What Astar AB does

Astar AB (Org.nr 556614-8093) is a privately-held Swedish vocational education company headquartered in Solna, with operations across more than 20 cities from Luleå in the north to Malmö in the south. The company delivers adult education through three primary channels: Komvux (municipal adult education), SFI (Swedish for Immigrants), and Arbetsmarknadsutbildningar (labor market training funded by the Swedish Public Employment Service). Its curriculum spans 14 subject areas including healthcare (undersköterska, vårdbiträde), construction (carpentry, painting, tiling, masonry, concrete), electrical and energy (installation, industrial, alarm/security), HVAC and property (VVS-montör, fastighetsskötare), facility cleaning (lokalvårdare), restaurant and food (chef, baker, confectioner, server, food production), industrial technology, IT, hairdressing, floristry, hotel and tourism, sales and service, and child/leisure. Programs are delivered through a blended learning model combining online theory, teacher-led classroom instruction, workplace-based learning (APL/LIA) at employer sites, and apprenticeship formats, with individual coaching to reduce dropout.

Astar's business model is primarily public-payer-funded: municipalities pay for Komvux seats and Arbetsf\u00f6rmedlingen funds labor market training, with students eligible for CSN loans/grants. A secondary revenue stream is employer-funded recruitment training (rekryteringsutbildningar), co-developed with companies such as Atria, KLS, HKScan, Protos, Jakobsdals Charkuteri, and Andersson & Tillman in meat processing, where Astar recruits, screens, trains, and places candidates to meet specific employer requirements. Corporate training (företagsutbildningar) and standalone courses/fristående kurser round out the B2B offering. The company also operates three training restaurants (Brandstation Restaurang & Catering in Sundsvall, A Star Kitchen Eskilstuna, and Restaurang Karpalund in Kristianstad) that function simultaneously as revenue-generating food-service businesses and as practical training environments for culinary students. With approximately 358 employees, Astar positions itself as one of Sweden's largest education companies, with documented quality signals including an NPS of 36, a 5.8/6 satisfaction rating on the Tyresö VVS program from Arbetsf\u00f6rmedlingen's follow-up survey, and a clean Skolinspektionen inspection at the Norrköping site.

Name

Astar AB

Legal name

Astar AB

Website

https://astar.se

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Astar AB is a privately-held Swedish vocational education company delivering Komvux, SFI, and Arbetsmarknadsutbildningar across 20+ cities. It serves adult learners, immigrants, unemployed job seekers, and employers through workplace-based training in healthcare, construction, electrical, HVAC, hospitality, and other trades.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Vocational Adult Education

NAICS

Technical and Trade Schools (61151), Other Technical and Trade Schools (611519)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Restaurant & Foodservice Operations Management (EDAOAKAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Hospitality & Food Service (EDABALAO), Agriculture & Food Production (EDABALAA)

Keywords

• Adult vocational education
• Municipal adult education
• Labor market training
• Workplace-based learning
• Swedish language instruction

Headquarters

HQ city

Solna

HQ country

Sweden

HQ region

Europe

Offices23 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Government-funded adult education (Komvux): Astar provides municipal adult education programs funded through government education budgets, where municipalities pay for student seats in vocational training programs.
2. Labor market training (Arbetsförmedlingen): Astar delivers labor market training funded by the Swedish Public Employment Service, targeting unemployed individuals and matching them with employer needs.
3. Recruitment training for companies: Customized training programs developed in close collaboration with companies that have recruitment needs, where Astar recruits and trains participants who are then hired by the partner company.
4. Restaurant and catering operations: Astar operates restaurant businesses (Brandstation, A Star Kitchen, Restaurang Karpalund) that generate revenue from lunch service and catering while simultaneously serving as practical training environments for culinary students.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Astar AB is a Swedish vocational adult education company that delivers Komvux (municipal adult education), SFI (Swedish for Immigrants), and labor market training across 14 vocational disciplines through its own school network in more than 20 Swedish cities. The company also provides employer-funded recruitment training (rekryteringsutbildningar), corporate competency development (företagsutbildningar), examinations (prövningar), and standalone courses (fristående kurser). Three operational training restaurants complement the culinary education programs by providing practical training environments while generating food service revenue.

