Continuous learning for professionals

Continuous education can be divided into formal learning (governed by laws and regulations, usually publicly funded), non-formal learning (courses at, for example, study associations; partly publicly funded) and informal learning that takes place on one's initiative and at one's own expense. Formal learning leads to higher education credits (hp, equivalent to European credits according to the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System, ECTS), or higher vocational education credits (yhp), where 60 hp and 200 yhp, respectively, correspond to full-time study during one academic year of 40 weeks and 1600 hours of nominal work.

Degrees in higher education in Sweden given as years of full-time study (professional degrees are not included but correspond to these general levels). Higher vocational education (HVE) offers one and two year programs. Universities and colleges have four general degrees, two in the first cycle and two in the second cycle.

As shown above, higher education programmes at universities and colleges can be completed with four different general degrees. The first three years are known as the first cycle and the next two as the second cycle. Institutions for higher vocational education offer one- or two-year programmes. They can be either grant-financed or fee-financed (there are additional loans for the fee). Credit transfer from the higher vocational education to the university is based on individual assessment at each university and their policies may differ (and transfer may be denied).

Continuous learning does not necessarily imply that more education is provided in total over a person’s work life, but rather that it is spread. In this case, a two-year university foundation degree can give sufficient skills for a first job. With further part-time study, a bachelor's as well as one- and two-year master's degrees can be achieved as milestones along the career. This possibility is presently not offered, and three and five years of full-time training is expected from colleges and universities for programmes in engineering and computer science (this also applies to professional degrees, such as Bachelor of Engineering after three years).

Grant and contract funding

Grant-funded education is provided by state funding for private individuals, and the university gets reimbursed for students registered and for achievement, namely students passing examination (in engineering, half the grant is given for students registered on courses, and half for students passing the courses). Total reimbursement is limited by a ceiling amount set by the government for each institution. Grant-funded courses are only offered as formal education and follow an admission scheme with application in the spring for courses starting in the autumn semester (or correspondingly autumn for the spring semester). Admission usually requires proven eligibility by: a primary degree, credits completed, or specified courses as prerequisites.

The range of grant-funded continuous education courses, known as stand-alone courses, is limited in many subjects. There are several reasons for this. Firstly, it is considered inappropriate to take grant funding from undergraduate and graduate programmes to be given to those already educated and employed. Secondly, the remuneration for full-year achievements is lower because fewer people complete stand-alone courses than programme courses on average (although there is considerable variation). Furthermore, the admission system rarely suits working people with its long planning horizon and with access to the course not being guaranteed.

Contract education means that higher education institutions sell education to employers, as well as to the Public Employment Service, the Social Security Council and Fund (ie, TRR and TSL), the Migration Board and to trade unions. It is, therefore, a form of financing, not a form of education. Contract education can thus take the form of regular courses on campus or online, as well as being in the form of independent examinations, and lecture series on new research findings. What the client wants and what the university is willing to offer determines the provided courses and their formats. The education must be restricted to subjects for which the institution is entitled to award degrees.

The institution sets the price and must cover all costs. Unlike grant-funded education, which is always formal, contract education can be delivered formally with credits and grades, and non-formally without these (tests can still be given). The providing institution does not admit the course participants; it is the buying organisation that selects those who should undergo the training. This means that there is greater flexibility for contract education than for grant-funded education. The main limitation is that private individuals are not allowed to purchase training.

Here are some possible examples of forms of contract training.

• An existing course is offered with a price per participant. Courses may either be developed solely for contract training, or be regular courses with extra places.
• Courses comprised of open educational resources, such as MOOCs and other freely available materials, such as articles and books. The course can be taken as a study group with peer-led exercises. The value lies in the design of the course with selection of contents and exercises, possible teaching assistance for participants, and examination.
• Examination-only that may be in forms of written and oral tests, laboratory work, essays and projects. This may recognise and formally validate the knowledge of people with prior knowledge (e.g. from informal learning), or persons with foreign qualifications of unclear quality.
• Intensive training, or boot camp, is a suitable form when there is a need for in-depth learning of advanced material and extensive training needs, such as retraining. In addition to the subject focus, the complete work time is scheduled, not just the teaching time.

