The Aalborg carpentry firm Færch & Co. hires its apprentices on one-year contracts, known as korte uddannelsesaftaler, even though a 2020 tripartite agreement was meant to limit the practice. The company points to an uncertain market.
DR reported on August 24, 2026 that Færch & Co. as a rule starts new apprentices on agreements lasting only one year. Ole Mattesen Christensen, the company’s HR and development manager, told the broadcaster that the firm wants to train as many young people as possible.
According to DR, he acknowledges the arrangement sounds odd, since the company in most cases does complete the apprentices’ training. Short agreements let the firm adjust if order intake swings or the economy worsens, he said. Dansk Arbejdsgiverforening told DR that small companies find it hard to predict future finances.
Under the tripartite agreement reached by labor market parties in 2020, a company may sign only one short agreement with a given apprentice. Any extension must cover the remaining training period. A 2022 implementation document from Børne- og Undervisningsministeriet describes this follow-up contract as a restaftale.
Jakob Pilgaard, head of education at Techcollege Aalborg, called the one-year contracts highly problematic. He compared the situation to a high school student who does not know whether they can continue into the second year, despite doing everything right. He told DR the practice is bad for society, because Denmark needs more skilled workers.
Pilgaard also pointed to one advantage. Apprentices tend to end up at companies with sound finances, and the college can often find a new placement in time if a firm drops a learner.
Record numbers behind the case
DR’s Penge section reported the same day that the number of short apprenticeship agreements hit a record in 2025, with 7,596 agreements. That is marginally above the 7,536 recorded in 2021. The figures come from an analysis by Arbejderbevægelsens Erhvervsråd and Fagbevægelsens Hovedorganisation.
The analysis from Arbejderbevægelsens Erhvervsråd states that short agreements made up 18.4 percent of all new apprenticeship contracts in 2025, or almost one in five. Fagbevægelsens Hovedorganisation warns that the record level creates insecurity for apprentices, and notes that construction trades are particularly affected.
In a press release distributed by Ritzau, the trade union 3F called on employers to show responsibility. The union said the number of short agreements has risen from about 2,900 in 2010 to nearly 7,600 in 2025. In transport and construction, more than one third of new agreements are short, according to 3F.
Guidance from Børne- og Undervisningsministeriet, published in 2025, describes a kort uddannelsesaftale as covering only part of the program, at minimum one school period and one practical training period. Apprentices who finish such an agreement can be admitted to school-based training for the remainder under certain conditions.
At Færch & Co., the stated ambition is to see all apprentices through to qualification, Ole Mattesen Christensen told DR.
