prop · GX0334en · 2009-10-21 00:00:00 — Teachers' competence is crucial for results and it is possible for the teachers concerned to continue their education within the framework of the 'boost for teachers". The Government has decided on a pilot project with performance- based incentive compensation in SFI (the SFI bonus) in 13 municipalities beginning 1 October 2009. The pilot project involves a test of the extent to which financial incentives can induce participants to learn Swedish more quickly and thus improve their chances of getting a job. Government also intends to commission a study on whether a time limitation on SFI can counteract locking-in effects and increase the programme's throughput. Post-upper secondary school vocational education and training To ensure the quality of post-secondary vocational education and training that is not part of the higher education system, the Government established the for Higher Vocational Education on All post-secondary education that is not part of the higher education system will now fall under the framework of the vocational college and university. The common rules systems for post-secondary vocational education and training includes clarifying follow-up and The aim is to increase transparency and legal certainty for The introduction of vocational colleges and universities makes improving efficiency and prioritising national education programmes This means that post-secondary vocational education and training will be even more oriented to the need for the right skills for working life and high quality. places at vocational colleges and universities directed at skills shortages in the labour market create chances for more people to get a job. In the 2010 Budget , the Government proposed more places in vocational college and university programmes. To mitigate the effect of higher unemployment, it is important to combine labour market issues with initiatives in the education system. Previous experience has shown that there is an increase in the number who apply for higher education programmes when there is an economic downturn. students also choose to extend their studies by supplementing their programme with additional courses while waiting for it to become easier to get a job. Against this background, the Government in the 2010 Budget (Govt. 2009/10:1) has proposed creating 10 000 new places in higher education for 2010 and 2011. For 2010, this involves a proposal by the Government to allocate million for new places. These places and the funding for them are projected for each academic institution for 2011 as well. The Government intends to return with proposals on charging third world students tuition fees beginning in autumn . Charging third world students tuition fees would free up funding equivalent to the amount of the basic education appropriation that is now used for third world students. For 2012 this freed-up funding should continue to be made available to universities and colleges for basic education and then can be used to phase out the temporary increase in higher education places in 2010 and 2011. Quality improvements in higher education continue to be a high priority. A government inquiry (SOU 2007:81) has had the task of reviewing the system for the allocation of resources to universities and other institutions of higher education. An important starting point for the inquiry was that resources should to a greater extent be allocated according to quality. In autumn the Government introduced a new model for the allocation of resources in which parts of the central government appropriation for research to universities and colleges is linked to quality indicators (Govt. 2008/09:50). In this way there are expected to be incentives for academic institutions to assign priorities and focus their research, which ultimately will lead to an increase in the quality of research in and in competing countries. for Higher Education has been given the remit to propose a new system for assessing the quality of higher education programmes. There are plans to present a Government to the Riksdag in autumn . As mentioned in the 2007 Progress Report, the Government is taking measures to reduce political involvement in the governance of university and other institutions of higher education and to strengthen their autonomy. In , the Inquiry on Academic Independence () submitted its report Independent Higher Education Institutions (Självständiga lärosäten) (SOU 2008:104) to the The main proposal in its report is that universities and colleges should cease being state agencies and instead adopt a new form of public organisation as independent higher education institutions, and thus constitute legal persons. The report has been circulated for comment. There are substantial differences in the views of those to whom the report was circulated for comment and the Government intends to come back to the Riksdag on this matter. The Government also supports various forms of cooperation and even mergers between institutions of higher education that result in improved education and research environments and greater competitiveness at home and abroad. The Government has also appointed a Delegation for Gender Equality in Higher Education (ToR 2009:7). The Delegation will support initiatives and propose measures that support gender equality in higher Financial support for students In 2009, the report for Studies Secure, Simple and Flexible (Stärkt stöd för studier tryggt, enkelt och flexibelt) (SOU 2009:28), with proposals on how student aid can be used as a tool to improve throughput in the higher education system and on the administration of student aid and the rules for the student aid system was presented to the Government. The Inquiry also proposes that universities and colleges should take more responsibility for throughput. of obtaining student aid with a higher grant proportion has been temporarily expanded in 2009 and 2010 for the unemployed over the age of 25, regardless of previous education, for studies in vocational upper secondary adult education programmes entitled to state grants. 