult education are a fantastic opportunity.

Adult education also has a very important task in forming the basis for national and regional skills supply, so that the companies I mentioned at the beginning receive the skills they need.

In summary, it is important that we continue the work of opening doors for people to enter the Swedish labor market and removing obstacles so that one can retrain for a shortage occupation.

I vote in favor of the proposal in the report.

(Applause)

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Anders Ådahl (C)

Mr. Speaker! Perhaps the degree of adult education and the level that a country has in its adult education is also a measure of the country's prosperity and how well people are doing there. Sweden fares well in international comparisons, and adult education is something we must be extremely careful with. It gives people the chance to make up for lost years of youth. One can get a second and a third chance. It gives people the chance, in the middle of a professional life, to change careers and switch tracks. It gives our new Swedes a chance to learn the new country's language. It also gives a chance to those who have a disability to become a natural part of the Swedish labor market. Adult education is completely central for a country to be well.

Mr. Speaker! We find ourselves in a changing time. We have two megatrends sweeping across the world. One trend is the green transition, the absolute necessity of meeting climate change with both climate adaptation and entirely new technology to reduce carbon emissions. We see it in Sweden with battery factories and coal-free steel. In almost every city, one can see how the green revolution, the green industrialization, is breaking through. The other trend is digitalization and artificial intelligence. This is arriving with full force in both the private and the public sector.

It places demands on the labor market and all of us who are out there and who are adults and are to be a part of this changing time: We need to retrain ourselves from time to time.

For Sweden, it is absolutely essential to keep up with the pace. Sweden as a knowledge nation is also Sweden as a welfare nation. If we are to be able to develop and afford a good school, good care, and good elderly care, we must keep up with the trends. We must have high competence in Sweden.

If we look at higher education, we could say that at one end we have the universities and at the other end the universities of applied sciences. In between lie the colleges. The universities deal primarily – or should at least do so – with generic knowledge, deep and general knowledge. It should be possible to take many kinds of jobs after a university degree. The university of applied sciences – at the other end – works with specific demand. They are out in the local and regional labor market, which clearly communicates what needs exist "here and now." It is an excellent system for Sweden. The university of applied sciences can be expanded.

There is one difference as well, besides that it is generic versus specific knowledge, namely that the universities educate for a global and perhaps national labor market, while the university colleges, as I said, focus on a regional and local labor market. And then we have the colleges, which are somewhere in between and probably also need to be there.

The University of Applied Sciences needs long-term conditions. At the same time, it needs to be prepared for a changing time. We as politicians must manage to give such directives to our University of Applied Sciences: long-term conditions and at the same time a great readiness to be able to quickly change shape and offer new courses. It should not be cemented but should constantly be changeable.

It is absolutely essential that the vocational college maintains a high quality. That was also why I reacted so strongly when cheating and fraud were discovered at an education coordinator in Skåne: Grit Academy. This risks undermining the entire system of the vocational college. So it must not be allowed to happen. The minister is, of course, well aware of this.

Vocational colleges are something we should be proud of. The Centre Party sees that we can expand vocational colleges more than the government does. We want to add 20,000 new educational places in the coming years. With that, I also move for approval of reservation 8.

Finally, I want to say a few words about something that exists in the border area of adult education, namely learning centers. It is a relatively new phenomenon. The idea is that our professional and incredibly skilled universities can provide digital courses to local campuses somewhere in the country. There are several examples of this in Sweden. We benefit from both the digital tools and the professional courses. The students who study at the learning center also get classmates and a social context. It has been shown that digital courses that are taken right out in the living room and into the computer at home are not at all as effective as if one has study companions.

Let us invest in learning centers and universities of applied sciences in order to be able to broaden higher education throughout the country, Mr. Speaker.

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)

Rasmus Ling (MP)

Mr. Speaker! It is exciting to participate in a debate on adult education, which is not among the issues I usually devote myself to. It is interesting to hear the contributions and the opposing views.

The possibility for the children who grow up in our country to seize the potential they have to become who they want to be as adults is one of the strongest drivers in my political commitment. It is about adult education and the possibility to choose again later in life, which is also completely crucial. It is important for the individual but also for society as a whole. Lifelong learning, education, folk high school education, and research are crucial for finding answers to the challenges that society faces. Higher education, research education, and research are driving forces for Sweden as a knowledge nation. Lifelong learning and our structure for education and formation are like a complex ecosystem where all parts need to be viable.

Madam Speaker! Everyone is needed in the Swedish labor market. With unemployment for certain groups and in certain places and industries that cannot find applicants for their positions, all opportunities to change careers or increase one's competence within the profession one already has are needed. More need to find their dream job in small and large companies all over Sweden, but also in the welfare sector and in the green transition.

Adult education is a fundamental part of lifelong learning. Komvux offers SFI and basic and upper secondary education for those who need to strengthen their position. Particularly important are the various vocational packages that lead to industry certifications. Komvux is also a form of education that opens the door to higher studies for those who wish to go that way. The climate transition that Sweden and the rest of the world need to make implies that we need adult education from that perspective as well.

Sfi, Swedish for immigrants, which has been taken up by several previous speakers in the debate, is an area where a great deal is happening right now. Skolverket and Skolinspektionen have conducted follow-ups. Tomorrow, I understand, the referral period expires for a Council of State referral regarding stricter requirements concerning Sfi, with proposals for a time limit of three years for those attending Sfi.

This is something that has been criticized. For example, a debate article was published in SvD Debatt a few weeks ago, signed by Sfi teachers in Örebro. In the article, they describe that the students who want to learn Swedish have dreams and want to work. Some want to sew clothes, become carpenters or clean, others want to work in preschool. What is common is that they are aware that the path to a job is to learn the Swedish language. The teachers believe in their students and know that they can succeed. Miljöpartiet will stand on the side of the teachers and students in this matter. We will, of course, review the government's upcoming proposition on this.

Madam Speaker! I move for approval of reservation 3, which concerns a green skills boost to strengthen the sustainable transition.

The deliberation was hereby concluded.

(A decision was to be taken on 29 May.)

The speech at riksdagen.se, in Swedish (opens in a new tab)