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List of policy instruments

  • Regional analysis- and forecastsystem (RAPS)

    Regionalt analys- och prognossystem (RAPS)

    Description

    Focus area
    Key training policy measure
    RAPS is a tool for regional planning regarding, e.g., the development of the labour market. It is not explicitly related to VET-systems, but it serves as information to regional decisionmakers, and this can involve VET-governance or job matching.
    Link
    Reference/weblink
    https://tillvaxtverket.se/statistik/regional-utveckling/regionalt-analys-och-pr…
    Implementation level
    At what level is the initiative implemented?
    National
    Legal base
    Legal base (E.g. Law, regulation, implementing provision, other)
    Executive order (förordning)
    Starting period
    TIMESPAN: In what year did the initiative commence?
    RAPS became operational back in 2000
    Perspective
    PERSPECTIVE: is the initiative based on evidence derived from skill forecasts or foresight activities?
    Yes. One of the parts in RAPS is a system based on a forecasting database of (among other things) the labopur market.
    Policy area
    To which POLICY AREAS(s) does the initiative apply?
    Employment
    Other
    Also information on tendencies within the population i.e., demographics and regional economic development etc.
    Funding
    How it is funded?
    Funded by national government

    Skill mismatch

    Skill mismatch target
    What type(s) of skills MISMATCH does the initiative aim to addresses?
    Other
    The initiative does not explicitly focus on skills mismatches since the statistics and forecast of the labour market is only one part of the tool (it does also focus on other areas important for regional development).
    Skills matching focus
    How does  the initiative address skills mismatches?
    Other
    The initiative does not explicitly focus on skills mismatches since the statistics and forecast of the labour market is only one part of the tool (it does also focus on other areas important for regional development).

    Methods

    Methods
    What methods of undertaking skills assessments and / or skills anticipation does the policy instrument utilise?
    Skills forecasting
    RAPS is, as mentioned, a tool for regional planning regarding for example the development of the labour market. With RAPS it is possible to come up with forecasts regarding among other things the labour market.
    Use of skills intelligence
    How is labour market information / skills intelligence used within the initiative?
    Other
    The LMI provided can be used in regional analyses showing the regional development within the labour market. For example, it is possible to use the LMI to look into the current situation as well as historical flashbacks and forward-looking forecasts and scenarios.

    Stakeholders

    Main responsible body
    Main body or organisation with overall responsibility for the initiative.
    National agency
    The Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth (Tillväxtverket)
    Other involved organisations
    Which other organisations have a role in the initiative?
    Research centres, universities
    Research centres use RAPS as an analytical tool to study developments in regional employment etc.
    Other
    The development of RAPS takes place between several different actors, including The Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth, Statistics Sweden (SCB) and other partners. These actors mainly use RAPS as an analytical tool for their own analyses.

    Sustainability

    Success factors
    SUCCESS FACTORS in the implementation
    RAPS informs many analyses about the present and future regional development in Sweden, which can be seen as a success criteria, although this is not explicitly stated anywhere.
    Barriers
    BARRIERS in the implementation
    RAPS provides many guides, descriptions and disclaimers, which could point to RAPS being technically challenging to use. There is a potential to improve user-friendliness of RAPS.
    Monitoring and evaluation
    MONITORING and EVALUATION: Is progress measured regularly? What are the indicators used to measure progress of the policy instrument? Have any evaluations been conducted?
    There is no evaluation or monitoring of RAPS available.
    Updates
    UPDATES: whether there have been any major updates of the initiative since it has been implemented?
    Yes
    Tillvaxtverket occasionally updates the models in RASP. It affects the way RAPS can be used to e.g., skill forecasting.
    Effectiveness
    EVIDENCE ON EFFECTIVENESS: How effective is the policy instrument?
    There is no evidence on assessment of the effectiveness of the instrument.
    Sustainability
    SUSTAINABILITY: How sustainable is the policy instrument? Do you expect the instrument to continue over the next few years and why?
    RAPS' system perspective on the region in combination with the richness of detail in RAPS statistics makes the forecasting tool a valuable instrument for regional analysis. Furthermore, the tool is used by several actors such as regional associations, county administrative boards, municipalities, government agencies, private consulting companies as well as universities indicating that it creates a certain kind of value for important institutions in society. Altogether, this points to the fact that RAPS is a sustainable policy instrument and, therefore, it is most likely to continue to be around over the next couple of years.

