There is a risk of skilled labour shortages in rural areas in Sweden due to demographic change. Distance education is one manner to meet those challenges. This study focuses on people's experiences of distance education in a rural municipality and what it meant to them. The study is based on interviews with people who have completed higher education through distance learning in the Vilhelmina municipality and is compared with previous studies. The results show that career opportunities and personal development within the municipality are highlighted as valuable outcomes of distance education.