PLACEHOLDER_18
Student wages, collective agreement and life as a skilled welder.
The economy as a machine carpenter apprentice follows the education's two phases. In the pure school part, before you have an education agreement, you may have the opportunity for SU under the general rules. When you have entered an education agreement with a company, you instead get apprentice wages — also in the periods when you are at school.
§Student wages vs. SU.
As an apprentice you receive wages from the company you have a training agreement with. A basic principle in the area is that apprentice wages increase in steps as you progress through your apprenticeship. The idea is simple: the more you can do and the more you contribute to production the higher your wages become. The first rates are lower and typically increase at fixed points along the way.
§What a collective agreement means
In much of the labor market, wages and conditions are not negotiated individually from scratch but through collective agreements that employers and employees negotiate. A collective agreement sets frameworks for, among other things, minimum wage, working hours, supplements, and a range of other conditions. For you as an apprentice, it means that there are already some agreed-upon rights and rates you can rely on.
§Terms beyond the wage
Employment conditions are about more than the hourly wage. As an apprentice you are covered by rules about among other things working hours and vacation, and you have an employer who has a duty to train you according to the education's objectives. The employment agreement is a written contract – read it through and ask if anything is unclear.
§When you are trained.
With the journeyman's certificate in hand you move from apprentice conditions to skilled conditions. As a trained worker you get skilled pay which typically is well above apprentice wages. What you end up earning depends on where you work which collective agreement applies and what you can bring to the workplace.
§Where you find the right figures
Because wages and conditions change, it is important not to rely on loose numbers from the internet. The reliable sources are the current collective agreement, the trade union in the area, and your own school or company. They can tell you what applies right now — both for apprentice wages and what you can expect as a trained worker.