New study: Older may be given the right to student loans

Student loans can be granted to and with 56 years of age. And in order to be entitled to student loans, it is required that you read at least half-time (50 per cent).

the Government now wants to revise today's regulations, reports the Echo.

a departementsutredning that should be ready in October to be included in the budget for 2021. The investigation will be done by an officer of the Central student aid (CSN).

One of the points in januariavtalet between the social democrats, the green Party, the Centre party and the Liberals revolved around a more generous studiemedelssystem.

Matilda Ernkrans (S), the minister for higher education and research, stresses the importance of being able to undertake training or retraining in the older age groups.

" People both want and need to work longer. It is important that we during our working life can re-educate ourselves. It needed to cope with the supply of expertise and then have to studiemedlet also keep up with, " she says.

Matilda Ernkrans (S), the minister for higher education and research. Photo: Lisa Mattisson

further education is great in today's labour market, says Matilda Ernkrans.

– There can be a need you may have as an individual – if you need a school if because of that, even profession is too heavy. And there is also a need, based on how the job market looks today, with more stringent skill requirements. It is important that we find ways to support this through student loans.

Lisa Laun is a researcher at the Institute for labour market and education policy evaluation (IFAU) and has specialized in social security and the labour market, with a focus on the elderly.

She considers that the proposal from a policy point of view is interesting.

– There is a large potential for employment of the elderly in the country. There are good reasons to improve the chances to retrain. In particular, if you have a heavy, physical jobs that they can't be bothered with, then retraining is a possible solution.

Lisa Laun, researcher at the institute for labour market and education policy evaluation (IFAU), has specializing in social security and the labour market, with a focus on the elderly. Photo: Pressphoto.

to student loans, it would send a strong signal that it is worth investing in, says Lisa Laun.

" I am cautiously positive. It can affect the setting to the duration of working life, and to show that they can also make a benefit on the labour market such as older people, " she says.

Erik Mellander is a researcher and deputy director of IFAU. He is also chairman of the Swedish expert group for the OECD kunskapsundersökning for adults, PIAAC (Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies).

– In Sweden, we have long had a limited view of the further development in working life. One has asked himself the question whether it is meaningful to bet on people over 50 years, " he says.

opportunities to upskill themselves in old age should be combined with enhanced opportunities for validation of existing knowledge.

– Older workers is likely to have often accumulated more knowledge than the younger ones in an informal way, through experience. The validation provides the opportunity to identify such skills, which means that you can avoid training in areas that the person has already mastered, to the benefit of both the individual and society.

Erik Mellander is the chairman of the Swedish expert group for the OECD kunskapsundersökning for adults, PIAAC (Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies). Photo: Pressphoto.

Erik Mellander mean that it can also help to identify knowledge gaps, and thereby demonstrate the skills that need to be updated or expanded.

– But this is an important marker that shows that the elderly are an important group in the labour market. If the man is 56 years, you learn to work in at least ten years – a long time in a working life – and then it is good that there are opportunities for further training, " he says.

Read more: this is five generations in the workplace