The Local Organisation of Vocational Adult Education in Sweden

This study concerns vocational education and training (VET) on upper-secondary level within Swedish municipal adult education (MAE). The paper aims to show how such VET is organised locally and what the arguments are for different ways of organising. Furthermore, the aim is to analyse how national education policy is enacted in local vocational adult education. The data consist of documents presenting relevant national policies on adult education, particularly concerning VET, and semi-structured interviews with local politicians, heads of adult education, and educational counsellors. The findings show how VET for adults is organised in different ways and with different types of provider. Employability and integration are the main arguments for a focus on VET in MAE. Enactment of national policy is seen in the flexibility of provision of MAE, but also in focus on VET, and regional cooperation in developing VET for adults. The study concludes that the enactment of national policy initiatives on VET in MAE means a strengthening of the position of VET in the Swedish system of adult education arranged by local municipalities. However, the priority of a limited number of vocational sectors in MAE is questioned.