From basic course to journeyman's certificate — your path through the training
Steps school periods apprenticeship and journeyman exam for car mechanics
The education to car mechanic is a vocational education structured as an alternation between school and practice: you learn the theory at vocational school and the craft at a real workshop with real customer cars. The education is tiered—first car technician, and if you build further, car mechanic—and takes a total of up to about five years depending on your background and entry path. The frameworks are laid out in the education regulation, and the competency goals describe precisely what you must be able to do at the end.
§The way in
If you come directly from 9th or 10th grade, you start the first part of the basic course (GF1) and continue with the second part (GF2), which is aimed at the mechanic trade. If you come later in life, you typically start directly on GF2. In the basic course you learn the workshop's basic craftsmanship: tool knowledge, measurement techniques, basic electrical knowledge, safety and the first real tasks on cars. The basic course ends with an exam, which is your ticket to the main course — but the most important task along the way is to find an apprenticeship.
§Main course — where skill is built
- 01Apprenticeship periods at the workshop where you gradually take on more responsibility: service, brakes, undercarriage, troubleshooting.
- 02School stays with subjects such as automotive physical concepts, electrical and electronic systems, engine control, transmission and high-voltage safety on electric and hybrid cars.
- 03Step 1 ends as car assembler — you can perform service inspection and common repairs
- 04Step 2 builds diagnosis and system understanding on: complex troubleshooting tasks electronic systems CAN-bus and advanced brake and steering systems
- 05EUX is the opportunity to combine the journeyman certificate with upper secondary level subjects if you want to keep the door to further education open.
§The journeyman's exam
The education ends with the journeyman test where you must show before master craftsmen that you master the trade's disciplines in practice: systematic troubleshooting repair according to manufacturer's specifications measurement technique and documentation of work — plus the professional conversation where you justify your choices. If you pass you receive your journeyman certificate and it is your proof to any employer that you can do the trade. The grade can even earn a medal or commendation which many workshops notice.
And then what?
| Direction | What does it typically require? |
|---|---|
| Diagnosis specialist / technician at authorized workshop | Further training with importer/manufacturer, strong electrical understanding. |
| Electric and hybrid car specialist. | Courses in high-voltage systems and manufacturers' HV training |
| Workshop manager / Service manager | Experience, overview and customer flair — often supplemented with management courses. |
| Own business. | Professional breadth plus business and entrepreneurship understanding, which also are part of the education's goals. |
| Further education | E.g. auto mechanic → production technologist or machine master (possibly via EUX/entry courses) |
The automotive industry is crying out for skilled workers, and the technological shift towards electric vehicles makes the demand for well-trained mechanics greater — not less. The mechanic who keeps learning new skills will never lack work. Education is not the end of learning; it is proof that you have learned how to learn the trade.
“Your journeyman certificate opens the door — curiosity determines how many rooms you get into.”
— Trade teacher, main program.