Greening apprenticeships: Denmark

This article is part of a series developed by Cedefop community of apprenticeship experts. It was drafted by Jan Bisgaard, Community expert for Denmark, and revised by Cedefop staff. 

Although development of skills for the green transition is not yet a mandatory requirement for apprenticeships in Demark, VET schools and employers understand their importance and explore which such skills are needed in different apprenticeship occupations and how to better develop them. The Ministry of education has adopted a roadmap for enabling students to engage in the sustainable development of society, and action plans are being developed at different levels of the Danish educational system. In a parallel bottom-up process, many actors are invited in working groups that design similar actions for the different levels of the education system, including many initiatives to develop skills for the green transition in apprenticeships (VET is based on the dual model).

Since 2019-2021, the project ‘Apprentices for sustainability’ has led the way and represents an interesting case of the bottom-up approach. Apprentices in carpentry in Copenhagen were those who initiated it, asking critical questions about conventional construction methods and materials, and demanding new knowledge and skills about sustainable construction, so that they can contribute to the overall green transition process of the Danish society. Their interest was followed up by a group of teachers, who developed the programme. The local training committee (Det Lokale Uddannelsesudvalg) approved the curriculum and encouraged the project. The project had a steering group of apprentices, teachers, and labour market representatives.

The project has embedded sustainability in the ordinary school-based main courses (hovedforløb) of the carpentry programme in one school in the Copenhagen area. For six weeks, in more than 50 classes (with an average of 20 apprentices in each class), apprentices learned the basics of sustainable building methods and how to use more sustainable materials (technical, craft knowledge). Moreover, in a holistic approach of building processes and organizational development across professions, they also learned about the Danish labour market model, tax system, welfare model, working environment legislation, and cooperative companies from a sustainability perspective. On top of that, nearly 200 apprentices have also chosen an additional specialisation course in sustainable construction methods (offered as part of the specialisation options).  

Training was part of the regular carpenter programme following the existing national qualifications (EQF level 4), that trains apprentices to become carpenters for small- and large-scale constructions. The ambition is that the first carpenters will be certified in sustainable construction by 2024.

As skills for the green transition and sustainable constructions were new to teachers and to most companies who had apprentices, apprentices and teachers started by exploring new areas (e.g., Danish building standards and sustainable construction methods within the wood trades, global economic, social, and environmental issues and solutions related to the wood trades and the labour market). As part of an experimental process, experts and scientists were invited in workshops to address questions of apprentices and developed answers together, which the apprentices tried to test. Also, the project allowed apprentices to visit different construction sites where they experienced the real use of sustainable materials and construction methods.  

On several occasions, company trainers (masters) were introduced to the project and took part in train-the-trainer activities. Apprentices became ambassadors of sustainable construction, and their skills spread among masters, builders, interest groups and wood loaders, who in turn became more aware of and demanded sustainable solutions in the building industry. In addition, several apprentices who participated in the project have started their own companies and became sustainable entrepreneurs.

The project has helped apprentices develop a holistic understanding of sustainability including people, planet, and prosperity. Sustainability training changed the culture in the classes. Apprentices and teachers experienced that the tone and values became more inclusive. More women were attracted to the carpentry programme and women from other parts of the country travelled to Copenhagen to go to school here.  

Although being a small-scale, local pilot, the project has attracted great attention. Social partners in both the local and national training committees followed the project, considering how to use its results from into new learning objectives and qualifications in the carpentry programme across the country. Education stakeholders are inspired by the project on how to train skills for the green transition in other apprenticeship programmes at a national level, and how to train VET teachers of apprentices (e.g., the project is introduced as a part of teacher training in the Copenhagen area).

The project contributes to the overall interest of the building industry to develop new sustainable solutions (The building industry is responsible for nearly 30% of the carbon emission in Denmark). The Danish government has set the goal of reducing carbon emissions by 70% by 2030 and has set up climate partnerships for 15 industries. Although emission standards have not been set for each industry yet, the industries have developed their own roadmap and the government initiates and supports local changes and transitions.