2010 Budget , the Government proposed raising student aid beginning 1 January 2010. Furthermore, the Government proposes increasing the exempt amount beginning 1 January 2011. Measures for new teacher education, teachers and school heads It is essential for to succeed in recruiting the most suitable people to the teaching profession and at the same time retain those teachers already in the school system. This involves giving student teachers a good education, topping up teachers' knowledge bank as needed and enabling all teachers to develop in their profession. training must maintain high standards and prepare students for a professional life spent in the school. The quality and status of the education programme in the academic world is also crucial in In , the Inquiry on New Teacher Training submitted its report A Sustainable Teacher Training Programme (SOU 2008:109) and the Inquiry on Vocational Teacher Training submitted its report Vocational skills an Equal of Qualifying for Vocational Teacher Education (SOU 2008:112) to the Government. been circulated for comment and the Government intends to come back to the Riksdag on the matter. To increase teachers skills and thus the quality of instruction, the Government is carrying out a large initiative for further education and training of professionally qualified teachers. Allocations of nearly billion are planned for 20072011 to provide teachers with the chance to deepen and broaden their knowledge of a subject and how to teach it. A total of 30 000 qualified teachers will be given the opportunity for further education during the period. The aim of the initiative is to strengthen teachers skills with a view to helping more students fulfil educational objectives. Thus far about four per cent of the country's teachers have participated. It is still too early to express an opinion on the initiative's effectiveness. There are indications, however, that teachers are very satisfied with it and think that it has contributed to changing their teaching with the aim of increasing students' goal fulfilment. for has been requested by the Government to evaluate the teacher training initiative. It is to present a final report no later than 1 2010. The Government has also given nine academic institutions a remit to arrange special needs teacher training to enhance teachers' skills in providing individually tailored support to students. In addition, the State Inquiry on Teachers Qualifications and Authorisation (SOU 2008:52) has proposed stricter qualifying rules and an authorisation system for teachers. The proposal helps clarify the importance of teachers' training and skills. In autumn a new state regulated job training for head teachers and other staff with a corresponding leadership function in schools, preschools and after-school recreation centres was started. In the 2010 Budget , the Government has proposed a special initiative for vocational teachers, an occupational group where there is a risk of a shortage. The Government has also proposed an initiative for further training of unqualified teachers. Cooperation between education and training and working life The Government has taken various initiatives aimed at improving cooperation between education and training and working life. The bill Higher Requirements and Quality in (Högre krav och kvalitet i den nya gymnasieskolan) (Govt. 2008/09:199) emphasises upper secondary school's responsibility for providing students with training in entrepreneurship. The Government also presented a strategy for entrepreneurship in the field of education in spring . The strategy describes the importance of entrepreneurship in providing training for those who want to start and run a business as well as stimulating young people's creativity. Entrepreneurship involves developing new ideas and putting them into practice. The strategy contains eleven measures for encouraging entrepreneurship throughout the education system. Some examples of measures are: entrepreneurship is being emphasised in the policy document for compulsory and upper secondary schools, a survey of the work under way in compulsory and upper secondary schools on entrepreneurship is being conducted and two higher education programmes in entrepreneurship and innovation at an advanced level are being developed to meet the highest international In the 2009 Budget , the Government announced measures for priorities such as mathematics, science and technology. has appointed a Technology Delegation with representatives from the business sector as well as government agencies and organisations (dir. The Delegation is to survey and draw attention to the need for well educated professionals working in mathematics, science, technology, and information and communications technology (ICT) and to increase interest and participation in education and training programmes in these areas. Delegation is to present its Under the Higher Education Act (1992:1434), universities and colleges have a responsibility to work together with the local community and find ways of making use of university and colleges' research results. institutions of higher education has in this respect been developed and deepened considerably in recent times. In their collaboration with the community, higher education institutions have largely followed an approach based on three components: democratic development, academic development and better education. Training in entrepreneurship and the development of mentoring relationships for students are examples of activities that have increased sharply. From 2004 to 2007 the Validation Delegation had the task of conducting and supporting development of methods and forms of organisation, strengthening and promoting regional cooperation and drawing up