Available funding in Sweden
Background information
Funding opportunities for upskilling and reskilling to support the digital competences of individuals and organizations are available in the form of loans, grants and financial instruments. For the period 2021 – 2026 activities in digital transformation are financed through Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), Horizon, Erasmus+, ERF, and EEA grant schemes. You may find more on the page of the Swedish National Digital Skills and Jobs Coalition.
Recovery and Resilience Plan
The Swedish Recovery and Resilience Plan has a total allocation of EUR 3.3 billion in grants and focuses on addressing challenges in relation to green and digital transitions and human capital. Sweden's digital challenges focus on the need to realise the transformative potential of digitalisation. To do so, they aim to increase the number of study places in higher vocational education and expand education at universities and other higher education institutions. This is necessary to address the current shortage of experts in the Information and Communication Technology sector. To support this transition, Sweden's recovery and resilience plan includes a range of investments and reforms. For example, they plan to invest €464 million in accelerating broadband network roll-out in rural and sparsely populated areas. The RRP will continue to promote broadband expansion by connecting more households in 2023-2025. In addition, €21 million will be invested in upgrading digital services in public administration, while €42 million will be used to increase digital skills at higher education institutions. The aim of this plan is to foster economic activity and territorial cohesion, while ensuring that all citizens can take advantage of the opportunities presented by the digital transition, regardless of their location. The measure will fund support for the expansion of broadband connectivity in areas where commercial operators cannot expand. The support will be technology neutral, as long as the requested speeds are met.
More than 68,000 new places have been created in regional adult vocational education. This investment is aimed at helping people get a job by getting more people in vocational training at upper secondary level. This measure is expected to improve matching in the labour market and boost employment in the long term. Priority shall be given to individuals with the greatest need of education, such as the unemployed or individuals with lower levels of education. The new places were created in 2020-2022 and this will continue in 2023.
The goal is to fund support for the expansion of broadband connectivity where market operators cannot expand on a commercial basis. The support by the government is managed by the Swedish Post and Telecom Authority, which tests eligibility, decides on grants, makes payments, and supervises and monitors the implementation. The broadband expansion measure completed in 2021 will be pursued with new buildings connected every year up until 2025.
National Funding
Linköping Municipality offers small and medium-sized companies that work with solutions in sustainability the opportunity to test their innovations in the climate and energy sector, by applying for vouchers. The solutions should aim to reduce CO2 emissions and make Linköping a smarter and greener municipality. These opportunities are a part of Linköping Climate Neutral and Viable Cities. The funding for each voucher is SEK 20,000/voucher and can be awarded twice to the same company. There are a total of ten vouchers to be distributed per year, which is in line with the directives within the project. The application is open all the time, which means that it operates on a ‘first come, first served basis’.
Different funding options are also available on the Digital Skills and Jobs platform, you may find a listing for Sweden on this link.
