Debate: Sweden should invest in lifelong learning

Skills supply Education and training

The issue of skills shortages is acute for Swedish business, and is mainly due to the transition brought about by digitalization. We should now change our perspective and see education as a lifelong learning instead of a short period in youth, writes Fredrik von Essen, IT&Telecom companies.

Lifelong learning must be a clear starting point for the education system of the future. Old institutions must be fundamentally changed, and we must embrace a completely new perspective on learning, otherwise Sweden will not be able to adapt to the challenges of digitalization.

Looking at people's everyday lives, it is clear that we live in transformative times. Digitalization is changing everything: in the last three years, almost 60% of Swedes have experienced major technological changes in the workplace; programmers have become the most common profession in the Stockholm region; last year, 49% of two- and three-year-olds used the internet daily.

The pace of development is fast and the speed is exponentially increasing. We can no longer look back to know exactly what will happen in the future. Especially when it comes to the future of the labor market, it is clear that society needs to be flexible to meet the new challenges. We, as individuals, need to learn how to better manage change. For most people, it is clear that good education is the only way to guarantee a good job in the future. Perhaps it is in this light that one should interpret the latest Novus poll on which political issue is the most important. Schools and education are now ranked as the second most important issue, ahead of migration, among others.
It is absolutely crucial for companies, and by extension the entire welfare society, that the right skills end up in the right place. Already last autumn, however, the IT & Telecommunications Industries stated in a report that 70,000 IT experts will be missing by 2022 - that is, at the end of the next term of office. The European Commission has drawn similar conclusions at European level, but there will be a shortage of 1,000,000. Unfortunately, it seems that not all key actors have come to the same conclusion. The clock is ticking.

When discussing the design of the education and training system, as in the current Governance and Resources Review (STRUT), the starting point is usually the existing educational structure. We believe that a completely different perspective is needed that puts the needs of individuals and companies at the center, rather than those of educators. Therefore, IT&Telecom companies present a manifesto calling for the establishment of a commission for lifelong learning and propose, linked to this, a number of concrete measures that responsible politicians should implement immediately.

The manifesto presented by IT&Telecom companies is about how Sweden can best solve the skills shortage of the future. First and foremost, it is about changing perspective and seeing education as lifelong learning. Today, what is taught at the beginning of a five-year technical education is often outdated knowledge at the time of examination. It is clear that education cannot be limited to a short period in youth.

The following points, which are at the heart of our manifesto, must be placed high on the political agenda
1. it must be made easier for individuals to invest in training and skills development, and to have their new skills recognized through certificates, diplomas or similar. Training must also be profitable in the long term.

2. for companies, the knowledge content of training needs to be made more relevant, which can best be achieved by involving companies themselves in the design of training. As for individuals, it must also become more profitable for companies to invest in training and skills development.

3. it is important for society as a whole that there is a diversity of education providers that share common quality-assured methods and offer flexible forms of examination.

The issue of skills shortages is acute, mainly due to the significant transformation required by the digitalization of society. Making education and training systems focus on lifelong learning creates a sustainable model for a future that will be characterized by ever faster and ever greater change. For Sweden to be able to ride the waves of digitalization, it is necessary to take action today. We cannot afford to wait.

Fredrik von Essen
Industrial policy expert
IT&Telecom companies