Alternative paths

Authorities and essential public-service occupations

Coast Guard officer — Kustbevakningen (Coast Guard). Paid trainee employment leading to a permanent position. Applications usually open in spring. Requires basic university eligibility, Swedish citizenship, and a category B driving licence (without the automatic-transmission restriction).

Police officer — Polisen (Police). Four semesters of training followed by six months of paid trainee training, before permanent employment as a police officer. Requires that you are at least 18, a Swedish citizen, and hold a category B driving licence.

Customs officer — Tullverket (Customs). Paid trainee training leading to permanent employment. Requires an upper-secondary diploma, a category B driving licence, and a passed security clearance.

Prison and probation officer — Kriminalvården (Prison and Probation Service). Permanent employment from the very start, with paid introductory training. Large recruitment need in the coming years. Requires a full upper-secondary qualification and a passed background check (suspect and criminal records).

Air traffic controller — LFV, Entry Point North in Malmö. About two and a half years, free training with a study allowance and paid practical employment in the final year. Guaranteed job after graduation. Requires an upper-secondary diploma, good English skills, and a passed medical fitness certificate (several conditions, e.g. epilepsy and diabetes, are disqualifying).

Part-time firefighter — MSB (Civil Contingencies Agency). Six weeks of training split over two courses, paid by the employer. Requires that you are at least 18, hold a category B driving licence, and live close to the fire station so you can respond quickly. You also need your regular employer's approval to be released during standby duty — this is a role alongside a regular job, not independent income.

Health and social care

Specialist nursing assistant — training on paid working hours is available in several places in the country for those who are already a nursing assistant and employed, for example through the regions. Ask your employer or region.

Nursing assistant / care assistant — through the Äldreomsorgslyftet (Elder Care Boost) programme, municipalities can offer training on paid working hours, both for new hires and existing staff. Check with your municipality what applies locally.

Transport and rail

Train driver — about a year of higher vocational (YH) training with practical placement (LIA), for example through Trafikverksskolan in Ängelholm or Tågföretagen. The training entitles you to CSN support; the employment itself comes afterwards. Requires a passed medical certificate under the Swedish Transport Agency's health requirements (vision, hearing, colour vision).

Tram driver — Göteborgs Spårvägar. Eight weeks of paid training. Requires a category B licence with the probationary period completed, upper-secondary education or equivalent, and normal vision and hearing under the Swedish Transport Agency's regulations.

Train traffic controller — Trafikverket (Swedish Transport Administration). Paid trainee position with training and a mentor, permanent employment after certification. Requires an upper-secondary qualification, a passed health requirement (vision, hearing, no risk of loss of consciousness), and a passed security clearance.

For those who have completed military service

Officer — Försvarsmakten (Armed Forces) / Försvarshögskolan (Swedish Defence University). The three-year academic officer programme (180 credits) is paid throughout — daily allowance, free food, housing and travel during the entire training. But you cannot apply directly: it requires that you have already completed basic military training with conscription (at least 9 months, with a passed military grade) or GMU plus a preparatory officer course. The basic training is its own separate, paid first step that must be completed before the officer programme becomes an option. Also requires Swedish citizenship and a passed security clearance.

For those who have, or can arrange, an apprenticeship placement

These occupations you learn by working, not through an ordinary school place. You don't apply to a training programme directly — you find and get hired by a company as an apprentice, and the schooling (industry school, supplementary theory) comes as part of that employment, not before it.

Electrician — company apprenticeship, two years. You must find and get hired by an electrical company yourself before you start — the school does not place apprentices. Requires an upper-secondary diploma. About 1,000 hours of theory combined with paid work. Svenska Elektrikerförbundet (Swedish Electricians' Union).

Ventilation fitter — company apprenticeship, four years, paid throughout. Requires an apprenticeship with an affiliated company already before the industry school becomes relevant. The industry estimates a need for around 2,000 new fitters in the coming years. Plåt & Ventbyrån.

Plumbing/HVAC fitter — requires employment with a plumbing/HVAC company and a registered apprenticeship agreement. Leads via an industry exam to a professional certificate. Installatörsföretagen.

Construction worker (bricklayer, groundworker, timber and concrete worker) — four-year apprentice employment with pay throughout, for example at Skanska or JM. Requires that the company has a collective agreement in construction and civil engineering, and that you are at least 18.

Sheet metal worker — company apprenticeship, up to four years (shorter with prior experience). The schooling at Plåt & Ventbyrån's industry school in Katrineholm is a complement to the apprenticeship with an affiliated company — not a way in on its own without an employer. platslagare.nu.

Abroad

Restaurant and hotel work in Copenhagen — Hotel og Restaurantskolan in Copenhagen trains, among others, chefs, waiters, receptionists and cold-buffet chefs. Arbetsförmedlingen writes that you "get paid during training" — but according to the school's own information, that's only partly true: during the first part (the grundforløb) the training is normally unpaid, and pay (elevløn) only starts once you have signed a contract with an employer for the main course (hovedforløb). As a Swedish citizen without prior work or residence in Denmark, you generally don't qualify for Danish study support (SU) during the unpaid period — that requires either working in Denmark or having lived there for at least five years. You have to arrange and pay for housing yourself, all year including summer. If you don't find a placement, "skoleoplæring" exists as a fallback, but it pays less than an apprentice wage and gives no holiday pay. hrs.dk.

Before you apply

The amounts and dates above are a snapshot — taken from Arbetsförmedlingen's article of 9 September 2026. Never treat them as final. Check the current salary, application period and requirements on the employer's or authority's own website, and talk to your advisor about whether that path fits your situation.

Source: Arbetsförmedlingen — Occupations where you get paid during training