How you collaborate across professions
From basic course to journeyman's certificate — and how the steps fit together
Industrial technician is a vocational education under the technology, construction and transport field. You learn the trade by alternating between school and apprenticeship — that is you earn money and build practical experience in a company while you get the professional and theoretical foundation at school.
§Basic course 1 and 2
If you come more or less directly from 9th or 10th grade, you start on basic course 1. Here the teaching is broad and exploratory — you work with several specialized directions and find out if the metal and machinery trade is for you. Basic course 1 normally lasts about half a year.
Then you continue to basic course 2 which is targeted at the industrial technician trade itself. If you come from a gymnasium education or have been out of the school system for a while you can start directly on basic course 2. Basic course 2 also typically lasts about half a year and ends with an exam that must be passed before you can move on to the main program.
§Main course — alternation between school and practical work
On the main course, you are employed as an apprentice in a company. Most of the time takes place at the apprenticeship, but you are called in regularly to school periods where you work with the theoretical and profession-specific. School and practice build on each other all the time: what you practice at school, you take with you back to the company — and vice versa.
§The three steps
The industrial technician training is three-level. You can exit after the first level as an industrial assistant or continue to one of the two industrial technician specialties. The further you go the more independent and advanced work you learn to perform — from manufacturing simple machine parts to programming computer-controlled machines and planning entire production sequences.
| Step / specialty | What you learn to do | Approximate total duration |
|---|---|---|
| Industrial assistant (level 1) | Produce simple machine parts by turning, milling and drilling on both manual and CNC-controlled machines, with basic drawing and measurement understanding | ca. 2 år |
| Industrial technician — machine | Setup and program computer-controlled machines and perform workpiece fabrication by e.g. turning and milling | ca. 4 år |
| Industrial technician — production | Arrange, set up and maintain work and production processes as well as quality control, including with CAD/CAM | PLACEHOLDER_27 |
§How to apply
You apply via Optagelse.dk. As a general rule you must have at least 2.0 average in both Danish and mathematics from primary school to meet the admission requirement. If you don't meet it, you can apply through other routes — such as an admission interview where the school assesses whether you're ready for the education. There's a joint application deadline in spring, so keep an eye on the date if you want to start in summer.
EUX—journeyman certificate and higher education diploma in one
You can also take the training as EUX. Then you combine the journeyman training with gymnasium subjects at a level that gives you access to continue your studies later — without letting go of the craft. It requires a bit more of you academically, but opens more doors if you later want to further your education.
If you don't have an apprenticeship position
It is normally you yourself who finds a company to apprentice at, but if you cannot secure an agreement, there are schemes where the school can offer training so you can still move forward. Start looking for an apprenticeship early — preferably already while you are on the basic course.