Homework

If you do not know what you want to study

01 — Look at professions

Start with a simple screening, answer a few short questions in Yrkeskompassen (the Career Compass). It is a good first step to screen what might suit you.

You get: a summary of what you chose, and a link that shows it again.

02 — From interest to sector

Take what you said was "interesting". Open Utbildningar (Programmes) and choose that professional area — without worrying about where in the country it is. Read through and pick out the three that appeal to you most.

You get: three names instead of one feeling.

If you have found your areas of interest

03 — Where is it?

The same page, but now with county and place. Also try "Distans eller flera orter" (distance or several locations) — a lot can be studied from home.

You get: to know whether the three can be reached, or whether you need to widen the search.

04 — What kind of programme is it?

Komvux, folkhögskola, yrkeshögskola and arbetsmarknadsutbildning are four different things. They differ in length, in what they cost, in what is required to get in, and in how you apply. Read Utbildningstyper (Types of education).

You get: to know what kind of application awaits you.

Prerequisites

05 — What do you live on?

Many people think CSN is only a loan. That is not true — CSN is a grant and a loan, and you choose yourself whether you take the loan part. Arbetsmarknadsutbildning has a different system. Read CSN.

You get: an answer to whether the finances work out, before you apply.

06 — Are your grades enough?

This is the task with waiting time. Do it first, even though it is listed as number six.

There is no national service where all grades are collected in one place. What applies depends on which municipality the school was in. There are two places to ask, and you start with the first:

• The school, if it still exists. If you left a few years ago, the school often still has the grade in its own archive.
• Otherwise the municipality's archive — in the municipality where the school was, not where you live now. In larger cities it is called "stadsarkivet" (the city archive). Search for the municipality's name plus "beställa betyg" (order grades). Several municipalities let you log in with e-identification and get the grade straight away, and then you are done at once.

If there is no e-service, you email instead. This works both for a school and for a municipal archive:

Ämne: Beställning av betygskopia

Hej,

Jag vill beställa en kopia av mina betyg.

Namn: [ditt namn, och efternamnet du hade när du gick där om det är ett annat]
Personnummer: [ååååmmdd-xxxx]
Skola: [skolans namn]
Program eller inriktning: [om du minns det]
Avgångsår: [ungefär vilket år du slutade]

Jag behöver betygen för att söka en utbildning.

Skicka gärna kopian till:
[din e-postadress]
[din postadress]

Hör av er om ni behöver fler uppgifter.

Med vänlig hälsning
[ditt namn]
[ditt telefonnummer]

*(This email is deliberately in Swedish — the school or archive staff who will read it need to understand it. Fill in your own details inside the brackets [ ].)*

Only send it to the school's or municipality's official address — you are giving out your personal identity number in the email.

If you are unsure whether you have the right address, just write a short question asking if it is the right email for ordering a copy of your grades, and leave out your personal identity number in that case.

Expect a week or a couple of weeks, and a small fee may be added, even for a digital copy.

If you are applying to a course or programme on antagning.se, the grades are usually fetched there automatically, and then you can see which ones are registered for you. More about that on Behörighet (Eligibility).

You get: your grades on their way home, while you carry on with the rest.

07 — If it is not enough

If something is missing, it can be studied up. It does not have to mean a whole upper-secondary programme — often it is a matter of single courses. Behörighet (Eligibility) goes through what applies for each kind of programme, and what you can do if you lack paperwork for something you already know.

You get: to know what is missing, while there is still time to fix it.

Applying

08 — Apply

Applying happens in five steps, and they look different for komvux, yrkeshögskola, folkhögskola and Arbetsförmedlingen. Read Att ansöka (How to apply) and write down the last application date for your three choices.

You get: the dates, and what needs to be attached.

09 — Tell someone what you found

If you have a coach, mentor or study and career counsellor — send a text or email about what you landed on. The notes from Yrkeskompassen can be pasted in directly, plus anything that has happened since.

Then you will not have to start from scratch when you meet, and whoever is supporting you can spend the time on what you are actually stuck on.

You get: a meeting that starts where you left off.

If the spark is missing

10 — A shorter path

Not everyone wants to study for one or two years, and it is not always necessary. Under Snabba utbildningar (Quick programmes) there are certificates you can get in a shorter time — forklift licence, taxi driving licence, bus, train, lift and security guard.

If you would rather work for yourself, there is Starta eget (Starting your own business). Two things are kept separate there: the course that teaches you to run a business, and the start-up grant — which is actually called "stöd till start av näringsverksamhet" and is decided by Arbetsförmedlingen. It is money every month while you build up the business, and it is a separate application.

You get: new possibilities ahead that you may not have known existed.