An Innovative Employment Training Institution in Sweden: A Test Case?

In January 1986 employment training for adults in Sweden was reorganised, when all the vocational training centres were grouped into a fully autonomous government institution aimed at more flexibility in meeting labour market needs, the optimal use of resources and extensive decentralisation. The effects of the reorganisation are assessed from the point of view of the organisation (AMU) itself, the trainees, the trainers, the trade unions and the employers. The possible advantages of the new system are presented.