2022.11.08

Continued strong focus on skills supply

The supply of skills is an important issue for our entire industry and Applia has long been a driving force in these. As the initiator of the YH training for service technicians, we were pleased that over 90% obtained jobs after the training, but our work does not end there. 

Over the past 15 years, Applia has worked actively with schools and authorities to create post-secondary education for service technicians. During these years, the industry has trained approximately 150 technicians. This is far from enough as most service technicians in the industry are elderly. Over the past year, a review has had to be made based on the fact that the Swedish National Agency for Vocational Education and Training did not grant further intakes of students to the current education. Applia, together with the University of Technology, which is the education provider, has applied for a new, partially changed education and course content. A decision on whether this is granted will be made after the turn of the year.

Over 90% of those trained have continuously obtained work after completing their training during all these years, however, we have continuously had difficulty filling all training places, which has been a problem for us when discussing whether the training should receive approval for further intake, i.e. extension of the training.

Want to increase impact

The technical field does not have the same impact on vocational education and training as, for example, construction, where overarching organizations such as the Swedish Construction and Building Companies Association have been very active and with solid resources have had their area well catered for. Unfortunately, the technical field does not have the same support from overarching organizations, but individual industries work entirely on their own around concrete skills provision in the form of dedicated industry training. This is of course unfortunate and contributes to the fact that the technical field is not invested in to the same extent as other vocational education and training programs. Furthermore, it is difficult for education providers to finance the implementation of technology-oriented education and training because they generally generate higher costs in implementation.

In the coming financial year, we will therefore further increase our focus on skills supply by, among other things, making the industry's part in the green transition and circularity even more visible.

/Matts Spångberg, CEO