Supplementary Teacher training via distance learning - A new route to the teaching profession

Sweden needs qualified teachers and Jönköping County is no exception. To make education more accessible to everyone, the School of Education and Communication (HLK) at Jönköping University (JU) is offering Supplementary Teacher Education (given in Swedish)in the form of distance learning).

According to the Swedish National Agency for Education, there is a 28.5 percent shortage of qualified teachers in primary and secondary schools and a shortage of just over 15 per cent in upper secondary schoolsat a national level (2023/2024). The figures for Jönköping County are roughly the same.

“We have seen that the numbers are moving in the right direction, but they are still not fully satisfactory. All children and young people have the right to qualified teachers,” says Weronica Ader, Programme Manager for the Subject Teacher Programme and the Supplementary Teacher Education programme (abbreviated to KPU in Swedish).

One way to increase the number of qualified teachers in schools is to offer the KPU programme, which is worth 90 higher education credits (ECTS), i.e. three semesters of full-time study. Anyone who has already studied a subject at college or university that is relevant to teaching in grades 7-9 of secondary school or in uppersecondary school can apply to study KPU. During the programme, you gain in-depth knowledge of the subject, but you also take courses on development, learning, conflict management and leadership, among other things. The programme also includes practical training, known as work-based learning.

“It is important to have qualified teachers to ensure the quality of teaching and to give pupils what they are entitled to, all the way from pre-school up to upper secondary school. This is also to ensure that assessments are legally sound throughout the education period,” says Anneli Alm, Director of Education at Falköping Municipality.

From business adviser to teacher

One of those who has changed career paths is Magnus Gustafsson. After 19 years at the Swedish Tax Agency and 15 years at ALMI as a business advisor, he decided to become a teacher.

“There were actually two big things that coincided. On the one hand, there were the pandemic years, which gave me a little time for reflection and an opportunity to finally figure out what I want to be ‘when I grow up’. On the other hand, there was the retraining study grant, which provided a realistic opportunity to study without too much financial loss. But the reason for the decision is that I realised that I would probably thrive in a teaching role and that I wanted to contribute to young people's development,” says Magnus, who now teaches business administration and law at Erik Dahlbergsgymnasiet in Jönköping.

Like most qualified teachers, Magnus got a job straight after his training and he even had a choice of several teaching jobs in Jönköping.

KPU via distance learning

The programme has been offered at HLK in the past, but what is new from the spring semester 2025 is that it will be offered remotely. This opens up the training for many, regardless of where in the country one lives or what life situation one is in.

“Distance KPU is long overdue. There are many people around the country who are thinking about changing careers and becoming teachers, but moving to be able to retrain has been too big a step. There are two physical meetings per semester at our beautiful campus in Gränna, otherwise you can be wherever you want to complete the programme,” says Weronica Ader.

Anneli Alm agrees.

“Having the opportunity to study at a distance enables more people to top up their skills in a ‘simpler’ way, which can get more people to take the step. It's good if you can get more people to choose to study KPU. In Falköping municipality, we have many employees who are competent in several areas but who do not have the right qualifications, so this could be an option for them,” she says.

At HLK, you can study KPU with a specialisation in teaching upper secondary school or grades 7-9.

Magnus Gustafsson started studying KPU in autumn 2022. He is very pleased with his career change and enjoys teaching very much.

“I'm really enjoying it. Of course, not everything in the teaching job is as I had imagined, but the positive experiences outweigh the negative. Sometimes I get to see a student have an ‘A-ha!’ moment and absorb some new knowledge. Those are the moments that make teaching great,” he says.

For more information, please contact Weronica Ader: