PLACEHOLDER_10
Student wages, collective agreement and life as a skilled welder.
The economy along the way in education looks different depending on whether you are on school part without a contract or are learning with an education agreement. It is worth keeping track of from the start so you know what you can count on.
§Before you have a training contract
On the basic course, before you have an apprenticeship with a company, you don't get apprentice wages. Here you may instead be entitled to student aid according to the ordinary rules if you meet the conditions. You should investigate your specific situation as the rules depend on your age and background.
§Student wages during the main course.
When you conclude an apprenticeship agreement you're employed in the company and get apprentice wages. Wages follow the collective agreement that applies in the area — for furniture makers it's typically a wood and furniture agreement negotiated between employers and the trade union. A consistent principle is apprentice wages rise stepwise through the course: the further you progress the more you can contribute at the company and the higher the rate.
§Other than the salary itself
- 01You typically earn vacation pay and are covered by other terms of the collective agreement.
- 02Working time supplements and pension generally follow the collective agreement in the field
- 03As an apprentice you are entitled to training according to the apprenticeship's objectives — not just performing production
§Skilled terms after the journeyman's certificate.
When you have passed the journeyman exam and received your journeyman certificate you are skilled. This typically means better wages and conditions than as an apprentice and it opens up jobs where a journeyman is required. Wages as a trained worker depend on industry company geography and your own experience but the journeyman certificate is what gives access to skilled terms.
“The apprenticeship time is an investment: the wages are lower but you get a trade and a journeyman certificate that follows you the rest of your working life.”