Denmark is one of the small European countries with just over 5 million people, but it has a long tradition for public professional training and education. Nearly half of all young people enter vocational training schemes after finishing their compulsory, primary education. There is also a well-established system of labour market training for those adults, who did not get proper vocational training or need retraining of new skills. This is called the AMU System.

 

The Transport Training Board (in Danish: Transporterhvervets Uddannelser - TUR) is responsible for setting national standards and goals for all apprenticeship training for operative personnel of the transportation sector in Denmark, as well as for all labour market training (the AMU System) for the same sector.

 

Transport and logistic training and education, supervised by the Board, cover all kinds of training for operative personnel, including:

 

• Driver training - Freight and Passenger
• Transport of dangerous goods by all modes
• Warehouse operation and management
• Health and safety training
• Quality and Customer service training
• International transport
• Waste management
• Refrigerated transport
• Livestock transport
• Removals
• Parcels and postal operation training
• Routing/Scheduling/Logistics
• Multimodal transport and terminal operation
• Training of rescue corps and ambulance personnel
• Port and Airport operations
• Lift truck operations
• Mobile crane and lorry mounted crane operations
• Professional fishermen
• Transport and logistics management for administrative personnel and for middle management is a new area of activity, which also will become the responsibility of the Board.

 

The AMU training program includes nearly 200 training plans, with a duration of between 1 day and 6 weeks. The Government pays all training costs, and the company will receive wage compensation as well, when their employees are attending AMU training.
Unemployed people can also attend AMU training, and about 25 % of all participants are unemployed.

 

The vocational training program covers ten different apprentices' schemes, which can be attended by both young people and adults.
In the apprentices' schemes part of the training is school-based, part of it is done as in-company training.

 

The apprentice's scheme consists of 50 weeks of school-based training in a 3 years contractual period for the youngster and of 37 weeks of school-based training in a 2 years contractual period for the adults.
As with the AMU training scheme the public pays all training costs, and the company will receive wage compensation when the apprentice is attending school-based training.

 

AMU centres and Technical Colleges throughout the country carry out the actual training. The training is attended by app. 102.000 adults a year on short courses and the volume of the vocational training program is app. new 1.700 apprentices a year, amounting to about 1.800 apprentices attending the program.

 

The government spending for transport training, supervised by the Board, amounts to approximately 770 millions DKK (100 m Euro) a year.

The Transport Training Board (in Danish: Transporterhvervets Uddannelser - TUR) is a statutory body, according to the Law on Vocational Training and Education and the Law on Labour Market Training. Representatives from labour unions and employers' associations within the transport sector make up the Board in parity.

 

The Board itself consists of 7 branch or trade committees and a superior, co-ordinating board. The 7 trade committees cover training for:

 

• Drivers of HGV (heavy goods vehicles) and for coaches and busses on roads.
• Operatives of warehouses and terminals, for the port and terminal industry.
• Rescue and ambulance corps and fire brigades.
• Railroad switching operatives.
• Airport operatives.
• Postal services operative.
• The advisory Board for Transport Logistics Managers.

All committees are formed in parity with equal numbers from employers' associations - often manned by important company representative of the branch - and from labour unions.

Our most important member organizations are:

 

• The United Federation of Danish Workers - www.3f.dk
• The Confederation of Danish Industries - www.di.dk
• The Danish Chamber of Commerce - www.danskerhverv.dk

Nearly all transport workers in Denmark are members of The United Federation of Danish Workers (in Danish: Fagligt Fælles Forbund - 3F).

The transport companies are usually organized in the two major employers organizations within the transport industry,
which are The Confederation of Danish Industries (in Danish: Dansk Industri - DI) and the Danish Chamber of Commerce (in Danish: Dansk Erhverv).

 

The Board is headed by chairman Michael Boas Pedersen from DI and Mr. Kim Poder from 3F as deputy chairman.
Ms Pernille Hedin is the managing director of the Secretariat.

 

To serve the trade committees, the Board has established a Secretariat, manned by consultants. These consultants have broad transportation and logistic knowledge combined with pedagogical and didactical skills.
At present six consultants, five secretaries and a director man the Secretariat.

 

The Board has established a publishing firm "TUR Publishing" for transport training materials, including books, videos, interactive computer programs (CBT), simulation games, etc.

International relationships

 

The Secretariat has a thorough knowledge of European transport training through participation in the EuroTra - European Transport Training Association, which include partners from 18 countries in Europe.

 

Between TUR and TYA of Sweden exists a closer partnership with regular contacts on all levels. TUR and TYA have been the originator of "The Open Nordic Championship in Transport Techniques" for Transport Students, which takes place every year in Scandinavia -developed in 2006 to "European Championship in Transport Techniques"

 

Contact in TUR:

 

Managing Director Mogens Ellgaard-Cramer
Phone: +45 81 45 45 19
E-mail: mc@tur.dk