Product overview

Astar AB operates as a vocational education company offering a unified portfolio of adult education services comprising Komvux (municipal adult education), SFI (Swedish for Immigrants), and Arbetsmarknadsutbildningar (labor market training) programs. The company provides vocational training across 14 subject areas including Healthcare (Vård & Omsorg), Construction (Bygg & Anläggning), Electrical (El & Energi), Facility Management (Lokalvård), Restaurant & Food (Restaurang & Livsmedel), HVAC & Properties (VVS & Fastigheter), and IT, among others. Key programs include undersköterska nursing assistant training, VVS-montör plumbing training, electrician training, and localvårdare cleaning programs. Astar also operates three training restaurants (Brandstation in Sundsvall, A Star Kitchen in Eskilstuna, and Restaurang Karpalund in Kristianstad) that run in parallel with culinary education programs. The company offers programs through multiple formats: classroom-based, distance learning, apprenticeship (lärling), and workplace-based learning (APL). In addition to standard vocational training, Astar provides recruitment-specific training (rekryteringsutbildningar) developed in partnership with employers, corporate training (företagsutbildningar), standalone courses, and examination services (prövningar).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Brandstation Restaurang & Catering: Restaurant and catering operation in Sundsvall, housed in the old fire station from 1899. Conducts cooking and service training alongside food sales.
• A Star Kitchen Eskilstuna
• Restaurang Karpalund

Products and services

• Komvux (Municipal Adult Education) Municipal adult education programs offering vocational training across 14 disciplines including healthcare, construction, electrical, hospitality, and more. Programs are funded through municipal adult education budgets and combine theoretical instruction with workplace-based learning (APL). Students apply through their local municipality's adult education department.
• SFI - Swedish for Immigrants Swedish language education for immigrants aged 16+ with a national registration number, including vocational SFI programs combined with career guidance, CV writing, and job interview preparation workshops. Designed for rapid labor market integration of newly arrived immigrants.
• Arbetsmarknadsutbildningar (Labor Market Training) Vocational training programs delivered in collaboration with Arbetsförmedlingen, designed to meet labor market needs and lead directly to employment for unemployed job seekers. Programs span cleaning, healthcare, construction, electrical, VVS/HVAC, culinary trades and more, with guaranteed job interviews upon completion.
• Rekryteringsutbildningar (Recruitment Training) Employer-specific training programs developed in close collaboration with companies to meet their recruitment needs. Astar recruits candidates, delivers training (theory remotely or in classrooms), and provides workplace learning at the employer's premises. Partner companies interview and select participants who complete training and are hired.
• Företagsutbildningar (Corporate Training) Customized competency development training for companies seeking upskilling of their existing employees, delivered by qualified instructors across Sweden across a broad range of vocational and technical subject areas.
• Prövningar (Examinations) Examination services allowing individuals to receive formal grades for prior knowledge or to improve existing grades. Follows national knowledge requirements for adult education.
• Fristående kurser (Standalone Courses) Individual course offerings available outside of full vocational programs, allowing students to take specific subjects of interest on a standalone basis.
• Brandstation Restaurang & Catering Training restaurant in Sundsvall housed in the historic 1899 fire station that operates in parallel with Astar's culinary education, offering public lunch service and catering while providing students real-world practical experience.
• A Star Kitchen Eskilstuna Training restaurant in Eskilstuna where students study and practice to become chefs, with cooking, service, and hospitality training combined with public lunch service operations.
• Restaurang Karpalund Training restaurant in Kristianstad operated in collaboration with Astar, providing practical experience for culinary students in cooking and food service operations.

