How you diagnose problems — systematically

If you want to be a service assistant, you go a path that alternates between school bench and real workplace. Like most vocational educations, it is divided into a basic course and a main course, and most of the time in the main course takes place with an employer. Here you get a complete picture of how the course fits together and what you should pay attention to along the way.

§Basic course 1 and 2

If you come more or less directly from primary school, you typically start on basic course 1. It is a broad introduction to the main area where you sniff at the trade and find out if the direction suits you. Then comes basic course 2, which is aimed at the service assistant trade itself. Here you work with the basic subject and service competencies and prepare for the main course. If you are older or come with work experience, you can often begin directly on basic course 2.

§Main course — school and practical work alternating

The main course is the core of the training. Here you are an apprentice at a company and learn the trade in practice, interrupted by shorter school periods, where you catch up on theory and broader professional competence. It is this alternation between doing real work and going to school that makes a vocational training something special: you test immediately what you learn, and bring questions from everyday back to teaching.

§The three specializations

On the main course, you choose a specialty that directs the education toward a specific work area. The specialty helps determine how long your education will be and which tasks you really become proficient in.

• 01Cleaning technician – professional cleaning with method, machines and quality control
• 02Hospital service — service and hygiene in the health care sector with close patient contact
• 03Company service — broad service at workplaces: cleaning catering and practical support

§How long does it take?

The total qualification typically spans up to around two and a half years when the basic course is counted. The exact length depends on which specialty you choose and your background — if you have relevant experience or earlier schooling, parts can be shortened with credit, and adults can in some cases take the qualification as adult training on special terms.

§Admission and access requirements

To begin a vocational education you must as a rule have passed elementary school's final exam and meet a grade requirement in Danish and math. If you don't come directly from elementary school or are missing the grades there are other ways in — for example via an admission conversation or admission process. You apply via the common application system and there is an application deadline in spring for study start after summer vacation.

“The best thing about a vocational education is that you learn the trade where it is actually used.”

— Professional point.