Contract education supports Bolagsverket's digitization

In 2020, Bolagsverket (the Swedish Companies Registration Office) signed an agreement with Luleå University of Technology on contract training in IT for its business developers. One of those who has benefited from the collaboration is Nina Brede.

– Feeling that you are keeping up with the times is a source of job satisfaction. Learning is lifelong; if you want to remain relevant throughout your professional life, you need to equip yourself with new and up-to-date skills.

Bolagsverket is located in Sundsvall and has over 600 employees. All Swedish limited companies must submit their annual report to the Swedish Companies Registration Office every year, and in 2020 the authority received almost 600,000 annual reports - the equivalent of eleven cake towers in height in sheets of paper.

The annual reports are also handled by the Swedish Tax Agency and the Swedish Accounting Standards Board, among others. To make it easier for companies, information intermediaries such as credit information companies and authorities to handle the annual reports, they are being digitized. This is a time-consuming task as the majority are still submitted in paper form. In these cases, each annual report has to be scanned and the data digitized through manual transcription.

Digitalization for increased efficiency and service

In 2016, the Swedish Companies Registration Office was commissioned by the government to digitize the process of submitting and handling annual reports. Since then, development has been rapid: in 2020, one sixth of companies submitted their annual reports in digital form, while this year's share looks set to grow to almost a third of the total number.

Nina Brede is a business developer at Bolagsverket's digitalization and innovation department. She works to develop the agency's digital services:

– "We are trying to get rid of manual hacking in a digital world. We want to constantly raise our level of service to companies and the stakeholders and actors who need access to company information," she says.

Investing in competence-enhancing assignment training

The Swedish Companies Registration Office already had positive experiences with commissioned training. In 2020, they contacted Luleå University of Technology to negotiate a new agreement for contract training for their approximately 50 business developers. In spring 2021, they took their first courses.

– Bolagsverket was interested in several courses in our bachelor's program in digital service development. I tailored an educational package where they participate remotely in regular courses together with our students, says Mari Runardotter, Associate Professor of Information Systems and responsible for the Swedish Companies Registration Office's contract education at Luleå University of Technology.

– "Right now I am taking the course Business and Digital Entrepreneurship, and will later read Strategic Service Design and Business Development with the help of IT," says Nina Brede, and continues: "It is the customer perspective that attracts me. Being able to understand the customers' driving forces and how we can meet them with the help of the possibilities of digital components.

New knowledge, inspiration and energy

– When I took the course, I was incredibly inspired. A big praise to the students – I learned a lot in the group work. It adds an extra dimension to the course content. The students are the future entrepreneurs and Sweden needs more entrepreneurs if we are to have a good future. These are the people I work for at Bolagsverket. They are the ones we should focus on. The students give me a lot of energy and inspiration," says Nina.

– The knowledge we impart helps Bolagsverket achieve its goals. The focus is on users and their needs, and how digital technology enables better services, Mari explains.

– "I have received confirmation that what we are doing is right, being out and talking to the target groups to understand their needs. I have also gained insight into what we can't do ourselves but what other actors can help us with. In this way, the training has inspired us to strengthen certain collaborations," says Nina.

– 'You have to understand developments and keep up with them to be relevant. As a government agency that is supposed to help companies and basically has a monopoly on certain areas, we must live up to even higher standards. We must be able to meet the new young entrepreneurs who are used to being completely digital.

A win-win situation

Nina Brede believes that contract training benefits all parties involved.

– My employer, myself and Luleå University of Technology win from this. For me, it is extra fun with a university stamp. I know that the programs are quality assured and have high status. To feel that you keep up with it gives job satisfaction, she says.

Mari Runardotter agrees that it is a successful form of cooperation:

– 'As a teacher, I see similar positive effects in all our contract education. The meeting between young students and professionals is enriching. Experienced people like Nina bring concrete challenges to our cases and discussions, while giving them new input and ideas they can take back to their businesses.

Lifelong learning

According to Nina Brede, the increasingly rapid development of society requires continuous skills development.

– 'I could imagine taking a new course every winter. When you have completed a course, you want to have time to apply what you have learned. Then you realize what you lack and can take additional courses. Learning is lifelong in this, if you want to be relevant throughout your professional life, you need to provide yourself with new and up-to-date skills. I'm talking about real-time data, and it's almost like that on the knowledge side now too. You have to monitor the world around you. Without scouting, you have no idea," she concludes.