Vocational competence demands and organisation of vocational education and training in times of rapid change: Automotive education in Sweden 1950–1960
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3384/njvet.2242-458X.2515576Keywords:
automotive education and training, history of vocational education and training, post-war education, labour market, trade and industryAbstract
This article examines the relationship between vocational education and training (VET) and workforce demands in Sweden during a period of rapid change. Using the automotive industry as a case study, it explores how VET adapted to technological advances and an expanding private market in the 1950s. The study investigates how school-level VET responded to evolving sector demands and the factors that enabled or constrained these responses. Drawing on curriculum theory, it analyses how educational governance shaped organisation and content. Empirical data from VET schools in three municipalities (1950–1960) show that local adaptations were frequent, enabled by school autonomy. Differences between schools reflected local market conditions, ranging from small workshops to large-scale industries. Close collaboration between employers and schools was essential in aligning training with labour needs. Overall, curriculum and organisational changes in this period illustrate a process of differentiation linking education to working life.
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