Introduction of Professional Competency Tests

The plan wants politics to respect the Swedish model and the parties to the labour market, which bears the requirement that vocational tests be designed in close collaboration with labour market parties and introduced gradually. The plan also sees education as something broader than short-term skills supply: secondary school should meet all children's needs and not be based on competition. This speaks against the committee's line of implementing the tests without sector anchoring.

• respect for the parties' modeldecisive»Men för att förhandlingarna ska vara rättvisa behöver politiken respektera den svenska modellen, där politiker inte hotar den ena parten med försämringar om den inte ger med sig.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“But for the negotiations to be fair, politics needs to respect the Swedish model, where politicians do not threaten one party with worsening if it does not give in.”
• parties' central role»Fackens och kollektivavtalens roll är central både för ekonomin och demokratin.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The role of trade unions and collective agreements is central both to the economy and democracy.”
• broad educational mandate»Gymnasieskolan ska kunna möta alla barns behov, och inte som idag bygga på konkurrens.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Secondary school should be able to meet all children's needs, and not as today be based on competition.”
• education not only labour-market driven»Vi vill se en skola med ett brett uppdrag« (party programme ↗)“We want to see a school with a broad mandate”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan is based on close cooperation between the parties and collective agreements as the norm in the Swedish model, which argues for occupational tests to be designed together with the parties in each industry and introduced gradually. At the same time, the plan wants to raise the status of vocational education and link the educational supply to the needs of the labour market, so the objection to short-term thinking is close to the plan's view of education as more than immediate labour supply.

• close cooperation between the partiesdecisive»Allt detta kommer att kräva en nära« (party programme ↗)“All this will require close”
• the Swedish model»Kollektivavtal som norm, försvar av den svenska modellen.« (party programme ↗)“Collective agreements as the norm, defence of the Swedish model.”
• strengthened vocational education»Höjd status för yrkesutbildning.« (party programme ↗)“Raised status for vocational education.”
• education linked to needs»Det ska finns en starkare koppling mellan de utbildningar som erbjuds och de behov av personal som finns i samhället.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“There must be a stronger link between the education offered and the need for personnel in society.”

The plan values the Swedish model, where unions and employers jointly take responsibility for labour market rules, which speaks for vocational tests being designed in close cooperation with the branches' parties. The plan also states that education must be seen more broadly than being driven by easily measurable knowledge requirements, which supports the demand that education not be reduced to short-term labour market needs.

• education before measurabilitydecisive»För att värna bildningsidealet måste utbildning ses ur ett bredare perspektiv än att enbart styra mot lätt mätbara kunskapskrav.« (party programme ↗)“To preserve the educational ideal, education must be seen from a broader perspective than only being driven by easily measurable knowledge requirements.”
• the Swedish model is valued»Miljöpartiet värnar den svenska modellen, där fackföreningar och arbetsgivare tillsammans tar stort ansvar för reglerna på arbetsmarknaden.« (party programme ↗)“The Greens value the Swedish model, where trade unions and employers together take great responsibility for the rules on the labour market.”
• education not an obstacle»Utbildningssystemet ska inte vara hinder som barn och unga tvingas passera, utan platser som uppmuntrar fortsatt lärande.« (party programme ↗)“The education system shall not be an obstacle that children and young people are forced to pass, but places that encourage continued learning.”
• assessment promotes learning»Bedömningen i skolan ska främja lärande och utveckling – inte sortering.« (party programme ↗)“Assessment at school shall promote learning and development – not sorting.”

The party programme explicitly advocates a model where the rules for the labour market as far as possible are set between the labour market parties rather than through legislation. Skills tests designed in close cooperation with respective sector are a direct application of that tripartite model, and vocational education shall according to the plan be linked to the labour market's needs. The plan simultaneously wants education to build on lifelong learning, which speaks against a one-sidedly short-term orientation.

• the tripartite model over legislationdecisive»Centerpartiet förespråkar en modell där spelreglerna för arbetsmarknaden i mesta möjliga mån fastställs mellan« (party programme ↗)“The Centre Party advocates a model where the rules for the labour market as far as possible are set between”
• sector-proximate vocational training»Lärlings- och yrkesutbildningar kopplade till arbetsmarknadens behov är viktigt.« (party programme ↗)“Apprenticeships and vocational training linked to the labour market's needs is important.”
• strengthened school and business cooperation»Gör det enklare att anställa elever i yrkesprogram som lärlingar genom att stärka ersättningen för företagens kostnader förknippade med utbildningen.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Make it easier to employ students in vocational programmes as apprentices by strengthening compensation for companies' costs associated with training.”
• education according to labour market needs»Utbildningssystemet behöver i betydligt större utsträckning utgå från arbetsmarknadens behov.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The education system needs to a significantly greater extent be based on the labour market's needs.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan wants vocational education to have close ties to the labour market and is based on the Swedish model where conditions are mainly determined by agreements between the parties, which speaks for occupational tests to be designed in close cooperation with the industries. The plan also states that tests can be designed in different ways and that everyone regardless of choice of study shall be able to read in university requirements, so education shall not be narrowed to short-term labour market needs. The counter-proposal's requirements are thus in line with the plan.

