Many are seeking retraining study support, which is intended to make it possible to educate oneself as an adult. However, the Swedish Social Insurance Agency (CSN), which handles the applications, has too few resources and is slowing down the processing, writes representatives for the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise, the Swedish Trade Union Confederation (LO) and the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (PTK) in DN Debatt.
The retraining study support, which is intended for adults in the midst of working life, was launched in 2022 by the social partners together with the state. The support provides during the study period both grants equivalent to a large part of the salary and a loan amount.
Interest is high, but today 21,750 people are still waiting for a decision on retraining study support, according to the writers of the debate article.
"Of all those who would have started their education in August 2023, 2,300 people are still waiting for a decision, a whole academic year later."
The reform is being slowed down by the Swedish Social Insurance Agency's processing resources, and the writers are now calling on the government to "urgently inject more funds into the Swedish Social Insurance Agency so that those seeking retraining study support can receive a decision in a reasonable time before the education starts". They also want the government to introduce rule simplifications that the Swedish Social Insurance Agency itself has proposed.
