The education's structure from basic course to journeyman certificate.
How the basic course, main course, and apprenticeship work together
The path to becoming a plastics technician is structured as an alternating program: you alternate between school and training in a company until you hold a journeyman certificate. This way you gain both the theory of plastics materials, machinery and production and the practical routine you'll need when you yourself stand at an injection moulding machine or an extruder that needs to be set up, run in and monitored.
The education is tiered and it is one of the most important things to understand from the start. You can choose to finish early at a lower tier or you can go all the way and build extra on top. This means the total duration is not one number — it depends on how far you want to go.
§Basic course 1 and 2
If you come more or less directly from 9th or 10th grade, you start on the basic course at a vocational school. The 1st part of the basic course is broad and typically lasts about half a year, where you are introduced to a specialized direction within technology, construction and transport, without having committed to one specific trade yet.
The basic course's 2nd part also lasts about half a year, and here you direct yourself towards the plastics trade itself. You work with basic plastic materials, safety and the first tasks on the machines. The course is completed with a test that must be passed before you can move on in the main course. If you have been out of school for a few years, you can in some cases start directly in part 2.
§Main course – alternation between school and training
The main course is the long and largest part of the training. It alternates between school periods, where you work with materials science, machine technology, quality, and production management, and training periods, where you are at a company and use it all in real production. The school periods are distributed over several separate stays, and the rest of the time you are in the company. Most of the learning really happens in production.
§The three steps — and what they are called
The education is divided into three steps where at step 2 you also choose a speciality. You can complete already after the first step as a plastic operator or continue to the actual plastic maker step and later build a specialist step on top.
| Step / phase | What it is | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Basic course 1 | Broad professional foundation approx. half a year | Vocational school. |
| Basic course 2 | Targets the plastic trade, approx. six months, ends with an exam | Vocational school. |
| Step 1 — plastic operator | Shorter apprenticeship option within plastic production | School + company |
| Step 2 — plastic maker | The full trade, with specialisation in thermoplastic or thermosetting plastic | School + company |
| Step 3 — specialist in plastic production | Superstructure on top of plastic moulder | School + company |
§Entry requirements and admission
To enter you must in principle have completed primary school with at least grade 02 on average in both Danish and mathematics – or something equivalent. If you already have a signed training agreement with a company you can also enter that way. You usually apply for admission via optagelse.dk.
§Total duration
Because the programme is stepped, the total duration spans widely — from a shorter course if you exit early to a longer course if you go all the way and build the specialist step on top. The plastics worker step itself is what most associate with the trade. If you also choose EUX, you get a secondary school level in several subjects on top of your apprenticeship certificate.
“School teaches you the theory of plastic, machines and quality. Training makes it routine. Only when the two work together can you stand with a machine that's running off — and get production back on track.”