Student wages, collective agreement and life as a skilled crane operator.

One of the good things about training to become a structural engineer is that you earn money while you learn. As soon as you have a training agreement with a company and are in training, you get apprentice wages — that is, real pay from your employer, not just student grants. This makes the trade attractive to many who would rather earn money while training than incur student debt.

The principle is simple: the further you are in your education, the more you can, and the higher your pay. Apprentice wages are typically divided into levels that follow how far you have progressed in the main course. You start at a beginner level and move up the wage scale as you approach the journeyman exam. This means the last year as an apprentice is usually significantly better paid than the first.

Wages and conditions in the construction and civil engineering industry are not something individual employers decide for themselves. They are determined by collective agreement — a collective agreement between employers and the employees' trade union. In structural work, it is typically the construction and civil engineering collective agreement behind which the employer side and 3F stand. The agreement determines minimum wages, supplements, working hours, pension and a number of other rights.

For you as an apprentice it means you do not stand alone when wages are to be negotiated. The framework is set in advance and is adjusted regularly so wages keep pace with price and wage developments in society.

• 01Minimum wage and wage increases through the course
• 02Pension often set aside when you have been employed for some time
• 03Supplement for e.g. overtime, off-hours and special tasks
• 04Rules for working hours, holiday and termination

When you have passed the journeyman exam you are skilled. This usually gives you a boost in wages because you are now paid as a trained graduate not as an apprentice. Many construction technicians also work by piece – a form of payment where you earn based on how much work you do rather than just by the hour. It can mean higher income but requires experience and a good crew around you.

As a skilled person you also have a stronger position on the labour market. You can go around between companies and projects seek specialties with good demand and build further on your education if you want to go up. Vocational education in other words is both a job here and now and a foundation for the rest of your career.

“You get paid while you learn — and the pay grows as you get better.”