  • Regional Skills Platforms

    Regionala kompetensplattformar

    Description

    Focus area
    Main skills assessment/anticipation initiative
    The purpose of the Regional Skills Platforms is to strengthen collaboration for a better supply of competence, between, for example, authorities, business and education. The work of building structures for regional competence supply creates readiness to handle changes and meet the business community's need for competences.
    Link
    Reference/weblink
    https://tillvaxtverket.se/vara-tjanster/publikationer/publikationer-2018/2018-0…
    Implementation level
    At what level is the initiative implemented?
    National
    Legal base
    Legal base (E.g. Law, regulation, implementing provision, other)
    Government commission/ executive order
    Starting period
    TIMESPAN: In what year did the initiative commence?
    The establishment of the Regional Skills Platforms began in 2010
    Perspective
    PERSPECTIVE: is the initiative based on evidence derived from skill forecasts or foresight activities?
    Yes, the Regional Skills Platforms uses skill forecast to gain an overview of the labour market and educational skills in order to mitigate future challenges regarding skill matching at the regional level.
    Policy area
    To which POLICY AREAS(s) does the initiative apply?
    Education
    Employment
    Funding
    How it is funded?
    Funded by national government

    Skill mismatch

    Skill mismatch target
    What type(s) of skills MISMATCH does the initiative aim to addresses?
    Skill shortages (employers cannot fill their vacancies due to a lack of skills in the labour market)
    Skills obsolescence (some or all of an individual's skills are no longer relevant to the current employer or in the labour market generally)
    Skills matching focus
    How does  the initiative address skills mismatches?
    Address mismatch broadly
    The initiative's purpose is to ensure regional skills supply by informing authorities, business and education. For example, the regional actors managing the platforms make analyses and forecast that e.g., employment offices can use when planning the process for an unemployed person.

    Methods

    Methods
    What methods of undertaking skills assessments and / or skills anticipation does the policy instrument utilise?
    Skills forecasting
    Skill forecasting is used to analyse conditions and challenges for long-term supply of skills in different regions. This helps the regional actors make decision regarding employment and education
    Skills foresight
    Skills foresight is used to analyse conditions and challenges for long-term supply of skills in different regions. This helps the regional actors make decision regarding employment and education
    Use of skills intelligence
    How is labour market information / skills intelligence used within the initiative?
    Informing and training career guidance and counsellors
    The initiative has been used in career guidance in schools to help pupils choose their future education or training. It has helped structure the guidance.
    Other
    It is used to enable cooperation between regional actors regarding unemployment, generally, and the regional skills platform may, therefore, inform all of the above in some way.

    Stakeholders

    Main responsible body
    Main body or organisation with overall responsibility for the initiative.
    National agency
    The Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth
    Other involved organisations
    Which other organisations have a role in the initiative?
    National ministry
    The government commissioned the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth to establish the regional skills platforms

    Sustainability

    Success factors
    SUCCESS FACTORS in the implementation
    Success factors are not explicitly stated, but it needs to contribute to increased knowledge of skill supply and cooperation in ensuring regional skills supply.
    Barriers
    BARRIERS in the implementation
    Lack of coordination between national, regional and local levels.
    Monitoring and evaluation
    MONITORING and EVALUATION: Is progress measured regularly? What are the indicators used to measure progress of the policy instrument? Have any evaluations been conducted?
    The initiative was evaluated from 2013-2017 regarding national-regional cooperation, regional action plans and structures for validation. The evaluation resulted in two recommendations: closer cooperation between local, regional and national actors, goals and initiatives and making skills supply a regional development responsibility, i.e., this work needs to be highly prioritised.
    Effectiveness
    EVIDENCE ON EFFECTIVENESS: How effective is the policy instrument?
    The effectiveness of the regional skills planforms has not been studied. Therefore, this cannot be elaborated.
    Sustainability
    SUSTAINABILITY: How sustainable is the policy instrument? Do you expect the instrument to continue over the next few years and why?
    The evaluation made from 2013-2017 points to the fact that this area needs to be prioritized to a greater extent than it previously was, which indicates that the initiative continues.

