JU well above the national average for approved Higher Vocational Educational programmes

Jönköping University (JU) has been granted approval for eleven Higher Vocational Education programmes for the autumn of 2026 by the Swedish National Agency for Higher Vocational Education.

"This is recognition of our ability to create programmes that meet the needs of businesses. The key to our success is our close collaboration with the business community," says Mats Kihlman, Head of Department for Vocational Education at the School of Engineering (JTH), JU.

JU had eleven of its fifteen proposed Higher Vocational Education programmes approved by the Swedish National Agency for Higher Vocational Education. This gives an approval rate of 73 per cent, which is well above the national average of 39 per cent.

Two new programmes

Two of the approved programmes are new: Polymer Specialist and Emergency Preparedness and Safety Coordinator. They focus on crisis preparedness, risk management and information security, and on production methods, design and sustainability in the plastics and polymer industry, respectively. The Swedish National Agency for Higher Vocational Education states on its website that higher vocational education continues to expand. The largest increase among Higher Vocational Education colleges in Sweden is in the field of security services, which has more than doubled its student places.

"A great need for qualified administrative skills"

The Medical Care Administrator programme was previously given at Jönköping International Business School at JU, but will move to the School of Health and Welfare this fall.

"This is an important addition to our range of programmes and a clear response to the healthcare sector's great need for qualified administrative skills. Those who study the program will have the opportunity to collaborate with students from other professions in health and welfare, which will strengthen their understanding of healthcare as a whole and of interprofessional collaboration," says Annica Herentz Brobakken, Deputy Associate Dean of Education at the School of Health and Welfare.

"An important addition to the labour market"

The eleven approved programmes comprise 230 student places, which Mats Kihlman believes will directly contribute to strengthening the labour market.

"They contribute directly to supplying skills to industries with a great need for qualified labour. In addition, the programs generate revenues of just over SEK 8 million from the Swedish National Agency for Higher Vocational Education, which strengthens the conditions for continued development and quality assurance of our higher vocational education programmes," says Mats Kihlman.

In total, JU will provide 23 higher vocational education programmes this autumn.