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Student wages that increase, collective agreement and conditions as a skilled worker.
One of the big advantages of a vocational education is that you earn money while you learn. As soon as you have entered a training contract with a company, you receive pay throughout the main phase — even during the periods when you are at school. It is the company that is your employer.
§The apprentice wages increase through the program.
The apprentice wages are not the same all the way through. They are typically stepped and increase as you progress through the education and get better. The idea is simple: the further you get, the more you can contribute at the workplace and that is reflected in the wages.
§The agreement sets the framework
Your salary and conditions are determined by a collective agreement — an agreement negotiated between employers and employee organizations in the field. In the property service field trade organizations and employer side support the agreements and it is they who set minimum rates allowances and rights. The agreement is renegotiated periodically and therefore the rates change from period to period.
If you take the training as an adult, special rules apply. Here the employer must at minimum pay a wage corresponding to the minimum wage for an unskilled worker in the area — and often more depending on the agreement.
§Employment conditions in progress
When you start there's typically a trial period initially where both parties can assess whether cooperation works. When the trial period ends you're far better protected: an apprenticeship agreement normally can't just be terminated and that gives you a safe framework to learn in.
- 01You are employed in the company and follow the workplace's normal working hours and holiday rules.
- 02You can in some cases get transport covered if you have a long way to school stays.
- 03You have the right to organize yourself in a union and unemployment insurance fund if you want.
§What do you get as a skilled worker?
When you pass the journeyman exam and become skilled your conditions change. You go from apprentice wages to skilled wages and your competences are now documented proof of what you can do. This strengthens your position both when you negotiate wages and when you apply for new jobs – a skilled property service technician is qualified for tasks and responsibilities an unskilled person cannot easily take on.
“You learn the trade at a real workplace and get paid while doing it — and when the journeyman's certificate is in hand, you're in control of your further wages and career.”