Changes to educational grants on the general market

Changes to the allocation rules of training grants for members working in the general market the market. The changes will take effect 1 June 2026.

Changes to the rules were decided by the board of Starfsafl. Starfsafl is a vocational training fund for members who work for private companies and who work under the collective agreements between Efling and SA.

We are talking about major changes where leisure subsidies will be discontinued, distance learning will no longer be eligible for funding and it will be clarified which education and courses are eligible for funding. We encourage all members who are entitled to subsidies through Starfsafl to familiarize themselves well with the rules.

Staff announcement about the changed rules:

The Board of Starfsafl has completed a comprehensive review of the fund's rules for individual grants. This is a comprehensive continuation of the increase in grants that took effect at the end of last year.

The new rules take effect on June 1 and involve extensive changes.

The aim of the changes is to clarify better what counts as vocational training and what falls outside that scope, as well as to ensure that subsidies are used as effectively as possible to strengthen work-related skills and competencies of union members in the labour market.

Eligibility for vocational training will from now on only apply to education that takes place here in the country, to units or to recognized training providers. An exception to this rule will be language training which will continue to be funded, proceeding further. recognized training providers or other parties that are approved by the vocational training funds. It will not be possible to use the accumulated right to language training and there will be a loss of subsidy due to language training 180,000,- per year.

With the changes, leisure subsidies also fall and in their place practical training subsidies appear.

Practical training grants will be provided for courses, workshops and conferences that take place here in the country and are intended to strengthen staff in the workplace. This includes training in the areas of goal setting, communication, leadership training, management, conduct, sales and service. No requirement will be made for recognition of training providers.

No changes have been made to the fund's allocation rules other than the amount of practical training grants, previously leisure grants, increasing from 30,000 kronur to 50,000 kronur.

Education abroad is not funded but recent years have become increasingly demanding to monitor and assess which foreign training providers meet the criteria for recognized training providers. In light of this, it has been decided to stop providing grants for education abroad. At the same time, it is considered that here in the country there is a strong and diverse supply of education and training that meets the needs of members in the workforce effectively.

Here you can learn more about the rules that take effect on 1 June 2026.