Increased attractiveness in the Building and Construction Programme – a collaborative project with The Swedish Construction Industry Training Board
Interest in Vocational Education and Training has declined in Sweden since the 1980s. At that time 70% of school leavers took a vocational track. Today the figure is around 30%, the lowest in the European Union. The decrease is particularly significant in male-dominated programs such as the Building and Construction Programme (BCP), with local variations in the country's municipalities. Against this background the project aims at contributing with knowledge about views of VET held by stakeholders, and more specifically how these affect the attractiveness of BCP. Furthermore, the intention is to come up with suggestions on how attractiveness could be increased through the analysis of local success factors. The project uses mixed methods: Quantitative methods contribute to a background description, and qualitative methods to deepen the understanding of success factors. VET takes place across institutional boundaries, and its attractiveness is affected by factors as regulation, the norms that surround it, and by local interpretations. Thus, a framework based on new institutional theories is used. The project focuses on cooperation and quality. Cooperation is essential between the Construction Industry Training Board and academia. This is because of the importance to the quality in VET of cooperation between construction companies, students, and school representatives. The project focuses on quality by involving many stakeholders and by being well grounded in current research.
Final report
Final scientific report: FLEXIT project (FX22-0026). Increased attractiveness of the building and construction programme (BCP) – a collaborative project with the Construction Industry Training Board (BYN)
The background to the project was the significant decline in the attractiveness of vocational education and training (VET), which has led to a continuous decrease in the proportion of students in VET in Sweden since the 1980s. A government inquiry in 2020 found that interest is declining, particularly in male-dominated upper secondary programmes, such as the construction and civil engineering programme. This programme is also identified as particularly sensitive to economic cycles but has declined in attractiveness over time and overall. In 2022, the construction industry was at the peak of an economic boom that would soon be a distant memory. In the following years, the economy weakened, and in 2024, we found ourselves in the worst crisis since the 1990s. This has led to bankruptcies in the construction industry, thus affecting employment opportunities and the ability of schools to find internships for students. The project has continued as planned because its focus and purpose are not as sensitive to economic cycles as the industry itself. The aim was to contribute knowledge about perceptions of VET and, more specifically, how it affects the attractiveness of the building and construction programme (BCP).
Through collaboration, knowledge exchange and empirical studies combining quantitative and qualitative methods grounded in neo-institutional and practice theories, the project has identified and analysed possible success factors for the attractiveness of VET relevant to the construction industry. VET programmes, such as the BCP, are necessarily conducted across the institutional boundaries that constitute the education system and industry. Collaboration across these boundaries has been a challenge ever since the guild system was dissolved and VET was formalised in Sweden in the early 1900s. In this context, the FLEXIT call for proposals has provided a unique opportunity for collaboration across these boundaries.
The project has contributed significantly to collaboration with a number of actors outside academia. The results of the first substudy were presented in a workshop entitled Malmö University and the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth Discuss Rural Issues. This led to the Research Workshop – Rural Mission, which was organised in collaboration between the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth, with the aim of assisting the Ministry of Rural Affairs and Infrastructure with background information for its work on a new rural policy bill. The project results were also presented in connection with the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth’s Workshop on Skills Supply in Rural Areas, with representatives from the country’s municipalities and regions.
During the project period, verification funds were received from Malmö University Innovation for the project ‘Vocational knowing and future VET in rural municipalities’. This project is being carried out in collaboration with Tomelilla Municipality and involves developing a basis for the possibility of starting a sheet metal working training programme in the municipality. The idea is to use the project’s various substudies to develop a concept for establishing VET in shortage vocations, considering the importance of place and ensuring that the training is characterised by a Bildung-oriented and inclusive approach (Ref. No. MAU 2024/2633). The cornerstones of the concept are as follows:
The importance of place for establishing VET
Collaboration with the relevant municipality
Collaboration with the relevant industry
Bildung-oriented and inclusive vocational training
At the end of the project period, the project results provided an opportunity to participate in Malmö University’s Societal Impact Lab. The purpose of the lab is to promote the utilisation and impact of research results and their dissemination in society for sustainable long-term social benefits. Participation involves spending one day a week for a year utilising the project’s research results. The project has also established contact with the Swedish Construction Federation’s women’s network. A very important aspect of the collaboration was continuous and regular contact with VET teachers and representatives in the Construction Industry Training Board’s regions. Overall, these new contacts outside academia provide a very good basis for continued collaboration and for expanding this to other actors and organisations.
An important result of the project is that the BCP is being institutionalised as a second choice. It has also been shown that place is important for the attractiveness of the BCP and that attractiveness interacts with gender and is influenced by views on craftsmanship and vocational knowing. In terms of the importance of place, it appears that the BCP is more attractive in rural municipalities than in larger cities. This applies to both quantitative aspects (e.g. proportion of applicants) of attractiveness and qualitative aspects, which relate to perceptions and attitudes towards the programme. It seems that the programme is surrounded by more positive norms in rural areas where a larger proportion of students apply for the programme.