proposals for measures needed to secure a validation process. As to the matter of validation, the work of the National Commission on Validation has shown that a public authority should have national responsibility for development, strategy and quality . develop validation, the for Higher Vocational Education has been given the remit to be a national coordinator of is also to work closely with the other authorities concerned regarding validation and to be responsible for assessing foreign post-secondary vocational education and training that does not consist of higher education programmes. system's participation and sectoral participation in the validation work and the development of methodology and standardisation in the area will put a sharper focus on validation in the years ahead. intends to implement the recommendations of a European Qualifications Framework for lifelong learning, Qualifications Framework (EQF) and create a national framework for The measures and changes needed to meet the recommendation's requirements should be taken. should primarily involve programmes in the public education system but under certain conditions, interested parties outside the public education system should also be given the opportunity to include their A National Qualifications Framework for (NQF) should gradually be developed in line with working life, sectoral and industry In accordance with the recommendation, Member States will designate a national coordination point responsible for supporting and, in conjunction with other relevant national authorities, guiding the relationship between the national qualification system and Qualifications Framework with a view to promoting the quality and transparency of that relationship. In , the for Higher Vocational Education has been designated the national coordination point for EQF. Since 2008, the for Higher Education has published the national qualifications framework for higher education on its web site. In 2009 Parliament adopted the Council's recommendations to establish a European system for transferring credits in vocational education, for Vocational Education and Training (ECVET) and Quality Reference Framework for Vocational Education and Training, EQARF. intends to implement the two recommendations. 5The Programmes in for the programme period 20072013 For the programme period 20072013, has received funding from two EC structural funds: () and (). The funds are allocated to a number of programmes within the two objectives: Regional competitiveness and employment and European territorial cooperation. programmes within these two objectives geographically cover all of . Like other Member States, has drawn up a frame of reference for implementing Programmes, the National Strategy for Regional Competitiveness, Entrepreneurship and Employment 2007 2013. The programmes are regularly followed up and evaluated. In 2009 there was also a strategic follow-up of the national strategy; see Section 3.3. play an important role in the work to counter the economic downturn that has affected over the past year. The economic situation that the programmes now have to deal with is radically different from that which existed when they were created. At the same time, there is a sharp focus on innovation in the programme. One of the aims of the is to accelerate the change to more competitive and innovative business structures. Towards this end, work in the programmes is in broad partnerships. The initiatives conducted within the framework for the national Programmes are one example. These initiatives include developing the skills of the employed, with the focus on firms where a large number of dismissal notices have been issued. There are also projects and initiatives supporting the development of an environmentally friendly economy under way in the Programmes. () programmes for regional competitiveness and employment, 20072013 The total amount of the eight regional Programmes is billion (EU funds, Swedish public co-financing and private cofinancing) for the entire programme period. Of the programmes' total assets, the EU share of the funding amounts to about billion. In addition, there is national public co-financing amounting to billion and business sector financing is indicatively estimated to be billion in the eight regional Programmes. Through end-2008, the decision on funding from ERDF in the eight regional Programmes came to about billion and the decision on national public co-financing to about billion. The private co-financing decided amounts to about billion. The first payments of EU funds to project promoters were made in 2008. The table below shows how the funding from the is expected to be allocated primarily among the five main priority areas and the allocation based on decisions taken up to and including 2008. up to and incl. According to the programme documentation, the measures under the eight regional Programmes are expected to contribute to 33 300 new job opportunities and 12 800 new businesses. 28 115 companies expected to participate in the initiatives. for new job opportunities, new business start-ups and participation by companies to be evenly divided among women and men when the programme period is summed up. In the eight regional Programmes, funding has been decided for projects aimed at increasing the regional supply of equity for new and growing SMEs. The opportunity to decide on funding for projects to improve firms' access to capital is a step towards the ambition of offering financing in forms other than subsidies, such as loans, guarantees and risk capital. According to programme evaluations, the programme implementation is proceeding at a fast pace. In the evaluators' opinion, the targets established for the project will most likely be met despite the economic downturn and the programmes are able to focus on structural change leading to new forms of business. Programme for regional competitiveness and employment, 