Teacher education (lärarutbildning) in Sweden comes in four variants:
- Preschool teacher programme (Förskollärarprogrammet) — 3.5 years, for preschool
- Primary teacher programme (Grundlärarprogrammet) — 3–4 years, for grades F–3, 4–6, or after-school centres
- Subject teacher programme (Ämneslärarprogrammet) — 4–5.5 years, for grades 7–9 or upper secondary
- Vocational teacher programme (Yrkeslärarprogrammet) — 1.5 years, for vocational subjects in upper secondary
Teacher shortage
Sweden faces a significant teacher shortage. The National Agency for Education estimates that tens of thousands more teachers will be needed in the coming decade. The shortage is most severe in mathematics, science, modern languages, and Swedish as a second language.