StepIn! Building Inclusive Societies through Active Citizenship National Needs Analysis SWEDEN Adult Education Providers
Existing training courses for migrants in Sweden Sfi (Swedish for immigrants) is training in basic knowledge of the Swedish language and Swedish society. This education is compulsory for all migrants who want to enter either vocational education or higher education in Sweden. Sfi is divided on 4 levels A, B, C, D. Level A is for illiterate migrants. Levels B and C are improvement levels depending on the level of education the person has. D is the highest level. There were 74 000 participants in sfi during the academic year 2007/08. The number of municipalities where sfi instruction takes place was 259. Arabic was the most common mother tongue language among the students. More than 18 300 has Arabic as a mother tongue. After these, students with Thai and Somali origins numbered 4 300 followed by students from Poland numbering 4 200. 56 % of the total number of students was women and 44 % were men. The median age of students was 32 years. In Sweden we also have: - Labour market education a range of educational providers through tender system, mostly vocational education, of which some are directed towards migrants exclusively. - Motivational activities NGOs, non-profit organisations, educational providers, private organisations. - Social orientation courses - Integration bureau in municipalities, NGOs, ideal organisations, private organisations. - Practice companies, NGOs, other. Existing courses cover the enhancement of civic and social competences the issue of participation and civic engagement. There are several ways for migrants to get support in their ambition to increase their civic and social competences. The very first thing most migrants enter is SFI, Swedish for immigrants, where they not only is to learn Swedish language, but also get information about Swedish labour market, Swedish society, school- and education system, healthcare, trade unions, political system etc. Other institutions working in this field is the social services office, that not only deal with social welfare but also in supporting individuals in building networks, discussions about education and suitable work etc. The Public Employment Office also deal with these issues in supporting migrants getting closer to the labour market, using among other things vocational training, practical training on site, training in how to apply for jobs, validating knowledge and educations from their origin country. The Swedish Integration Board is another institution dealing with issues in helping migrants into Swedish society, mostly funding different projects aiming at helping migrants to enter the labour market system, and when doing so, being as prepared as could be. Factors for migrants finding jobs easy are depending on, besides of language, from which country they come, what social conclusion they lived in, the more similar to Swedish conditions the easier, education level and the possibilities of validation as close as possible to Swedish conditions. Another thing to take into account is whether the migrant has an existing network in Sweden, relatives who have jobs etc.
Then there is within all of the organisations special educated coaches, counsellors, personal advisers and other personnel that work with migrants with the aim of making the migrant selfsupportive. What priorities does you country have concerning adult education for migrants? The direction of the Swedish migration policy is that migrants shall have the same rights and obligations as any other citizen. More resources are used on active efforts, especially on newly arrived migrants, to achieve a faster integration in society and the labour market. At the same time the demand on the individual migrant is increasing, they have to participate in the introductory programs, learn the language etc. It is the Public Employment Service who is responsible for the integration of newly arrived migrants, to make an establishment plan together with the migrant concerning the route to the labour market. For this reason the migrants are entitled to individual support by Introduction Guides (Etableringslotsar). Some examples to avoid social exclusions for migrants are the cooperation with the migrant associations through outreach activities, arranging different events like culture days etc Another way is Study circles that are arranged by study associations and folk high schools in Sweden. But of course still there are a lot of things to do to avoid exclusion, the activities we have today are functioning appropriately. The current policy and effort regarding integration likely to change? In what way? On-going reforms and policy initiatives related to 'ET 2020' strategic framework Making lifelong learning and mobility a reality Lifelong learning strategies The government adopted a strategy for Lifelong learning in 2007. In the text the government underlines that there is a well-established tradition of broad public education in Sweden and that it has long been self-evident that a person's education should not be dependent on social background, gender or financial resources. It underlines that the strategy is based on the individual rather than systems and institutions, and that they in turn should be organized to support individual learning at life s various stages. Concerning evaluation of existing activities there are some statistics from labour offices and education organisations, but there is still a lack of published evaluations, this needs to be improved. Good practices and factors for success from Sweden Introduction Guides (Etableringslotsar) Newly arrived migrants are able to receive help from an introduction guide. This guide could be an organization or a company working for the Public Employment Service (Arbetsförmedlingen). The guide s job is to help the migrant during their training activities. The guide may, for example, give the migrant practical help when he/she are looking for a
job or give advice on social issues or on what type of training or profession is best for the migrant. The migrant choose the guide to help them and they plan the activities together. The Public Employment Service (Arbetsförmedlingen) will give the migrants information on the guides they can choose from. Step-in job If the migrant have been granted a residence permit during the past 36 months, he/she can get a step-in job ( instegsjobb"). Step-in-jobs cannot be granted to citizens from EU/EES or Switzerland. To get a step-in job, the migrant is required to take a course in Swedish for Immigrants (SFI) at the same time. And this must be administrated by the Public Employment Service first. Note, however, that the Employment Protection Act (LAS) does not apply to persons who are receiving a special employment subsidy in the form of an introductory job. Study circles Study circles form a development and education tool with a very low threshold for participation. Study circles are formed based on the interests of each of the participants. They consist of small groups (up to 10) of participants that meet each other regularly. The Study Circle method is based on two components: 1) one common topic of interest for all participants, 2) participants learn through active talking, sharing and listening instead of traditional classes or lecturer. In Sweden study circles can be arranged for on initiative of NGOs or adult education providers through governmental grants. Adult educational providers have the role of facilitator / administrator of the process. Facilities and materials for study circles are paid through governmental grants. The themes of the study circle can vary depending on the needs of the participants. Outreach activity In working toward more active citizenship of migrant women one of the major challenges is reaching for those people that are living in isolation. An outreach activity is the activity in which one actively searches up participants instead of waiting passively for participants to come to an activity. This example of more active approach has been proven to be very successful for reaching even the most isolated participants. There are several examples of ways how to organise this. Voluntary guides Voluntary guides are people having knowledge of the Swedish society and willing to introduce migrants into it. Guides can be both natives and migrants who have knowledge and experience of a new country. The concept of voluntary guidance is built on the belief that integration (especially cultural integration) is best done through personal contacts. Comments regarding the subject. By tradition, integration into Swedish society is mainly focused on labour market issues and educational system connected. We still see this today even when the labour market is harder to reach due to recession in the economy, technical development and higher demands on the labour force regarding skills and educational background. Focus is, however, shifting towards a more holistic view on integration, not just focusing on vocational skills, but also on civic, social and cultural knowledge and skills, still with the aim of the self-supporting citizen!
Source: Education in Sweden 2009, Statistics Sweden 2009 Eurydis Arbetsförmedlingen, www.ams.se