Mobility of knowledge as a recognition challenge: experiences from Sweden

This article focuses on the tensions between mobility, knowledge and recognition, and what the impact of migration could be on lifelong education and society. This is discussed with the case of Sweden as the starting point. The main issue in Sweden concerning migration is the admission of refugees. Sweden has had a relatively open policy concerning refugees in recent decades, and a large number of refugees have also been granted residence permits. Thus, they have not come to Sweden due to a labour shortage, and the demand for their knowledge in the labour market has not been high. Their knowledge is not recognised in terms of employment in vocations where their prior learning could be utilised. This means that Sweden has faced challenges concerning questions of recognition and lifelong education. In this article, we take as our starting point the policy in this area, including policy texts and national initiatives as well as experiences from such initiatives, to discuss the role of lifelong education and recognition of prior learning in a situation where mobility concerns not only migration of people but also of knowledge. We discuss how this knowledge, which has been situated in another national context, can be recognised and included in further lifelong education, and what type of lifelong education or lifelong learning is needed in this situation.