Quantifiable outcome

• NPS 36 — significantly more participants recommend Astar than express dissatisfaction
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Skellefteå MunicipalitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 May 2025Skellefteå Municipality partnered with Astar to launch an industrial electrician training program taught entirely in English, targeting English-speaking workers laid off from Northvolt and other local industries. The program starts May 5, 2025 and runs through February 2026.
• Arbetsförmedlingen (Swedish Public Employment Service)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerArbetsförmedlingen is a primary funding and referral partner. It directs unemployed job seekers to Astar's labor market training programs (arbetsmarknadsutbildningar) and provides activity support payments to participants. Programs span VVS, cleaning, healthcare, construction, and culinary trades across multiple locations.
• Municipal adult education offices (Komvux)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAstar operates as a subcontractor to municipal adult education offices across Sweden. Municipalities refer students to Astar's vocational programs and fund the training through the national adult education system.
• Kriminalvården (Swedish Prison and Probation Service)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAstar partnered with Kriminalvården and Arbetsförmedlingen to provide cooking training to inmates at the Luleå correctional facility. A purpose-built restaurant kitchen was installed, and training is delivered by experienced culinary instructors. The goal is employment upon release.
• AtriaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAtria is a partner in Astar's recruitment training for butchery and meat processing. Astar recruits and trains candidates who are then hired by Atria.
• KLS (Mat för Sverige)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerKLS is a partner in Astar's recruitment training for butchery and meat processing.
• HKScanminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHKScan is a partner in Astar's recruitment training for butchery and meat processing.
• Jakobsdals CharkuteriminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJakobsdals Charkuteri is a partner in Astar's recruitment training for butchery and meat processing.
• ProtosminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProtos partnered with Astar for a 40-week recruitment training program in butchery. The company guaranteed employment to graduates, as demonstrated by the Alexandra Sjögren case on Gotland.
• Andersson & TillmanminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAndersson & Tillman is a partner in Astar's recruitment training for butchery and meat processing.
• MittuniversitetetminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMittuniversitetet partnered with BizMaker to host an international symposium on entrepreneurship and innovation. Astar's Brandstation Restaurang & Catering was selected to provide all catering for the event.
• BizMakerminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBizMaker co-organized the international symposium with Mittuniversitetet. Astar's Brandstation Restaurang & Catering won the catering contract in competitive bidding.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Hyper Island: Sweden-based digital/leadership education provider with shorter-format programs. Adjacent emerging competitor where digital delivery overlaps with some of Astar's program verticals (IT, business), but does not offer the full trades-based apprenticeship model.

Direct peers

• NTI Gymnasiet: Swedish technical/vocational education provider with programs in IT, technology, and trades; comparable in vocational scope and Sweden-specific curriculum design.
• Realgymnasiet: AcadeMedia-owned vocational secondary school running trade programs (construction, electrical, hospitality, vehicle); comparable vocational category mix targeting similar trades.
• Lernia AB: Swedish vocational training and staffing company running Arbetsförmedlingen-funded arbetsmarknadsutbildningar across multiple trades; closest direct comparability on employer-funded recruitment training and labor-market program design.
• Jensen Education AB: Private adult-education provider in Sweden with vocational programs in healthcare, construction, and business — closely comparable program mix and Komvux/SFI channel structure to Astar.
• Yrgo: Vocational school in Gothenburg specializing in hospitality, culinary, and food service programs operating a student-run training restaurant. Directly comparable to Astar's Brandstation/A Star Kitchen/Karpalund culinary training model.
• Hermods AB: One of Sweden's largest Komvux adult-education providers offering vocational Komvux programs, SFI, and Arbetsmarknadsutbildningar across many Swedish cities — directly comparable in delivery model, customer base, and funding sources to Astar.
• TUC Sverige AB: Trade-union-affiliated adult vocational training provider delivering Yrkesutbildningar and labor-market programs in Sweden; comparable on trades-based vocational delivery and public-employment-service relationships.
• Eductus: Swedish adult-education provider historically operating Komvux and arbetsmarknadsutbildningar across trades; nearly identical training categories and government-funded revenue model to Astar.

Broad incumbents

• AcadeMedia AB: Largest publicly listed education operator in the Nordics, owning adult-vocational brands (Eductus, Realgymnasiet, plus others) plus pre-K-12 schools; broader portfolio but overlapping vocational adult-education exposure.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtiktok.com/@astarutbildning
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@astar1419
• Facebookfacebook.com/astarsverige
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/astar-se
• Instagraminstagram.com/astar.ab

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Astar AB