  • The Occupational Compass

    Yrkeskompassen

    Description

    Focus area
    Main skills assessment/anticipation initiative
    The Occupational Compass is a guidance service that shows future prospects for approximately 200 professions. It is mainly aimed at people needing support in regards to career choice or people working with guidance. The occupational compass contains forecast information for one year. The assessment is based on the employment service's forecast work and is done at the local level. The results are then weighted for a regional and national assessment. The occupations in the Occupational Compass correspond to the largest and most common occupations in the labour market. The occupational compass covers approximately 80 percent of employment in the labour market.
    Link
    Reference/weblink
    https://arbetsformedlingen.se/for-arbetssokande/yrken-och-framtid/yrkeskompasse…
    Implementation level
    At what level is the initiative implemented?
    National
    Legal base
    Legal base (E.g. Law, regulation, implementing provision, other)
    The legal base is not explicitly stated anywhere.
    Starting period
    TIMESPAN: In what year did the initiative commence?
    The commencement of the initiative is not explicitly stated.
    Policy area
    To which POLICY AREAS(s) does the initiative apply?
    Employment
    Funding
    How it is funded?
    Funded by national government

    Skill mismatch

    Skill mismatch target
    What type(s) of skills MISMATCH does the initiative aim to addresses?
    Other
    The Occupational Compass is not explicitly aimed at addressing skills mismatch, but it can help jobseekers or people making career choices with making informed decisions in regards to job competition and region.
    Skills matching focus
    How does  the initiative address skills mismatches?
    Address mismatch broadly
    The Occupational Compass is not explicitly aimed at addressing skills mismatch, but it can help jobseekers or people making career choices with making informed decisions in regards to job competition and region. Furthermore, the initiative contains foresight, which enables e.g., a jobseeker to assess the future possibilities within a given career path.

    Methods

    Methods
    What methods of undertaking skills assessments and / or skills anticipation does the policy instrument utilise?
    Skills forecasting
    The Occupational Compass has forecasts information 1 and 5 years into the future regarding the competitiveness of the profession. These forecasts are available for each county.
    Skills foresight
    The Occupational Compass has forecasts information 1 and 5 years into the future regarding the competitiveness of the profession. These forecasts are available for each county.
    Other
    The Occupational Compass includes career descriptions to help make informed career choices.
    Use of skills intelligence
    How is labour market information / skills intelligence used within the initiative?
    Informing and training career guidance and counsellors
    The Occupational Compass can help people working with career guidance by providing information about the competitiveness of ca. 80 percent of the Swedish labour market.
    Informing job-search decisions of unemployed
    Unemployed can use the Occupational Compass to inform which jobs they look for and in which county.

    Stakeholders

    Main responsible body
    Main body or organisation with overall responsibility for the initiative.
    National PES
    The Swedish Public Employment Service
    Other involved organisations
    Which other organisations have a role in the initiative?
    National PES
    Sweden Statistics

    Sustainability

    Success factors
    SUCCESS FACTORS in the implementation
    The success factors are not explicitly stated, but it is implied that the more people using the Occupational Compass to inform their career choices, the more of a success the initiative is.
    Barriers
    BARRIERS in the implementation
    The barriers in the implementation are not stated explicitly. However, barriers can come from people not knowing the initiative.
    Monitoring and evaluation
    MONITORING and EVALUATION: Is progress measured regularly? What are the indicators used to measure progress of the policy instrument? Have any evaluations been conducted?
    The initiative is neither monitored nor evaluated.
    Updates
    UPDATES: whether there have been any major updates of the initiative since it has been implemented?
    Yes
    The forecasts are updated once a year, no other major updates of the initiative.
    Effectiveness
    EVIDENCE ON EFFECTIVENESS: How effective is the policy instrument?
    Due to the absence of evaluations and monitoring, there is no evidence of the effectiveness of the initiative.
    Sustainability
    SUSTAINABILITY: How sustainable is the policy instrument? Do you expect the instrument to continue over the next few years and why?
    The Occupational Compass covers almost all of the Swedish labour market and the competition in different jobs in almost every Swedish county. Thus, the Occupational Compass has great coverage regarding both geography and occupations. Therefore, it is likely that the initiative continues over the next few years.

