Apprenticeships could create 550 jobs for young people in Gävleborg
Despite high youth unemployment in many Swedish municipalities, there is very little workplace-based learning. Only one in twelve vocational students in Sweden is an apprentice, compared to 40% in several neighboring European countries. This affects young people’s opportunities to enter the labor market.
Research shows that an increased proportion of apprenticeships is clearly linked to lower youth unemployment. If Sweden reached the same level as Denmark, Norway and Germany, youth unemployment could be reduced by 1.3 percentage points – which corresponds to 550 more young people in work in Gävleborg County alone.
The Swedish Federation of Small Businesses and the Swedish Apprenticeship Promotion Association are now working to change this, including through demonstration projects for a functioning apprenticeship system in Sweden – where training takes place in close collaboration between schools, companies and the National Agency for Education.
