The government has stipulated that 202 government agencies each year must provide at least 500 internships for newly arrived jobseekers and 500 internships for people with disabilities who provide reduced working capacity.
Figures from the State Treasury now show that 70 authorities made 199 internships available during the most recent measurement period, between March last year and February this year.
In addition, only 123 people started internships during the period. Of these, 57 were new arrivals and 66 were people with disabilities.
Most authorities who answered the question as to why they had not received more trainees or any at all cited the pandemic as the main reason.
Other common motivations were shortcomings in contact with the Swedish Public Employment Service and in matching, as well as a lack of suitable tasks and resources.
Even before the pandemic, the authorities failed to achieve their goals. In 2016–2020, the authorities received a total of 4,000 trainees, compared with the 10,000 places prescribed by the government assignment at the time.