Reference year 2026
Version 2026
Drafted based on Cedefop sources and input from Skúli Leifsson, Senior advisor at Rannís, the Icelandic centre for research, and ReferNet coordinator for Iceland
1Scheme history
The first legislation regulating apprenticeship learning was introduced in 1893.
Due to its historical association, Iceland took over the Danish apprenticeship system when a VET system was set up. The first legislation regulating apprenticeship learning was introduced in 1893.
About half of all learners in initial vocational education and training (IVET) train as apprentices.
2Beneficiaries
No minimum or maximum age is defined. According to the Upper Secondary School Act no. 92/2008, art. 32, any learner who has completed elementary school or equal basic education or has reached the age of 16 has the right to enrol in an upper secondary school.
Entry is also allowed through validation of adult prior learning.
Learners are found in all three age groups, but most are in the 18-24 bracket (Statistics Iceland).
VET learners at ISQF Level 3 (EQF level 4 (the level where apprenticeships are offered) have increased from approximately 6,000 in 2019 to approximately 7,100 in 2025. Since 2020, the enrolments were in the range of approximately 6,900 to 7,100 learners.
https://px.hagstofa.is/pxen/pxweb/en/Samfelag/Samfelag__skolamal__3_fra…
In 2017 a total of 6,344 learners were enrolled in VET studies at upper secondary school level.
Source: Statistics Iceland.
3Qualifications
ISQF Level 3 (EQF level 4).
Cedefop’s NQF online tool presents information on the state of play of the NQF: https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/tools/nqfs-online-tool
ISCED levels 351, 353
Programme No. 03.04.
Almost all initial VET in Iceland is in certified trades and built on an apprentice system, where most of the education takes place in school, but workplace training is also necessary. The duration of the time spent in school and the time spent at the workplace varies between programmes and branches. Only in a small number of VET programmes all the education takes place in school – these are not certified trades, such as in computer technology and various arts.
Therefore, VET programmes are only taught as apprenticeships for all certified trades.
In non-certified trades, there is some workplace training in most cases and apprenticeship as defined by Cedefop.
A completed apprenticeship results in a journeyman’s certificate within a specific occupation ((sveinspróf), granting certain professional rights and rights to further VET studies).
Prerequisite for admission to higher education is to pass matriculation exams (or have experience and prior learning validated towards possible missing parts of the formal matriculation exam).
People with qualifications from apprenticeships need some supplementary education (bridge programme) in general subjects to opt for a path toward Matriculation exam, and through this, to enter higher education.
Alternatively, access to VET taught at post-secondary non-tertiary level is possible. It depends on the completion of an upper secondary level certificate in the relevant subject and requires work experience, the length of which differs across occupations.
The duration of apprenticeships varies considerably by fields.
The most common duration of VET studies in certified trades is 4 years. An example would be the electrician programmes, which are either 6 semesters in school and 48 weeks in apprenticeship, or 7 semesters in school and 30 weeks in apprenticeship, after which time the pupil is ready to complete a journeyman's examination.
An example of a shorter programme that does not lead to a journeyman's examination is a cook programme with 2 semesters in school and 34 weeks in work-based training, or a social care assistant programme comprising 5 semesters, of which the last 2 to 3 take place in work-based training as part of a comprehensive reform of the Icelandic VET system.
With the new regulation the exact timeframe for workplace learning is not determined at the outset. Instead, the length of the on-the-job training is determined by how quickly the learner masters a predetermined set of skills. Thus, the focus is on competences gained in the workplace, not the length of time spent there.
Individuals enrolling in VET with relevant previous experience may have this recognised through an APL (accreditation of prior learning) procedure, thus shortening the total duration of their apprenticeship pathway.
4Governance
The 2020 VET strategy introduced measures to simplify VET governance, strengthen coordination through the Directorate of Education, and enhance the role of occupational councils in updating curricula and competence requirements.
The Directorate of Education liaises between schools, occupational councils and the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture - which confirms new study programmes.
The occupational councils, operating at sector level, are composed of representatives of the relevant social partners, i.e. trade unions and employers’ associations, and professional associations. The councils define the quality, competence, skills and knowledge requirements and work descriptions.
The social partners regulate issues concerning apprenticeships through collective agreements (e.g. wage levels) and through the occupational councils.
The councils operate under the responsibility of the ministry and are composed of representatives of the relevant social partners and trade associations for different vocational trades.