However, the programme is not attractive to female applicants. There are so few of them that they are rendered invisible in public statistics for reasons of anonymity. It is impossible to determine the relationship between urban and rural areas regarding female applicants because of their number. Some municipalities stand out with a slightly higher proportion than others, but it is difficult to find explanations for this. Regarding merit, it is difficult to see a clear pattern. Admission scores appear to be distributed almost randomly across the country. Thus, the project analyses attractiveness in relation to gender solely in qualitative terms and on the basis that attractiveness means applying, completing and having future opportunities to develop after the programme. Previous studies have often focused on either ‘attraction’, ‘retention’ or ‘progression’, but with the support of a theory of agency, these aspects could be brought together. Based on the substudy dealing with gender and attractiveness, the results show that the few girls who applied encountered resistance when they applied and during their training. They reclaim agency by creating new plans for the future. The decision not to remain in the industry as professionals is made during their education, which is earlier than previously noted in research. None of the girls interviewed expressed a desire to remain in the industry, and in cases where they did, they wanted to do so only to a limited extent.
Another finding is that a changed view of craftsmanship and vocational knowing could improve the attractiveness of the programme. The BCP has rich affordances of Bildung in terms of its history, its connection to society and in terms of craftsmanship. The fact that these affordances are rarely perceived may be due to the fact that conversation is sometimes hindered by a noisy environment and that craftsmanship manifests itself in action rather than in written language. Furthermore, certain norms may divert attention away from Bildung. Otherwise, the industry and the BCP are described in contradictory terms. However, there are many positive perceptions of VET and work in the industry, mainly because it is fun, there is a strong sense of community and there are good opportunities to earn money. There are also positive statements about pride in performing socially important work with clear and visible results. What contradicts these positive statements is that it is also hard and strenuous work and that there are exclusionary norms. A summary of all the results is available in the project report. This report also devotes an entire chapter to what organisers of BCPs, universities, construction companies and society at large can do to increase the attractiveness of the programme.
Based on the research results of the project, there is a need to further investigate place-specific conditions in and around the BCP. During observations, several students who dreamed of or had already started their own businesses, were encountered. Therefore, one area for further research is how young people in VET can promote new startups and regrowth in existing businesses for sustainable rural areas. There is also a great need for future research on equality and gender equality. In this project, ethnicity has only been taken into account based on previous research, but it would be appropriate to consider this in further research. Gender, ethnicity and norms in the industry are burning issues. In particular, the girls in this study also testify to purely physical obstacles in the working environment, and a possible study would be to integrate these issues with norms in the programme and the industry in order to analyse physicality, materiality, tools and norms in the workplace-based part of the BCP. This approach would make it possible to discuss norms and actual physical circumstances at the same time. Based on this issue, an application for further research is being planned.
The various studies also show that the unique expertise of vocational teachers, with one foot in the education system and one in the industry, needs to be given more attention. They need continuing professional development on their own terms and vocational teacher training that they perceive as relevant to them, which, in the long term, can increase the attractiveness of both VET and vocational teacher education. Therefore, relevant vocational didactics also needs to be the subject of research.
The background to the project was the significant decline in the attractiveness of vocational education and training (VET), which has led to a continuous decrease in the proportion of students in VET in Sweden since the 1980s. A government inquiry in 2020 found that interest is declining, particularly in male-dominated upper secondary programmes, such as the construction and civil engineering programme. This programme is also identified as particularly sensitive to economic cycles but has declined in attractiveness over time and overall. In 2022, the construction industry was at the peak of an economic boom that would soon be a distant memory. In the following years, the economy weakened, and in 2024, we found ourselves in the worst crisis since the 1990s. This has led to bankruptcies in the construction industry, thus affecting employment opportunities and the ability of schools to find internships for students. The project has continued as planned because its focus and purpose are not as sensitive to economic cycles as the industry itself. The aim was to contribute knowledge about perceptions of VET and, more specifically, how it affects the attractiveness of the building and construction programme (BCP).
Through collaboration, knowledge exchange and empirical studies combining quantitative and qualitative methods grounded in neo-institutional and practice theories, the project has identified and analysed possible success factors for the attractiveness of VET relevant to the construction industry. VET programmes, such as the BCP, are necessarily conducted across the institutional boundaries that constitute the education system and industry. Collaboration across these boundaries has been a challenge ever since the guild system was dissolved and VET was formalised in Sweden in the early 1900s. In this context, the FLEXIT call for proposals has provided a unique opportunity for collaboration across these boundaries.
The project has contributed significantly to collaboration with a number of actors outside academia. The results of the first substudy were presented in a workshop entitled Malmö University and the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth Discuss Rural Issues. This led to the Research Workshop – Rural Mission, which was organised in collaboration between the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth, with the aim of assisting the Ministry of Rural Affairs and Infrastructure with background information for its work on a new rural policy bill. The project results were also presented in connection with the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth’s Workshop on Skills Supply in Rural Areas, with representatives from the country’s municipalities and regions.