• vocational education close to the labour marketdecisive»Yrkesutbildningarna ska ha nära anknytning till arbetsmarknaden och stärka elevens kontakter med arbetslivet.« (party programme ↗)“Vocational education shall have close ties to the labour market and strengthen students' contacts with working life.”
• flexible test design»Prov bör finnas både på högskoleförberedande och yrkesförberedande program, men kan utformas på olika sätt.« (party programme ↗)“Tests should exist in both upper secondary preparatory and vocational preparatory programmes, but can be designed in different ways.”
• broad upper secondary education»Gymnasieskolan ska erbjuda högkvalitativ utbildning inom både teoretiska och yrkesinriktade områden, och alla ska oavsett studieval kunna välja att läsa in högskolebehörighet.« (party programme ↗)“Upper secondary school shall offer high-quality education in both theoretical and vocationally oriented areas, and everyone regardless of choice of study shall be able to choose to read in university requirements.”
• the parties' model»Den svenska arbetsmarknadsmodellen, där villkoren i huvudsak bestäms genom avtal och inte i lag, bidrar till ansvarstagande på arbetsmarknaden.« (party programme ↗)“The Swedish labour market model, where conditions are mainly determined through agreements and not by law, contributes to responsibility in the labour market.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan places the design of working life conditions with the labor market parties and wants upper secondary school to be characterized by diversity based on students' needs, not solely on the labor market's demand. It also establishes that the pursuit of knowledge has its own value. This argues for the counter-proposal's requirement for industry-anchored and gradual introduction of occupational tests, even though occupational tests are not addressed.

• the parties' roledecisive»Utformningen ska göras av arbetsmarknadens parter.« (party programme ↗)“The design shall be done by the labor market parties.”
• students' needs guide upper secondary school»Gymnasieskolan ska i hög grad utgå från elevernas behov och intressen och bör därför präglas av mångfald.« (party programme ↗)“Upper secondary school shall to a large extent be based on students' needs and interests and should therefore be characterized by diversity.”
• knowledge's intrinsic value»Sökandet efter kunskap är en mänsklig rättighet som måste värnas.« (party programme ↗)“The pursuit of knowledge is a human right that must be protected.”
• cooperation between school and working life»Lärlingsprogram där undervisningen växelvis bedrivs på skola och arbetsplats ska finnas.« (party programme ↗)“Apprenticeship programs where teaching is alternately conducted at school and at the workplace shall exist.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan's crucial commitment is that skills supply should be improved as soon as possible and that the content of vocational education should become relevant and sought-after. The counter-proposal's requirement for gradual, industry-anchored implementation delays the reform. The plan certainly acknowledges both theoretical and practical knowledge, but it prioritises speed and work-life relevance over a slow implementation process.

• better skills supplydecisive»Kompetensförsörjningen på svensk arbetsmarknad måste bli bättre.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Skills supply in the Swedish labour market must improve.”
• rapid implementation»Det finns därför behov av att snarast införa olika kortare utbildningar.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“There is therefore a need to introduce various shorter education programmes as soon as possible.”
• work-life relevant vocational education»De gymnasiala yrkesutbildningarna och vuxenutbildningarna i Sverige måste få ett innehåll som är relevant och eftertraktat.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Upper secondary vocational education and adult education in Sweden must have content that is relevant and sought-after.”
• broad knowledge perspective»Både teoretisk och praktisk kunskap är viktigt i samhället.« (party programme ↗)“Both theoretical and practical knowledge are important in society.”

The plan requires that the education system be adapted to a greater extent to the labour market's needs and that pathways into the labour market become faster. The counter-proposal wants to condition vocational tests with gradual, industry-anchored implementation and warns that education is reduced to labour market needs, which slows down and relativizes exactly the direction the plan requires. The fact that the plan simultaneously wants to defend the Swedish model makes the assessment uncertain.

• education after the labour marketdecisive»Utbildningsväsendet och integrationsprogram måste också i högre grad anpassas efter arbetsmarknadens behov.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The education system and integration programmes must also be adapted to a greater extent to the labour market's needs.”
• demand-driven education»Utbilda efter de behov som finns på arbetsmarknaden« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Educate according to the needs that exist on the labour market”
• faster paths to work»Tvååriga praktiska gymnasieutbildningar ska införas för att ge snabbare vägar in på arbetsmarknaden.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Two-year practical upper secondary education programmes should be introduced to provide faster pathways into the labour market.”
• the Swedish model»Försvara den svenska modellen« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Defend the Swedish model”