| Name of the reform | Unga In / Ungdomsgarantin ‘Paths Ahead Strategy’ / Youth Guarantee |
| Country | Sweden |
| Year | 2015 |
| Educational level | ISCED 3 |
| Kind / type | Laws / regulations of access reform |
| Coverage | National |
Summary
The Paths Ahead Strategy aimed to strengthen Sweden’s implementation of the Youth Guarantee through early outreach, closer cooperation between employment services, schools and municipalities, individualised support, training, education pathways and rapid activation measures for young people identified as NEET. The Youth Guarantee sought to ensure that all young people received an offer of employment, education, apprenticeship, traineeship or other activation measures within a limited period after becoming unemployed or leaving formal education.
Agenda Setting
Context:
In the mid-2010s, Sweden faced persistent challenges regarding the labour market integration of young people, particularly those who were unemployed or not in education, employment, or training (NEETs). Despite comparatively strong overall labour market performance, a significant number of young people, especially early school leavers and other marginalised groups, experienced difficulties in making a successful transition from school to work. Concerns about long-term social exclusion and detachment from both education and employment prompted the government to strengthen early intervention and activation measures targeted at NEET-identified young people.
Aim:
The aim of the Paths Ahead Strategy was to improve opportunities for young people aged 15-25 who were not engaged in education, employment, or training (NEET). The strategy focused on helping these young people enter the labour market or re-engage with and complete upper secondary education, adult education, vocational training, or other forms of formal education and skills-development pathways. The reform aimed to address the different needs of young people across various age groups, with specific measures tailored for those aged 15-19 to motivate them to begin or resume upper secondary education, and for those aged 20-25 to encourage participation in education or employment.
Target Groups
- Students aged 15–19 (focused on motivating entry or return to upper secondary education)
- Young people aged 20–25 identified as NEETs (focused on participation in education or employment)
Formulation and Implementation
Legislative documents:
Council Recommendation on establishing a Youth Guarantee (2013/C 120/01); Education Act (2010:800, Chapter 29, Municipal Activity Responsibility/KAA); Ordinance (2007:813) on the Job Guarantee for Young People.
Key actions / main measures:
The key was cooperation among municipalities, schools, and the Public Employment Service to ensure coordinated, continuous support for targeted groups of young people. The Swedish Education Act was clarified on 1 January 2015 regarding municipal responsibility to act on behalf of young people aged 19 and under who are not attending or have completed upper secondary school, or upper secondary school for individuals with learning disabilities.
Young people received individualised guidance and tailored action plans based on their educational background, skills and support needs. These plans could include counselling, mentoring, job-search assistance, validation of prior learning, and referrals to relevant services. At the same time, the strategy expanded opportunities to participate in upper-secondary and adult education, vocational education and training (VET), apprenticeships, traineeships and other forms of work-based learning, providing multiple pathways back into education or into sustainable employment. Within the Youth Guarantee framework, the reform promoted rapid activation and timely offers of education, training, or employment-related support.
Evaluation and Sustainability
Evidence points to increased participation in education and training pathways for young people. Vocational education and training (VET) at upper-secondary level within municipal adult education (regional adult vocational education) expanded substantially in subsequent years and reached its highest recorded level in 2022.
Sustainability:
Results appear sustainable over time. In 2019, the share of 18-24-year-olds who had not completed upper-secondary education and were not in education or training was 6.8% (5.5% among women and 7.9% among men), well below the EU benchmark of 10%. However, while these indicators point to sustained improvements in educational participation and school-to-work transitions, youth unemployment continued to represent a persistent structural issue after the reform period ended in 2019, suggesting that labour market integration remained uneven across different groups of young people.
Transferability Potential
The approach is highly transferable because it relies on broadly applicable mechanisms: early identification of NEETs, inter-agency cooperation, and personalised support. Countries seeking to strengthen school-to-work transitions can adapt these elements to their own institutional arrangements while tailoring educational, training and employment pathways to local labour-market needs and the circumstances of disadvantaged young people. However, successful transfer depends on the availability of well-developed local governance structures, effective data-sharing arrangements, sufficient funding, and strong coordination between education, employment and social-service providers.