From apprentice management to increased apprentice well-being

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE PROJECT?

Up to one in five apprentices interrupt their education without re-selection during the internship period – a societal problem that affects both companies and Denmark's need for skilled workers.

The LEARN/THRIVE project develops new, practice-oriented methods to strengthen well-being and apprentice management, especially in SMEs, where 7 out of 10 apprentices are employed and where resources for learning, onboarding and support are often limited.

Through ongoing well-being surveys among 8,000 apprentices, training of training managers and new collaboration models between school, apprentice and company, a common basis for better learning, retention and well-being is created.

The goal is fewer interruptions without re-election, stronger learning environments and more skilled workers for a green and well-functioning economy.

WHO IS BEHIND?

The Tietgen Foundation is the main funder in this project.

The rest of the project funding comes from regional pools and self-financing from the partner schools.

LEARN/THRIV is managed by Tradium, which is responsible for overall project management, quality assurance and coordination across regions and subject areas.

The project partners are:

Techcollege Aalborg as a player in the North Jutland Region

UCH – Holstebro Education Center and Tradium as players in the Central Denmark Region

ZBC – Zealand Business College and CELF in Region Zealand

This organization ensures geographical coverage, broad industry diversity and a solid data base to develop a model that can be scaled nationally. The schools represent both large and small educational environments and together have access to a very large number of small and medium-sized enterprises.

Follower group

To ensure professional weight and national relevance, LÆR/TRIV enters into a strategic collaboration with DI – Confederation of Danish Industry, FH – Confederation of Danish Trade Unions, SMVDanmark and relevant industry organizations, e.g. DEG. These actors contribute with knowledge about the labor market, needs in companies, challenges in accepting apprentices and perspectives on learning culture. The collaboration must ensure that the project's solutions are realistic, rooted in practice and can be implemented broadly in business after the project ends.

Apprenticeship associations are also invited. Partnerships are established with companies. A company partnership means that the company acts as an active co-developer by testing methods, providing ongoing feedback and participating in follow-up group work. The partners contribute practical knowledge and act as example companies that help validate and disseminate the project's solutions.

The project's organization is thus based on a strong partnership between apprentices, schools, employer organizations and employee organizations; a tripartite LEARN/LIFE inspired model that mirrors the structure of the Danish VET system. This construction ensures that the developed methods support both apprentices, companies and schools, and that the results can live on as a common standard for well-being and apprentice management in the post-EPX era.

WHICH COURSES ARE PARTICIPATING?

The following programs from Techcollege participate:

To be published in the fall of 2026.

THE PROJECT IN NUMBERS

The Tietgen Foundation supports the project with DKK 10,915,000.00.

The rest of the project funding comes from regional pools and self-financing from the partner schools.

Total project funding: DKK 27,845,000.00

Techcollege total budget: DKK 5,188,500.00

Self-financing and co-financing: DKK 3,488,500.00

Project period: Aug. 2026 – Aug. 2030

WHAT ACTIVITIES ARE PART OF THE PROJECT?

The project's activities have been developed as a comprehensive, practical model that both strengthens

the apprentice's well-being, improves the company's training capacity and qualifies the school's

role in the collaboration.

The core of LÆR/TRIV is to create systematicity, transparency and shared responsibility throughout the learning chain. This is done through three parallel tracks – student-oriented, company-oriented and school-oriented efforts – which together address the complex conditions that affect apprentices' well-being and retention.

Companies that participate in LÆR/TRIV gain access to knowledge and concrete tools to strengthen apprentice management and prevent dropouts. Participation provides the opportunity to work on challenges in a confidential development space – before they become TV-worthy cases or opt-outs. At the same time, the relationship with the school and the company's reputation as a responsible apprenticeship are strengthened. LÆR/TRIV is an investment in a stable workforce and in the right to continue to educate apprentices.

A central activity is therefore the development of targeted, digital well-being measurements that

are carried out regularly and form a common data basis for dialogue and action. The measurements are intended to identify the indicators that both support and challenge well-being: introduction to the workplace culture, relationships with colleagues, feedback quality, task types, pace, support, balance between requirements and competencies, etc. By linking the measurements with existing research in the area – e.g. EVA's studies of apprentices' experiences during their internship – schools and companies gain a validated basis for adjusting their practices and launching targeted initiatives. Short measurements are also prepared for training managers and foremen, which can strengthen the company's understanding of well-being and provide insight into areas where support or further training is needed.

On the student side, work is being done on 2 activities in particular: Models for establishing professional

communities and cross-functional communities. The communities can be local within the company, but can also span across several companies. The joint activities must

create safe professional and cross-disciplinary connections where apprentices can reflect on each other, share experiences and gain access to social, professional and collegial networks, which are often difficult to build alone in a smaller SME.

The company-oriented activities focus on developing and testing a practice-oriented apprenticeship management course. The course is intended to equip training managers, apprentices and company managers to create structured training, clear expectations, meaningful feedback and psychological security in everyday life. Work is being done on introduction courses for new apprentices, planning of progression, appreciative communication and handling of young people with special needs – including dyslexia, social challenges and the need for more clear structure. LÆR/TRIV is also establishing company networks where companies can exchange experiences, good solutions and concrete tools for apprenticeship management. The networks can strengthen knowledge sharing and create sustainable local partnerships between the education system and the business community. In addition, work is being done to identify further synergies, e.g. theme meetings, joint dialogue tools or “open workshop” sessions where schools and companies meet on specific cases.

