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One of the good things about vocational education is that you earn money while you learn. When you have a training agreement with a company, you get apprentice wages throughout the agreement period - also when you're on school leave. So you don't pay to go to school, quite the opposite.
§Why does salary increase over time?
The apprentice wages are not fixed all the way. It is stepped up so it increases as you move further into the program. The logic is simple: the more you can the greater value you create for the company and that is reflected in the wages. At the beginning you are under training in most tasks; towards the end you work much more independently.
§The agreement sets the framework
Your salary and conditions are determined by a collective agreement — an agreement negotiated between employers and employee organizations. In the orthopedics field the parties in the trade committee include among others DI - Danish Industry and Danish Crafts on the employer side and 3F Industry on the employee side. It is typically the agreement covering the educational area that determines what you should earn as an apprentice.
The agreement regulates more than wages. It also contains rules on working hours allowances pensions holidays and other terms. As a young student you don't need to know every paragraph but it's good to know that there is a set of rules and an organization behind you.
§Adult student - different rules
If you are 25, you may be entitled to adult apprentice pay. Here the starting point is often that you as a minimum must have a wage corresponding to the minimum wage for unskilled workers in the field. This is agreed between you and the company within the collective agreement, and some companies can receive a subsidy for hiring adult apprentices.
§Trial period and security in the agreement
The first three months of an apprenticeship agreement are probation. During that period both parties can stop the agreement. After probation you are far better protected — generally the agreement cannot be terminated without cause. This gives you peace to concentrate on learning the trade.
§When you are skilled.
When the journeyman test is passed, you go from apprentice terms to being a skilled orthotist. Then adult, skilled terms apply: higher wages than as an apprentice set by the relevant agreement or your individual contract, and the same rights around notice, vacation, and pension as other skilled workers in the trade.
“You invest time - not money. The pay comes along as your competencies grow.”