According to the Upper Secondary School Act no. 92/2008, it is the task of the councils to:
• To propose general study objectives and define the needs for knowledge and skills on which to base study programme descriptions for the occupations concerned and which form part of the general part of the National Curriculum Guide for Upper Secondary Schools, and to make proposals for learning outcomes;
• To devise criteria for the division of study programmes into school-based and work-based learning;
• To make proposals regarding the structure and content of examinations in individual occupations;
• To keep a record of companies and workplaces that meet the requirements for providing work-based learning;
• To make proposals for study programme descriptions for individual study programmes, intended as guidelines for upper secondary schools
The councils often initiate or suggest new VET study programmes or changes to existing ones, but it is up to the upper secondary schools to propose such programmes and the Directorate of Education to liaise between the two, while it is up to the education ministry to confirm new study programmes.
This process can vary, in terms of processes, initiatives and procedures, between schools, occupational councils, individual teachers/trainers and study programmes. It is, however, always a result of a liaison between the schools and the occupational councils, always developed within the framework of the national curriculum guide and always subject to approval of the education ministry.
Also, when assessing future skills needs, the twelve occupational councils are the strongest link between the education ministry and industry.
The social partners have an indirect role in, i.a., the accreditation of companies.
Through the occupational councils, they make proposals regarding the structure and content of examinations in individual occupations.
The councils also keep a record of companies and workplaces that meet the requirements for providing work-based learning.
Social partners organise the exams for apprentices in licenced trades/ regulated trades.
The trade unions have a strong role in the accreditation process.
Upper secondary education (either general or vocational) is steered by the State. Only a few of the 37 upper secondary schools do not offer VET programmes.
New study programmes are proposed by the upper secondary schools, in cooperation with the occupational councils, often at the initiative of the latter.
The Directorate of Education liaises between schools, occupational councils and the Ministry of Education.
The education ministry validates the study programmes for all upper secondary education and training, which become part of the curricula for upper secondary schools when published in the legislator's legal journal.
A large majority of upper secondary schools in Iceland are combined schools, i.e. they offer both general and vocational education. Institutions offering both general and vocational education sometimes have teaching facilities in separate buildings. There are also a few industrial vocational schools, which offer theoretical and practical branches of study in the certified and some non-certified trades. These schools also offer post-secondary non-tertiary programmes to educate master craftsmen.
Public or private enterprises and organisations approved by the relevant authorities may take on apprentices. Thus, in Iceland both schools, enterprises and organisations may be VET providers.
Vocational and technical upper secondary schools vary in size; the largest schools have around 2,000 pupils in day schools and the smallest less than 100.
In VET, there are:
• general subject teachers;
• teachers of vocational subjects;
General subject teachers must have a master’s degree in education from a university.
Teachers of vocational subjects must be masters of craft in the relevant profession and have taken a minimum of 60 ECTS in pedagogy at a university.
Although salaries for VET teachers have increased, the teacher population is ageing. Attracting young people to the profession remains a challenge.
Teachers are expected to spend 2 weeks per year in continuous education, outside the school year; they have access to various other funds and options for continuous education on the basis of their wage agreements with the State.
They can receive various scholarships to finance further university studies and for work, school visits at home or abroad, conference fees, study leave etc
For more detailed information, you can also see Cedefop’s activities on VET teachers and trainers: https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/themes/vet-youth-teachers-trainers
The management and documentation of training contracts for several trades are organised through the national digital VET logbook. The logbook, initiated in 2019 and gradually expanded as of 2021, has become an established instrument for monitoring, documenting, and assuring the quality of work-based learning in Icelandic VET.
It is hosted and operated by The Directorate of Education and School Services (MMS) under the provision of the Ministry of Education. The digital logbook serves as the central tool for managing workplace-based learning, replacing earlier fragmented arrangements and ensuring a unified national framework.
Within the digital VET logbook, students and workplace trainers record all aspects of the training process, including learning activities and the knowledge, skills, and competences acquired at the workplace.
Teachers or VET institutions are responsible for reviewing and certifying each stage of the training process and confirming that the required competences have been achieved.
Each course or workplace training module finishes with some sort of an assessment, either theoretical or hands-on.
All upper secondary schools are subject to a quality evaluation performed by outside parties once every 5 years. The quality criteria are defined by the education ministry. The schools are requested to report on their performance according to the ministry’s quality criteria (internal evaluation) and the ministry of education hires independent consultants to perform a quality evaluation based on the same criteria. The independent consultants’ reports are published openly on the Ministry of education’s website, but prior to that the schools are given a chance to respond to a draft report and the consultants may adjust their report accordingly. Follow-up to the evaluation reports is the responsibility of the education ministry and of course the schools themselves.
