The list of courses contains four different kinds. They can look alike, but they work differently.
Three things set them apart, and those are the ones you need to understand:
We keep the Swedish names as they are. Those are the words you will meet on websites and in adverts, and the words you need to be able to say to your caseworker.
| Kind | Level | What you get | Where you apply |
|---|---|---|---|
| Komvux | Compulsory and upper secondary | Grades | Your municipality |
| Folkhögskola | Compulsory and upper secondary | Certificate and study assessment | Directly to the school |
| Yrkeshögskola | Post-secondary | Higher vocational diploma | Directly to each school |
| Arbetsmarknadsutbildning | Short vocational training | Varies — ask before you start | Through Arbetsförmedlingen |
Municipal adult education. You can study from the year you turn 20.
You study course by course and get real grades, just as in upper secondary school — A to F at upper secondary level. That means you can build on what you already have, and that you can become eligible to study further.
Many komvux programmes are yrkespaket (vocational packages): several courses that together lead to an occupation, sometimes with work placement.
You apply to your own home municipality. The municipality decides which programmes exist and when you can apply. Costs for books and materials differ — ask the municipality.
The folkhögskola (folk high school) is a kind of school of its own. There are 152 of them in the country, and they are not governed by a national curriculum from above. The groups are small, and you are called a deltagare (participant), not a pupil.
Allmän kurs is the folkhögskola's alternative to upper secondary school. It takes one to three years depending on what you have studied before — the school assesses you individually.
The most important thing to understand: you get no grades in individual subjects. Instead you get
The studieomdöme cannot be mixed with upper secondary grades. Folkhögskola students apply onwards in a group of their own, and are compared with each other.
Tuition is free of charge, but you pay for books, materials and food yourself. If you live at the school you pay for room and board. You are entitled to know all the costs before the course starts.
You apply directly to the school.
The yrkeshögskola (higher vocational education) comes after upper secondary school. The programmes are built together with companies in the industry, and they exist only as long as there is a need for the occupation.
About a quarter of a two-year yrkeshögskola programme is LIA — work placement at a workplace. The school must arrange the placement for you; they are not allowed to require that you find it yourself.
Yrkeshögskola programmes are free of charge, and most of them entitle you to student finance from CSN. But it is the individual programme that has to be approved — check on the programme's own page before you accept a place. Read more on the page about CSN and money.
Why does yrkeshögskola require more? Because it sits on top of upper secondary school. You need an upper secondary diploma or equivalent knowledge, and many programmes also require specific things — certain grades, work experience, a driving licence or a test.
If you lack the entry requirements there are still ways in. Read more on the page about eligibility.
You apply directly to each school. There is no joint application — if you apply to five programmes you send five applications.
This is not a school form. It is a measure from Arbetsförmedlingen (the Swedish Public Employment Service), and that is why it works differently from the other three.
It is short — a few weeks up to about a year — and aimed at occupations where employers struggle to find people. Work placement is included.
To be able to get an arbetsmarknadsutbildning you must be registered with Arbetsförmedlingen and meet at least one of the following: you have turned 25, you are under 25 and have a disability that affects your capacity to work, or you are at least 18 and are assessed as being far from the labour market.
You do not choose for yourself. The order is: talk to Arbetsförmedlingen, find a programme, go on a study visit to the provider, and then back to Arbetsförmedlingen — they decide.
During the programme you receive aktivitetsstöd (activity support), not CSN. Read more on the page about CSN and money.
Two things to know: what you come away with on paper varies between programmes — ask before you start. And Arbetsförmedlingen states themselves that a labour market programme does not guarantee a job, but improves your chances.
Folkuniversitetet is a studieförbund (adult education association) — that is, an organisation that runs education, not a kind of education.
They run komvux, SFI, yrkeshögskola programmes, courses and services for Arbetsförmedlingen. So if you go "to Folkuniversitetet" you are in practice taking a komvux course or a yrkeshögskola programme.
It is the form that decides what papers you get, what it costs and how you apply — not the name of the school. The same goes for other providers such as Hermods, Movant and Astar.
The studieförbund also run studiecirklar (study circles) and shorter courses. They exist so that you can learn something you are interested in, together with others. They are shorter and freer than the folkhögskola's courses, and you decide yourselves what you do.
That is valuable — but it is not the same as an education that gives grades or eligibility.
Komvux and folkhögskola build the foundation. They are at compulsory and upper secondary level, and that is where you go if you lack upper secondary school.
Yrkeshögskola sits on top. It is the next step after upper secondary — not an alternative to komvux.
Arbetsmarknadsutbildning stands to the side. It is a shortcut towards an occupation with a labour shortage, decided by Arbetsförmedlingen, and it does not build on the school system in the same way.
That is why the same occupation can appear in several places in the list — and why they are not the same thing.
Farida is a trained nurse from home but has no Swedish grades.
She first needs to have her education assessed and validated before she knows what she is missing. It may turn out that she needs to top up a few courses at komvux — not start over.
Applying to a yrkeshögskola programme straight away would probably have been refused, since she cannot yet show eligibility on paper.
Kalle is 29 and wants to get into work as fast as possible.
He finds electrician programmes both at komvux and as an arbetsmarknadsutbildning. The difference: the komvux programme gives grades and takes longer; the labour market programme is shorter, but he has to be granted it by Arbetsförmedlingen and receives aktivitetsstöd instead of CSN.
Which is best depends on his situation. That is a conversation to have with his caseworker.
Lena is 41 and left school after year nine.
She can choose komvux and get grades subject by subject, or the folkhögskola's allmän kurs and get a certificate of eligibility.
Both lead onwards. Komvux suits someone who wants to top up individual subjects; the folkhögskola suits someone who wants to study in a small group and build everything up at once.