Needs and supply

The conditions and abilities for professionals to study must guide the development of continuous-education courses. The appropriate designs should be based on the needs for teacher-led learning and the time available for participants. The following choices need to be set to develop a course (the list is not necessarily exhaustive):

• Subject and content (learning objectives and materials)
• Level of training (basic, advanced and specific knowledge requirements)
• Scope (total workload, schedule and duration)
• Mode of delivery (pedagogical models and online versus on-site)
• Pricing model (in case of contract training).

Courses are products to be developed to meet actual needs, and the buyers of the education must cover these development cost. It is hence easier for an educational provider to offer courses that corresponds to existing courses, with additional costs only associated with the formatting for professionals.

As illustrated in the figure, the concepts of micro and macro learning are used for business education. The higher-education offerings are usually macro, that is, full education programmes to bachelor and master degrees. However, such programmes often includes courses and course materials suitable for micro-learning, such as revision exercises after the end of a course and continuous updates in a subject area.

Continuous education courses need various formats. Often lacking in higher education are courses to be delivered in reasonably short commitments, for example, 1 to 5 credits (equivalent to 27 to 133 working hours) at full, half or quarter time. These courses are sometimes referred to as micro-credentials, but they are ordinary stand-alone courses in the Swedish higher educational system (see, Association of Swedish Higher Education Institutions, SUHF, Rec 2024:1 Guidance on micro-credentials). Hence, Sweden already provide micro-credentials; the need is for formats and contents that fulfil the expectations of professionals. Micro-learning can also be recognised with digital awards, such as badges.

Another need is a straightforward course structure to allow students to plan study periods in their work schedules and leisure time. Remark that the schedule for a grant-funded course is usually not available at the time of application; leading to scheduling conflicts for professionals who have been admitted, but when the course commences they realise that it cannot be accommodated in the work schedule and with outside commitments.

A small programme of courses related by subject in a structured way, for example, three five-credit courses, is sometimes called a micro-master. If must be recognized that it is not a formal degree, but only a descriptive term.

Planning and procurement

Given that it is possible to buy training from higher education institutions, questions arise about what should be included in a training plan for professionals. This can be broken down into four points to be discussed with educational providers, in order to propose a plan. The first two points concern the individual, and the last two concern the employer.

• Self-assessment of knowledge and being able to prove it. This relates to prerequisite background for taking courses. 
• Knowing what you need to learn and how it can be done. Should the education be flexible and on-line, or in group with physical meetings; need for interaction with a teacher and on-demand access to teaching assistants for support.
• Provide the opportunity to undertake the training. How much work time is provided and how much time on the employees own time is committed to the training? Will there be organized study groups in the work place?
• Motivate and reward upskilling. Is the training agreed in a personal development plan with clear objective and agreed compensation, or career move, after completion? 

For the first item, the university can offer diagnostic tests for self-assessment. Based on the needs of the individual and the job, it is possible to plan the training; the university study counsellors and teachers can help. This may include advice on appropriate formats based on the examples above. Furthermore, higher education institutions can simplify choices by developing proposals for course packages (e.g. micro-masters) and suites of knowledge tests in high-demand areas such as digitalisation, AI and cybersecurity.

Time for study is a fundamental prerequisite for education. To the extent that it does not occur during working hours, employees are entitled to leave of absence for studies (under Swedish Act 1974:981).

The university's support for implementing a programme is mainly through the appropriate design of courses and other forms of education to be suitable for professionals. This may mean that teaching is online, that activities are scheduled for late afternoon, and that meetings with compulsory attendance are indicated before the start of the course. Student collaboration is essential for successful implementation and can be organised and supported by the institution. Contract education should have options with different cost levels to suit more stakeholders.

Finally, the institution can incentivise continuous learning by providing good information about what courses are offered and tools for matching needs to those courses. During an ongoing course, the teacher can provide positive feedback on learning progress to encourage completion. Achievements can then be recognised and acknowledged with awards.

Continuous learning can be indefinitely supported through open access to the course materials after completing a course, as well as through exercises and tests of retention of the knowledge, and through ongoing contacts from the institution with research news for the subject.

Source (in Swedish): Gunnar Karlsson, Snabbt om fortbildning - en lathund, KTH TRITA-EECS-RP 2022:4, juni 2022.