Coaches compete for the unemployed Swedes

In December 2008 Sweden's centre-right coalition government decided to grant an extra  1.1bn Kronor (€12m) to the country's employment service. The economic crisis had led to rapidly growing unemployment and the government wanted to improve the chances of those fresh out of work to get back into employment quickly. The money were earmarked to procure private coaches, mainly within smaller businesses but also to employ coaches at individual job centres. Interested jobseekers could get a coach's help looking for work during a limited period. 

Some 1.000 businesses bid for contracts in spring 2009, and 963 secured a deal with the employment service. Some 700 coaches were directly hired by the Public Employment Service. Coaching fast became a growing occupation and many different backgrounds could be accepted as a basis for a coaching job. In the autumn of 2009 the private companies could begin coaching job seekers from the employment service who themselves expressed an interest in being coached. For each unemployed person successfully coached back into work, a company would receive a bonus of 2.000 Kronor (€213) on top of their usual fee. 

The coaches directly employed by the employment service were let go from 2010. The private coaching activities will continue in 2011.