Trade and journeyman’s certificates for adults

If you are an adult, you may sign an apprenticeship contract which comprises both

• Vg3 / training in an enterprise in a recognized trade and
  

• full or partial training in an enterprise in the programme subjects from Vg1, Vg2 and, if relevant, Vg3 in school on which the recognized trade is based.
  

So the total in-service training period for most trades is four years, with a few trades having a longer training period. Previous schooling and practical experience from the trade in question may reduce the apprenticeship period. Guidelines for this can be found in the regulations to the Education Act.

If you enter into such an apprenticeship contract the requirements as to common core subjects can be met by education in school, external candidate examinations or approved non-formal and informal qualifications. The requirements as regards programme subjects can be met by instruction in school, training in an enterprise or all-round, documented practical experience.

If your apprenticeship contract includes instruction in programme subjects from Vg1, Vg2 and, if relevant, Vg3 in school that the recognized trade is based on, you must pass a special examination before you can register to sit the trade or journeyman’s examination:

•  In most trades, this examination is to test how far you have achieved the competence aims determined in the curriculum for training in the recognized trade in a training establishment.
• In some recognized trades in the educational programmes for electrical engineering and computer technology and technological and industrial production, this examination is to test how far you have achieved the competence aims determined in the programme subjects from Vg1, Vg2 and, if relevant, Vg3 in school that the recognized trade is based on.
  

If you need schooling during your apprenticeship, you should normally follow instruction that is specially organized for adults.

If you are an adult and have enough documented practice in a recognized trade you can qualify for the trade or journeyman’s examination as a practice candidate.

Documented partial competence

As an adult you can also aim for documented partial competence instead of a trade or journeyman’s certificate. In that event you can sign a training contract with an enterprise. Just as with young people, you will have the status of training candidate.