In Autumn 1997, the Swedish government proposed a five-year Adult Education Initiative which aims to increase the educational level among the working population. The aim of the AEI is to give those people who have only completed compulsory-level education the opportunity to receive an upper secondary education. The initiative is mainly directed towards unemployed people, but to some extent also towards persons already in employment.
During the second half of 1997, AEI offered 115,000 full-time places, corresponding to 2.7% of the labour force. Since a one-year, full-time student place can be filled by more than one person studying part time, the actual number of participants is higher. During the first half of 1998, AEI offered 105,000 full-time places, corresponding to 2.5% of the labour force. The gender composition averaged 33% men and 67% women.
Of those recruited via AEI, roughly 80% had previously been unemployed. Throughout the five-year period, around 550,000 one-year, full-time student places are being arranged for within the framework of the central government's grant for AEI. This corresponds to about 600,000 participants, of whom an estimated 425,000 are unemployed.
The government has charged the National Agency for Education with responsibility for monitoring and collecting data from the municipalities regarding such indicators as the volume of AEI expressed as study credits and as the number of individuals involved, the participants' gender and age compositions, education, and period of registration with the employment service. The agency has also, in the same follow-up remit, been given the task of monitoring, at individual level, the impact of AEI with respect to changes in educational level and employment. This monitoring is to be reported on 15 May and 15 December every year. The government has also entrusted to the Commission for Adult Education and Training the task of ensuring that an independent evaluation of AEI is carried out.
Several different evaluators and researchers have also been engaged by the Commission for Adult Education and Training to evaluate AEI.
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