During the project period, verification funds were received from Malmö University Innovation for the project ‘Vocational knowing and future VET in rural municipalities’. This project is being carried out in collaboration with Tomelilla Municipality and involves developing a basis for the possibility of starting a sheet metal working training programme in the municipality. The idea is to use the project’s various substudies to develop a concept for establishing VET in shortage vocations, considering the importance of place and ensuring that the training is characterised by a Bildung-oriented and inclusive approach (Ref. No. MAU 2024/2633). The cornerstones of the concept are as follows:
The importance of place for establishing VET
Collaboration with the relevant municipality
Collaboration with the relevant industry
Bildung-oriented and inclusive vocational training
At the end of the project period, the project results provided an opportunity to participate in Malmö University’s Societal Impact Lab. The purpose of the lab is to promote the utilisation and impact of research results and their dissemination in society for sustainable long-term social benefits. Participation involves spending one day a week for a year utilising the project’s research results. The project has also established contact with the Swedish Construction Federation’s women’s network. A very important aspect of the collaboration was continuous and regular contact with VET teachers and representatives in the Construction Industry Training Board’s regions. Overall, these new contacts outside academia provide a very good basis for continued collaboration and for expanding this to other actors and organisations.
An important result of the project is that the BCP is being institutionalised as a second choice. It has also been shown that place is important for the attractiveness of the BCP and that attractiveness interacts with gender and is influenced by views on craftsmanship and vocational knowing. In terms of the importance of place, it appears that the BCP is more attractive in rural municipalities than in larger cities. This applies to both quantitative aspects (e.g. proportion of applicants) of attractiveness and qualitative aspects, which relate to perceptions and attitudes towards the programme. It seems that the programme is surrounded by more positive norms in rural areas where a larger proportion of students apply for the programme.
However, the programme is not attractive to female applicants. There are so few of them that they are rendered invisible in public statistics for reasons of anonymity. It is impossible to determine the relationship between urban and rural areas regarding female applicants because of their number. Some municipalities stand out with a slightly higher proportion than others, but it is difficult to find explanations for this. Regarding merit, it is difficult to see a clear pattern. Admission scores appear to be distributed almost randomly across the country. Thus, the project analyses attractiveness in relation to gender solely in qualitative terms and on the basis that attractiveness means applying, completing and having future opportunities to develop after the programme. Previous studies have often focused on either ‘attraction’, ‘retention’ or ‘progression’, but with the support of a theory of agency, these aspects could be brought together. Based on the substudy dealing with gender and attractiveness, the results show that the few girls who applied encountered resistance when they applied and during their training. They reclaim agency by creating new plans for the future. The decision not to remain in the industry as professionals is made during their education, which is earlier than previously noted in research. None of the girls interviewed expressed a desire to remain in the industry, and in cases where they did, they wanted to do so only to a limited extent.
Another finding is that a changed view of craftsmanship and vocational knowing could improve the attractiveness of the programme. The BCP has rich affordances of Bildung in terms of its history, its connection to society and in terms of craftsmanship. The fact that these affordances are rarely perceived may be due to the fact that conversation is sometimes hindered by a noisy environment and that craftsmanship manifests itself in action rather than in written language. Furthermore, certain norms may divert attention away from Bildung. Otherwise, the industry and the BCP are described in contradictory terms. However, there are many positive perceptions of VET and work in the industry, mainly because it is fun, there is a strong sense of community and there are good opportunities to earn money. There are also positive statements about pride in performing socially important work with clear and visible results. What contradicts these positive statements is that it is also hard and strenuous work and that there are exclusionary norms. A summary of all the results is available in the project report. This report also devotes an entire chapter to what organisers of BCPs, universities, construction companies and society at large can do to increase the attractiveness of the programme.
Based on the research results of the project, there is a need to further investigate place-specific conditions in and around the BCP. During observations, several students who dreamed of or had already started their own businesses, were encountered. Therefore, one area for further research is how young people in VET can promote new startups and regrowth in existing businesses for sustainable rural areas. There is also a great need for future research on equality and gender equality. In this project, ethnicity has only been taken into account based on previous research, but it would be appropriate to consider this in further research. Gender, ethnicity and norms in the industry are burning issues. In particular, the girls in this study also testify to purely physical obstacles in the working environment, and a possible study would be to integrate these issues with norms in the programme and the industry in order to analyse physicality, materiality, tools and norms in the workplace-based part of the BCP. This approach would make it possible to discuss norms and actual physical circumstances at the same time. Based on this issue, an application for further research is being planned.
The various studies also show that the unique expertise of vocational teachers, with one foot in the education system and one in the industry, needs to be given more attention. They need continuing professional development on their own terms and vocational teacher training that they perceive as relevant to them, which, in the long term, can increase the attractiveness of both VET and vocational teacher education. Therefore, relevant vocational didactics also needs to be the subject of research.