ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the period for VET in Sweden that stretches from the dissolution of the guilds by the passing of the Free Trade Act in 1864 until 1945. The period is described as a movement from unregulated apprenticeship to state-regulated, school-based vocational education. The breakthrough of modern industry in Sweden led to a strong demand for a different and school-based vocational education. The trade union organisation and employer organisation gradually agreed that publicly organised VET should be strengthened and that apprenticeships should function as a complement, not as a main road for vocational learning.
