According to the appropriation directions, the range of education programmes offered by the university shall be guided by “student demand and the needs of the labour market”. (Interestingly enough, the resources and competence profile of the higher education institution are not mentioned as other factors guiding the offering and dimensioning, even though these are very important in practice.) Student demand is a well-known factor. Statistics on the number of applicants and their priorities are an obvious tool in the planning of our education programmes. However, information on the needs of the labour market is less clear-cut. Various authorities and trade associations produce statistics and forecasts on needs within the various occupational areas. These can, of course, inform our planning, but the forecasts are not always so reliable and needs change over time, even in the time perspective from educational planning to student graduation. To be useful as a planning tool, the forecasts also need to have a clear link between occupational areas and specific programmes. Naturally, the link is clear for vocational programmes, such as teacher, social worker or lawyer. But Stockholm University is a broad university dominated by general degree programmes. It is not obvious which statistics we should look at to dimension these programmes. For those with a general degree, the labour market is often broad.
Despite these uncertainties, there is increasing pressure on us to respond to the wishes and needs of the labour market and workers. This is evident today in several ways. One example is last year’s amendment to the Higher Education Act, which now states that higher education institutions should promote lifelong learning, with the implication that learning for working life is key. Another is the recent review of Stockholm University by the Swedish Higher Education Authority, in which we are criticised for a lack of systematic work on linking our programmes to the labour market. A third example is the new student finance scheme for transition and retraining that was recently introduced, enabling professionals to undergo continuing professional development or retraining, with favourable financial conditions, to strengthen their position in the labour market. This transition and retraining student finance scheme is a major reform, equivalent to student finance for 44,000 students per year when fully implemented. Universities and colleges are expected to take major responsibility by offering relevant and appropriate courses. Naturally, we want to do this. The problem is that we cannot really predict what they will be. In areas where we know there is a need, we already offer such education, not least targeting the school sector. But what about the rest? It will be interesting to see in which areas courses are applied for and then approved within the framework of the transition and retraining student finance scheme. But one thing is certain: there are high expectations that we will step up our efforts.
This text is written by Clas Hättestrand, Vice President. It appears in the section ”Words from the University’s senior management team”, where different members of the management team take turns to write about topical issues. The section appears in every edition of News for staff which is distributed to the entirety of the University staff.