5Training at the workplace
VET may be both school-based and apprenticeship-based.
For all apprenticeships, however, time in the hosting enterprise constitutes an integral part of the programme.
There are learning objectives for the time spent in the placement enterprise, but there is no distinction between time spent on training and work.
This varies by field.
In some cases, learners start their programme with basic training at the vocational school. This lasts typically from 4 to 6 semesters, after which they sign an apprenticeship contract with an enterprise for the remaining time of the programme.
In other cases, the learners come back to school for a final semester to prepare for the journeyman’s exam. In yet other cases, the learners can start working as apprentices before signing up for school.
VET in Iceland is dual system where apprenticeship schemes are a required part of the programmes, even though apprenticeships are mostly independent of the school.
In some sense, the school part and the work-based part of the programme run in parallel.
VET programmes at the upper secondary level in Iceland vary considerably, in terms of when and for how long the apprenticeships last.
The curriculum and length of individual apprenticeship programmes are decided by the Ministry of Education based on recommendations from the occupational councils and are subsequently included in the National Curriculum Guide for Upper Secondary schools.
In the General Curriculum for each trade, the time spent at a workplace is tied down in weeks. This varies greatly between different apprenticeship programmes. The occupational councils devise criteria for the division of learning between school-based and work-based learning.
Curricula list education aims, intended learning outcomes, assessment, content and the connections between these elements.
Curricula list education aims, intended learning outcomes, assessment, content and the connections between these elements.
Due to the small size of the labour market, most trades are based on a broad level of competences, so that graduates have a wider possibility of employment. The examinations at the end of each study validate whether this is, indeed, the case. Thus, the studies can rather be termed output- based than input-based, even though studies are defined by the hours it takes to complete them.
Icelandic language, English and mathematics form a part of all study programmes, to a varying degree between programmes.
The national curriculum guide for upper secondary schools defines the fundamental pillars of education as literacy, sustainability, democracy and human rights, health and welfare and creativity. These pillars are represented in all curricula, to a varying degree.
Within the digital VET logbook, students and workplace trainers record all aspects of the training process, including learning activities and the knowledge, skills, and competences acquired at the workplace.
Each course or workplace training module finishes with some sort of an assessment, either theoretical or hands-on. Learners complete their overall studies with a VET exam. They can also opt for a path toward Matriculation exam, in which case the studies may take longer, because they must add general subjects to their list of VET courses.
In September 2023 a new competence requirement concerning sustainability and environmental issues was added to all job descriptions and competence requirements in a transversal way across all VET sectors.
The apprenticeship contract ensures the learner’s right to training.
In the General Curriculum for each trade, the time spent at a workplace is tied down in weeks. This varies greatly between different apprenticeship programmes. The occupational councils devise criteria for the division of learning between school-based and work-based learning.
Within the digital VET logbook, students and workplace trainers record all aspects of the training process, including learning activities and the knowledge, skills, and competences acquired at the workplace.
The Regulation on Workplace Training 840/2011 stipulates, i.a., that:
- The hosting enterprise must appoint a supervisor trained in mentoring new recruits, who possesses good skills in human relations and has an overview of aims and functions at the workplace.
- The hosting enterprise is responsible for providing an adequate training environment for the apprentice.
- The hosting enterprise must possess adequate facilities, professional expertise and learning opportunities, along with machinery, tools and equipment which the profession requires.
- The hosting enterprise must have at least one employee who is trained (possesses qualifications at journeyman’s level) in the relevant field.
Enterprises must be approved by the occupational councils (see above) to train apprentices, based on the demands listed above. Enterprises that do not fulfil these obligations may forfeit the right to train apprentices.
It is voluntary for enterprises, however, to decide whether they want apprentices or not.
A contract may be signed between the school and the company, in which the training content must be made as per regulation issued by the education minister, and which contains detailed provision concerning contracts for on-the-job training.
The supervisor has to be trained in mentoring new recruits, and should possess good skills in human relations and has an overview of aims and functions at the workplace.
The hosting enterprise must have at least one employee who is trained (possesses qualifications at journeyman’s level) in the relevant field.
There are no sanctions for enterprises which do not train apprentices.
6Contract and compensation
“Apprentice” is a specific status but has in many ways the same rights and obligations as an employee (e.g. concerning insurance).
