Smart industry - a new industrialization strategy for Sweden (June 2016) The industry has changed and when the industrial service jobs are included, it is clear that Sweden is still an industrialized country. The industry accounts for one fifth of the country's economy and employs around one million people. The industry also accounts for 77 percent of the total export value. Digitization and new opportunities for automation opens a window for a new industrialization of Sweden. At the same time, competition from the outside world is getting harder, especially from emerging economies in Asia, which is increasingly beginning to compete with knowledge content and not only low wages.

Swedish industry's four challenges Digitizing. rapid restructuring is under way, where embedded and connected factories and products revolutionize the industry. Sustainability. Parts of the Swedish industry are not sufficient resource efficient. Sustainable production and sustainable products can be a Swedish advantage in the future Competence. It is getting harder to recruit the skills needed to compete in the world market. Every fifth recruitment fails completely. Education's quality and relevance are often too low and the transition from old to new jobs needs to be facilitated. Innovation. Swedish research and innovation face tough competition. Unlike most comparable competitors, R & D investment (R & D as a share of GDP) has fallen sharply in Sweden.

Four focus areas Industry 4.0 – Companies in the Swedish industrial sector are to be leaders of the digital transformation and in exploiting the potential of digitalisation. Sustainable production – Increased resource efficiency, environmental considerations and a more sustainable production are to contribute to the industrial sector’s value creation, job creation and competitiveness. Industrial skills boost – The system for supplying skills is to meet the industrial sector’s needs and promote its long-term development. Test bed Sweden – Sweden is to lead research in areas that contribute to strengthening the industrial production of goods and services in Sweden.