One of the big advantages of a vocational education is that you earn money while you learn. When you have signed a training contract with a company, you receive apprentice pay - even when you are at school. This is different from many other educations, where you are instead on state education grant.
§The apprentice wages increase through the program.
The apprentice wages are not fixed all the way through. It is stepped up so you earn the least at the beginning and the most in the last year of education. The idea is that you become more valuable to the company as you get better and can solve more tasks independently.
How much you get exactly depends on the agreement that applies in the area, and which year of the education you have reached. The rates are negotiated between employers and the union and are adjusted at regular intervals. If you want to know the current figures, you should always check the applicable agreement or ask your union — that way you are sure the information is up to date.
§Adult apprentice and special situations
If you are over 25 when you start, you may in some cases be able to enter into an adult apprentice agreement. Here different wage conditions often apply, because adult students are typically supposed to be secured a wage closer to the wage of an unskilled worker in the area. This is something you need to clarify specifically with the company and your union.
§What does the collective agreement otherwise cover?
The agreement is about more than wages. It sets frameworks for e.g. working hours allowances pensions and a number of other terms. As an apprentice you are covered by the agreements that apply at the company and it is a good reason to find out what it says — or to get your professional union to help.
- 01PLACEHOLDER_63
- 02Escalating wage levels throughout the course
- 03Agreed terms for working hours and allowances
- 04Pension scheme according to the agreement's rules
- 05Protection against dismissal after the initial probationary period
§Terms as fully trained
When you have the journeyman's certificate you go from being an apprentice to being skilled. As a skilled stucco worker you're typically covered by a collective agreement on par with other craftspeople in the area giving you agreed wages working hours and other terms. Skilled workers generally earn more than unskilled and you simultaneously have a trade that's hard to automate away because it's based on craft and restoration.
Consult the trade union
Regardless of whether you go for the pneumatics, hydraulics or pump profile as an assembly operator, the main course includes training in a range of craft disciplines that span across: welding, torque tightening and surface treatment. These are the building blocks under more specialised assembly work.