20072013 (, or ESF) The overall goal of the Programme for regional competitiveness and employment, 20072013 is higher growth through an increased labour supply and good skills provision. There are projects in the programme aimed at counteracting exclusion in the labour market and promoting skills development. The grant from () amounts to about billion for the period. In addition, national co-financing will match that amount. The first decisions on grants to projects in the programme were made in spring . From that time through 31 2009, over 1 300 projects had been awarded funding. The planned number of participants in this project is 180 000, of which 49 per cent are women and 51 per cent are men. The ESF funding committed amounts to about billion or 37 per cent of the frame. The national co-financing decided amounts to about billion. The initiatives in the programme, which now include a focus on skills development of those employed in firms where many dismissal notices have been issued, fulfil an important function in the current economic situation. In an independent evaluation of the implementing organisation, it was noted that the programme in all essential respects also appears to function in the changed economic situation. At the same time, the evaluation emphasises that it is important to have realistic expectations of what the programme can contribute. The programme cannot solve firms' acute problems, but by offering skills development to the employed, it can constitute a part of structural change. In an initial step of the evaluation, some deficiencies in the processing of project proposals were pointed out. The responsible public authority, the , has taken measures to remedy these deficiencies. The evaluator has since noted that the work tends to keep getting better and the regions where the greatest difficulties have been identified have improved considerably. participates in a total of thirteen programmes within the framework of European territorial cooperation. border regions include one or more counties: The North, the Botnia- Atlantica, and Öresund-Kattegatt-Skagerrak, Central Baltic and South Baltic. The managing and certifying agency for the first four of these programmes is in , while the other two programmes are managed by authorities in and respectively. funds (ERDF) for these six programmes amount to billion for the years 20072013. Of these six programmes, only the Sweden- programme (million) is paid out via the central also participates in three transnational programmes: the North Periphery, the Baltic Sea Region and the North The total funds (ERDF) for these programmes amount By end-2008, funding of about billion from ERDF in these nine border region and transnational programmes had also participates in the territorial programme for interregional cooperation, Interreg IVC. Interreg IVC is composed of the sub-programmes Interact II, Urbact II and Espon, which in various ways provide support for the exchange of experiences, dissemination of good examples and analyses of development trends throughout the EU. addition to these thirteen programmes for territorial cooperation in the EU, also participates in cross-border cooperation programmes with non-EU countries through the Community instrument, Neighbourhood and (). in the ENPI CBC Kolarctic Programme for regional cooperation with In addition, ENPI funding is included in the Baltic Sea Region Programme to make participation by and possible. On the Government's initiative, Council asked the European Commission to draw up an EU strategy for the Baltic Sea region, which was presented in 2009. The strategy focuses attention on specific challenges common to the region and it is to contribute to a territorial and intersectoral approach with eight EU countries working The Government plays an role in the process and works towards ensuring that the content of the strategy contributes to closer cooperation in the region. The strategy has four areas the environment, growth, attractiveness and accessibility, and security where Member States bordering the Baltic Sea have decided to intensify cooperation. The Baltic Sea Strategy also makes it possible to increase the Baltic Sea Region's visibility and attractiveness in the global competition for trade, investment and tourists. The strategy will be implemented within the framework of existing institutions and existing budget funds. objective is to uses available EU funds in a more effective and coordinated way, such as improving the coordination of existing EU On 1 2009, Groupings for Territorial Cooperation Act (lagen om europeiska grupperingar för territoriellt samarbete) (2009:704) entered into force (Govt. 2008/09:174, Committee Report 2008/09:NU22, . 2008/09:303). The law contains supplementary national provisions for Parliament and Council regulation (EC) no 1082/2006 of 5 2006 on a European grouping of territorial cooperation (EGTC). An EGTC is a new legal personality for territorial cooperation in the EU. The grouping's objective is to facilitate and promote cross-border, transnational and interregional cooperation. The aim of a grouping is to strengthen economic and social cohesion in the EU by making it easier for Member States and regional and local authorities to cooperate effectively across national borders. The new form of cooperation makes possible a permanent structure and long-term planning of the cooperation. Appendix 1 Integrated Guidelines These guidelines are applicable to all Member States and to the Community. They should coherence of reform measures included in the National Reform Programmes established by Member States and will be complemented by the Community Programme 20052008 covering all action to be undertaken at Community level in the interest of growth and employment. Implementation of all relevant aspects of these guidelines should take into account gender mainstreaming. Macroeconomic policies for growth and jobs