Further and continuing education for auto painters
What can you build on top of the apprenticeship certificate — from courses and specialisation to technician and leadership paths
Many think a vocational education is a dead end but it is not. The journeyman's certificate is a solid foundation and on top of that you can choose between several directions — depending on whether you want to get better at the craft lead others or study further.
§Courses and specialisation
The fastest way to get even better in the trade is through further education in the form of short courses. The industry offers courses in for example preparation for painting, colour mixing, new products and techniques. It keeps your skills sharp and gives you value on the job market because materials and methods are constantly evolving.
- 01Short specialist courses in lacquering technique and preparation
- 02Update on new products and water-based systems
- 03Statutory AMU course for those performing and supervising
- 04Color theory, morphology, and the most important safety rules when coloring.
§Towards master and own workshop
If you want to have responsibility for a company or start for yourself, you can take education and courses in management, economics and business operations. Many skilled workers end up leading a workshop or opening their own — and here it is the business side that becomes the new discipline on top of the craft.
§Higher education paths
A journeyman's certificate can also be a springboard to further education. With the right access subjects — which you can obtain among other things through an eux version of the education or by supplementing afterwards — access opens to for example academy and professional bachelor educations. That is the way if you want to work more technically in planning or in management in the long run.
§Related fields and side projects
Your skills in surface treatment, grinding and painting are not limited to cars. Experience from automotive refinishing can also be relevant in industrial surface treatment and in other parts of the painting trade. This gives flexibility if at some point you want to try something new without losing your craft skills.
“Your journeyman certificate is not a finish line — it's the ticket to everything you can choose after.”