Tangles, chaos – and notoriously long waiting times. Since the new retraining study support was introduced, it has been plagued by a range of problems.
Lifelong learning. An opportunity for working professionals to study further and retrain. The intentions behind the support, which was introduced on October 1, 2022, have been overshadowed by hassle and concerns. Complicated rules for those working with the support and extreme waiting times for those who want to apply for funding – the same chaos has arisen in all four rounds of applications.
More employees
Sophia Beyer Rankila, acting press secretary at CSN, states that several measures have been taken to shorten processing times.
The agency has hired more caseworkers and requested an additional 50 million kronor for autumn 2024.
It's currently on the government's table. We have also built a completely new processing system, so that much of the manual processing has been automated, says Sophia Beyer Rankila.
The goal of applicants receiving a response within three months is something the agency still struggles to live up to. It's not uncommon for people to have waited over a year for a decision. But compared to when the support was new, the queues have decreased, according to Sophia Beyer Rankila.
You still have to count on waiting six months before getting a decision. It can also go faster or take longer.
Quiz test to simplify
Furthermore, the information about the requirements for the support has been clarified. When the support was new, CSN received many applications that did not meet the requirements, which also took a lot of time to go through.
Those who apply now first have to take a quiz test that shows whether they are eligible or not, says Sophia Beyer Rankila.
It has been described as a new opportunity for people in the middle of their working life. But the retraining study support, which was introduced on October 1, 2022, has been plagued by problems.
Since the retraining study support was introduced, 96,272 people have applied. So far, 8,236 have been granted support.
24,790 applicants are still waiting for a decision. Each application must be reviewed, even those that do not meet the requirements.
Source: CSN and others.