A traditional apprenticeship contract between the company and the learner stipulates the rights and obligations of the workplace and the learner respectively, as well as the objective of the training, quality control and the handling of possible disputes.
The contract stipulates status (as apprentice), pay, working hours, insurance and the right to receive training and to attend school.
Formally, apprentices are employed by the hosting enterprise.
By signing the apprenticeship contract with the company, the learner becomes an employee and receives a marginal salary during the training, in line with labour market agreements where the number of working hours is also set.
The contract sets the rights and obligations of the workplace and the learner respectively, as well as the objective of the training, quality control and the handling of possible disputes.
The vocational school registers the contract.
For several trades, the education ministry has allocated the overall management of the training contracts to a common education centre portal hosted by IDAN education centre.
During their in-company training, apprentices are paid wages like all other employees, according to a special pay scale for apprentices. This income is taxable.
All apprentices are entitled to receive a salary from the employer during their workplace training periods, though these wages are generally lower than the salaries of fully qualified workers.
In Iceland, apprentices’ pay is governed by collective wage agreements and must meet at least the minimum wage levels set out in those agreements, increasing with both workplace experience and progression through the apprenticeship.
Employers typically pay apprentice wages in accordance with established wage tables negotiated between unions and employer organisations, and wages rise as apprentices gain skills and time in the workplace.
These arrangements mean that apprentice pay varies by trade and the stage of the apprenticeship, with provisions for higher rates as the learner advances through training and acquires competence.
Apprentices are therefore guaranteed a minimum standard of remuneration that reflects their status as employees in structured vocational training, with wage progression tied to experience and training outcomes.
7Financing and incentives
Wages to the apprentice are paid by the employer, who can apply for a subsidy from a State-financed workplace training fund (Vinnustaðanámssjóður) administered by Rannsóknamiðstöð Íslands (Rannís).
Employers are responsible for paying apprentices’ wages during the apprenticeship. However, since 2012 enterprises that offer work-based learning (incl. apprenticeships) can apply for grants from the Workplace Training Fund (Act no. 71/2012). The main purpose of this fund is to assist enterprises to meet the extra costs incurred by hosting learners and apprentices, thus encouraging them to offer placements.
The Fund provides a per-learner weekly subsidy that is set annually in line with parliamentary budget appropriations and demand.
According to the latest available allocation data for 2025, the Workplace Training Fund distributed around ISK 386 million to support 18 365 weeks of workplace training for VET learners across 176 employers.
The Fund provides a per-learner weekly subsidy that is set annually in line with parliamentary budget appropriations and demand.
On top of promotion of apprenticeships by individual schools, there are competitions, awards for the tradesman of the year and a large annual promotional event (https://verkogvit.is/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/VV-1.pdf)
The national digital VET logbook strengthens coordination between schools, workplaces and learners, and allows systematic monitoring and validation of competences acquired during workplace learning.
The Icelandic student loan fund (MSNM) provides a loan for living expenses, according to the general cost of living in Iceland, taking into account the student’s social circumstances and place of residences. (This applies to all learners, regardless of whether they are VET learners or learners of general study programmes). Study loans are only available to learners aged 18 and over.
After 2020-2021, the school is responsible for helping the apprentice to find a training company, and steps in to ensure programme completion according to standards. The national digital VET logbook strengthens coordination between schools, workplaces and learners, and allows systematic monitoring and validation of competences acquired during workplace learning.
In recent years, increased emphasis has been put on vocational and education counselling to help learners choose their study paths, and thus drawing their attention to often less visible VET study and training options where applicable. For example, at grammar school level VET subjects were introduced in an attempt to increase VET attractiveness. Work is in progress to enhance VET counselling and guidance.
The education ministry has an ongoing contract with skills Iceland, charging this organisation with the responsibility of supervising the Icelandic skills competition every other year, as well as to enable participation of VET learners in Euro Skills.
Work-based learning is a central component of Icelandic VET, yet learners have traditionally been responsible for finding their own apprenticeship placements. This has created bottlenecks, delayed progression and contributed to high dropout rates. A key reform priority introduced in 2020 was the transfer of responsibility for securing apprenticeship placements from learners to VET schools. This reform is supported by the gradual implementation of the national digital VET logbook, which strengthens coordination between schools, workplaces and learners
For more information on guidance and validation arrangements in the country, you may visit Cedefop’s inventory of lifelong guidance systems and practices and Cedefop’s information hub on validation of non-formal and informal learning.