The school-oriented activities are about developing new ways of cooperation between schools,

student and company. In practice, schools must strengthen their role as pedagogical sparring partners for companies – not just as administrative gatekeepers. Models are being developed that train more honest, trusting and systematic communication between student, school and company. Schools must also develop better procedures that optimize cooperation with companies, including through fixed dialogue points, clear alignment of expectations, common learning goals and structured follow-up. An important element will be to find and cultivate the “hidden synergies” – the potential that arises when schools and companies have a common language and a common purpose for the development of the apprentice. Schools must also work with a more systematic approach to introducing apprentices to the workplace culture, where the goal is for them to gain an understanding of culture, roles and responsibilities in ways that strengthen their well-being and ability to act. Although workplace culture is worked on in both GF1 and GF2, it must also be part of the main course periods in schools via measurements.

All activities are designed to support the transition to EPX. EPX requires that

schools and companies work much more systematically and in a coordinated way on well-being, progression and learning quality than today. LÆR/TRIV functions as a training ground for

this new reality: Schools learn to take greater responsibility for coherence, companies gain methods for handling a new type of apprentice, and apprentices gain structures that enable them to navigate a more complex educational process. Overall, the activities create a concrete, applicable and nationally scalable model

for well-being and apprentice management – a model that can be implemented both before, during and

after EPX.

WHAT ARE THE EXPECTED RESULTS OF THE PROJECT?

Overall goal

The overall goal of the project is to reduce the high dropout rate without re-selection during the internship period.

by creating strong, sustainable learning environments in small and medium-sized enterprises

and build an EPX-ready collaboration system between apprentice, company and school.

Concrete targets

Direct measurement of the well-being of at least 8,000 apprentices

Reduce dropouts from main courses by a minimum of 15% over 4 years (equivalent to 3 percentage points)

A minimum of 120 employees at the schools are made active participants through planned courses.

Develop and implement courses for a minimum of 100 training managers, as well as increase the quality of training courses in SMEs

Establish at least 10 partnerships with companies and develop and disseminate

best practices in apprenticeship management for 200-250 companies

The goal is for significantly more apprentices to complete their training and receive a journeyman's certificate.

– both in the four participating schools and in a later national rollout. To achieve this overall goal, four specific and measurable objectives are set.

4 objectives:

1: Systematic registration of apprentice well-being in the apprenticeship

The first is to identify well-being trends and challenges through systematic,

digital well-being surveys conducted among apprentices, training managers and

schools. The measurements should provide insight into why well-being fluctuates, and under what conditions – both

organizational, relational and cultural – which particularly challenge apprentices across

industries. This also involves identifying which interventions work best in the

companies where well-being is already high. The success criterion is that schools and companies receive a clear data basis that can be used to launch targeted, research-based initiatives.

2: Increased well-being through better and stronger apprentice management

The second objective is to improve apprentice well-being through strengthened apprentice management in

companies. Here, LEARN/TRIV develops and tests a practice-oriented apprenticeship management course that provides training managers with specific skills in introduction, feedback, conflict management, motivation work and relationship building. The goal is for apprentices to experience greater security, better learning support and a more meaningful place in the community, which measurably increases retention. The success criterion is that at least 75 percent of the participants in the apprenticeship management course report improved structure and increased ability to lead and support young people.

3: Increased mutual cultural and generational understanding

The third objective is to address generational differences and strengthen the integration of

Generation Z in the workplace. Generation Z is characterized by strong general

competencies, expectation of opinion and feedback, and at the same time less experience with

workplace culture. LÆR/TRIV must develop initiatives that create a bridge between young people's

expectations and corporate practices – including through cultural learning models, joint dialogues on rights and duties, models for healthy workplace culture and community initiatives that actively counteract the culture of submission documented in

e.g. DR's Lortelærling. The success criterion is that companies report greater understanding

for young apprentices and experience fewer cultural conflicts.

4: Database-based knowledge about apprentice well-being and management

The fourth objective is to generate new knowledge about apprentice well-being, learning culture and

management, so that schools and businesses have a robust, data-informed foundation for their

collaboration. LEARN/TRIV collects and analyzes well-being figures, case studies, qualitative data

and practical experiences, which are gathered into a model that can be implemented nationally. This

Knowledge should not only describe problems, but also document which types of apprentice management specifically increase learning outcomes, well-being and retention.

All objectives are systematically followed up. The digital heart rate measurements provide

ongoing insight into the apprentice's well-being and development, while interviews, focus groups and case studies shed light on the mechanisms that either strengthen or challenge the collaboration in the triangle. At the same time, progression figures, dropout rates, the companies' use of well-being data, participation in apprentice management courses and the use of the collaboration model are recorded. This combination of quantitative and qualitative data makes it possible to both document effects and adjust the project's instruments along the way so that the goals are achieved.

Overall, LEARN/WELL will function as a proof-of-concept for EPX: well-being data as a common

decision-making basis, clear roles, stronger dialogues and a permanent competence boost in apprenticeship management. The effect is significant: fewer interruptions without re-election, more skilled workers

green transition and welfare, stronger learning and working environments in the SMEs that train the majority of Denmark's apprentices - and a scalable model that can become a lasting

part of the future EUD system.

Contact

Information regarding the project, contact project manager:

Julie Faerch Petersen: jfpe@techcollege.dk