In 1948, a major reform of the Swedish education system was proposed, eventually leading to the abolition of the parallel school system in 1962. In 1971, a large part of vocational education and training (VET) was reorganised as upper secondary education alongside academic preparatory programmes. Central motives behind these reforms were the ambition to promote democratic development and reduce class differences, as well as the growing emphasis on human capital and the role of education in supporting industrial growth. By the 1950s, a new welfare ideology had been firmly established in Sweden. A key feature was the corporatist model, in which social partners regulated labour market conditions through agreements reached without direct state intervention. In public debate, the relationship between industry, employment, and welfare was frequently highlighted, with increasing production and employment portrayed as the foundation of the welfare state. Consequently, the importance of work and labour market policy have been, and remain, central assumptions underpinning Swedish social development. Within this context, the importance of VET has consistently been acknowledged. However, views have differed regarding its responsibility, organisation, content, and capacity to meet political and economic expectations. Based on this study’s mapping and analysis of these expectations, it becomes evident that they are often contradictory and, in practice, impossible to fully satisfy—an issue rarely addressed explicitly in reform processes. This paper examines the relationship between VET and labour market training. Both are vocational education, but historically separated by different organisational and financial conditions, labour market and education politics. The aim is to analyse the purposes attributed to VET in its various forms during the period 1948-2007. The analysis focus problem formulation based in the policy analysis approach what´s the problem represented to be (WPR) by Bacchi (2009). However, it also draws on Ozga´s understanding of policy as not limited to formal documents, but a non-linear process created in an ongoing negotiation at different arenas. Hence the material for the study includes press material where various VET stakeholders publicly debate VET issues as well as government reports and proposals. Thus, the following research questions are asked: What problems should different forms of vocational education solve? How are the problems formulated by different actors? How have contradictions between different perceptions manifested themselves? Preliminary results indicate a strong, but complex management by objectives that not only contributes to hierarchies between VET and academic education, but also between VET in different forms.

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