The journeyman's exam: how the final exam is structured
From project task to journeyman certificate
The education ends with the journeyman test — the test where you show that you master the trade and are ready to call yourself a journeyman. Here you get an overview of what the test typically contains and how to prepare best.
§A verbal exam based on a practical task
The journeyman's exam typically takes its starting point in a project task that is based on a concrete professional problem from your apprenticeship company or another relevant company in the industry. The exam itself takes place as an oral exam where you present and defend your work on the task to an assessor.
§The portfolio — your professional signature
Throughout the main program you build a portfolio with your own products — physical examples of your work collected together with the documentation that goes with it. The portfolio is submitted both ongoing in the education and as a complete portfolio folder in connection with the journeyman's exam itself, and it is your concrete proof of what you can do.
- 01Collect good examples of your work throughout the main course — don't wait until the last minute.
- 02Document which choices you have made along the way and why.
- 03Practice voicing technical concepts — you must be able to account for your work, not just perform it.
§Where and when does the test take place?
The journeyman's exam is held as part of your last school stay in the main course, when you have completed the prescribed school periods and your training in the company. The exam marks the transition from student to qualified — and after a passed exam, you receive your journeyman certificate.
§How you help a person who hears voices
The best preparation starts long before the actual test day. Use the company training actively to gather experience and examples for your portfolio, and use school stays to get to grips with the professional concepts and standards you need to be able to explain at the test. The more you've documented as you go, the less stress there is in gathering it together at the last moment.
“The journeyman's exam tests not just what you can make — it tests whether you can explain why you did what you did.”
When you stand with the journeyman's certificate in hand you haven't just passed an exam — you've documented three and a half years of professional development from beginner to independent professional.