  • The occupations and occupational areas

    Yrken och yrkesområden

    Description

    Focus area
    Main skills assessment/anticipation initiative
    The occupations and occupational areas are a collection of forecasts that illustrate in which sectors which skills are needed. The forecasts are divided in sectors, where some are related to VET.
    Link
    Reference/weblink
    https://arbetsformedlingen.se/for-arbetssokande/yrken-och-framtid/hitta-yrken/
    Implementation level
    At what level is the initiative implemented?
    National
    Legal base
    Legal base (E.g. Law, regulation, implementing provision, other)
    Implementing provision
    Starting period
    TIMESPAN: In what year did the initiative commence?
    The instrument is currently operational, but there is no information about when it started.
    Perspective
    PERSPECTIVE: is the initiative based on evidence derived from skill forecasts or foresight activities?
    Yes, The occupations and occupational areas are a collection of forecasts that illustrate in which sectors which skills are needed. For example, you can look up the occupation "crafts" and get information about how the competition for jobs are within this occupation and what positions are free at the moment.
    Policy area
    To which POLICY AREAS(s) does the initiative apply?
    Employment
    Funding
    How it is funded?
    Funded by national government

    Skill mismatch

    Skill mismatch target
    What type(s) of skills MISMATCH does the initiative aim to addresses?
    Skill gaps (worker's skills are below the level of proficiency required by their employers and jobs)
    Skills matching focus
    How does  the initiative address skills mismatches?
    Address sectoral or occupational skill shortages
    The initiative addresses sectoral/occupational skill shortages by delivering a statistical overview of what kind of occupations are missing employees and what kind of skills they need.

    Methods

    Methods
    What methods of undertaking skills assessments and / or skills anticipation does the policy instrument utilise?
    Skills forecasting
    The initiative is based on statistical data and delivers forecasts regarding how the competition for jobs is within several occupations in the future. These forecasts are made for the different regions of Sweden and you can, for example see, that if you choose to become an ambulance nurse there will be very limited competition for a job in the future (1-5 years).
    Use of skills intelligence
    How is labour market information / skills intelligence used within the initiative?
    Informing job-search decisions of unemployed
    The LMI are being used to inform unemployed and jobseekers looking for a job. These people can use the initiative to look up possible jobs and skills needed to qualify for this job.

    Stakeholders

    Main responsible body
    Main body or organisation with overall responsibility for the initiative.
    National PES
    The Swedish Public Employment Service (PES)
    Other involved organisations
    Which other organisations have a role in the initiative?
    Other
    no other organisations are involved.

    Sustainability

    Success factors
    SUCCESS FACTORS in the implementation
    Its success lies in its purpose to help jobseekers, but there are no evaluations available on success factors.
    Barriers
    BARRIERS in the implementation
    A possible barrier could be to get jobseekers to use the initiative actively when looking for a job or choosing a career path.
    Monitoring and evaluation
    MONITORING and EVALUATION: Is progress measured regularly? What are the indicators used to measure progress of the policy instrument? Have any evaluations been conducted?
    The initiative has not been monitored or evaluated systematically.
    Updates
    UPDATES: whether there have been any major updates of the initiative since it has been implemented?
    No
    There are no major updates, only updating the data as part of the initiative.
    Effectiveness
    EVIDENCE ON EFFECTIVENESS: How effective is the policy instrument?
    There is no evidence on effectiveness of the initiative and it has not been assessed.
    Sustainability
    SUSTAINABILITY: How sustainable is the policy instrument? Do you expect the instrument to continue over the next few years and why?
    This policy instrument seems sustainable due to several things. Firstly, the forecasts are based on interviews with more than 10.000 employees and employers, macroeconomic analyses etc. which makes the instrument a solid tool to use when assessing skill mismatches. Secondly, it gathers a lot of information e.g., skills needed in different occupations, job opportunities, salaries within the different occupations, information on the competition regarding specific jobs within the nearest future etc.