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Norway

Apprenticeships and vocational education and training (VET) in Norway: 1 apprenticeship scheme · 80 VET policies (17 on apprenticeship) · 82 indicators with data · 5 open datasets.

Apprenticeship schemes

Norway has 1 mainstream apprenticeship scheme in Cedefop's European database on apprenticeship schemes.

Upper secondary VET (2+2 model)

Videregående opplæring (fag- og yrkesopplæring)

Norway's signature 2+2 model: two years in school followed by a two-year paid apprenticeship, ending in a trade or journeyman's certificate.

Education level
Upper secondary (EQF 4)
Duration
4 yrs: 2 school-based + 2 enterprise-based
Time at the workplace
Around half — Years 3–4 fully in the enterprise (50% of the programme)
Apprentice compensation
Wage
Pay (as stated)
Wage per national collective agreement, ~30–80% of a skilled worker's rate over four half-years; partly state-funded
Apprentices
43 177 first-year vocational pupils (2025); ~23 600 offered an apprenticeship (2024)
Qualification
Trade or journeyman's certificate (Fagbrev/Svennebrev), EQF 4

Source: Cedefop — European database on apprenticeship schemes. Cedefop's coded answers (filters and the comparison matrix) are imported directly from the 2026 fiches. The short descriptions (overview, duration, learners, pay) were condensed by hand and checked against the fiche text on 2026-10-01. The official fiches remain authoritative.

Key figures

Latest value for Norway on the main measures of vocational education and work-based learning, with the EU-27 figure for the same year where one is published. Select an indicator for its map, ranking, trend and downloads.

IndicatorNorwayEU-27Year
Recent VET graduates who had work-based learningEurostat · tps0021560.6%66.0%2025
Share of upper-secondary VET pupils in work-based programmesEurostat; calculation by Apprentix · educ_uoe_enrs0475.6% d24.7% d2024
Pupils in combined school- and work-based upper-secondary VETEurostat · educ_uoe_enrs04103,036 pupils d2,262,565 pupils d2024
IVET students as % of all upper secondary studentsCedefop · KIVET 101052.5%49.4%2024
Employment rate of recent VET graduatesEurostat · edat_lfse_2487.4%80.1%2025
Employment premium for recent IVET graduates (over general stream) (%)Cedefop · KIVET 2090a13.1%13.3%2025
Employment rate of adults with vocational vs general upper-secondary qualifications (OECD)Vocational upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary education; From 25 to 64 yearsOECD82.1%—2025
Enterprises employing initial-VET participantsEurostat · trng_cvt_34s34.0% of enterprises32.4% of enterprises2020
IVET learners who benefitted from a learning mobility abroad (%)Cedefop · KIVET 10260.2%2.2% dV2021
Erasmus+ VET mobility projectsEuropean Commission (DG EAC / EACEA), Erasmus+ project results · ErasmusPlus_KA1105 projects6,890 projects2025
Early leavers from education and training (%)Cedefop · KIVET 30103.8%9.1%2025
NEET rate for 15-29 year-olds (%)Cedefop · KIVET 30307.0%11.0%2025

Sources: Eurostat (CC-BY-4.0); Eurostat; calculation by Apprentix (CC-BY-4.0); Cedefop (CC-BY-4.0); OECD (CC-BY-4.0); European Commission (DG EAC / EACEA), Erasmus+ project results (CC-BY-4.0). Totals only (default breakdown). Letters after a value are the publisher's flags; hover for their meaning.

National statistics

Series from Norway's own statistical sources. Definitions differ from country to country, so these figures should not be compared with other countries'.

IndicatorNorwayYear
Apprentices in Norway (1 October)Apprentices (lærlinger)Statistics Norway (SSB) · 0894752,440 persons2025
New apprentices in NorwayStatistics Norway (SSB) · 0537626,717 persons2025
Trade and journeyman examinations taken in NorwayApprenticesStatistics Norway (SSB) · 0901220,834 persons2024

Sources: Statistics Norway (SSB) (CC-BY-4.0).

More indicators

67 further indicators have data for Norway, each with a map, ranking, trend and downloads.

Show 67 indicators

Recent apprenticeship policies

Cedefop and ReferNet track 80 VET policies in Norway since 2015, of which 17 concern apprenticeship or work-based learning. The most recently reported:

  1. Centres of vocational excellencePractical measure/Initiative · Implementation phase (2025)
  2. Strategy for higher vocational educationStrategy/Action plan · Legislative process (2025)
  3. VET-related priorities in the political platform of the governmentStrategy/Action plan · Completed (2025)
  4. The social contract for VETStrategy/Action plan · Implementation phase (2025)
  5. The Completion reformRegulation/Legislation · Completed (2024)
  6. White Paper Overview of skills needs in Norway (Meld. St. 14 (2022-2023))Strategy/Action plan · Completed (2023)
  7. Apprenticeship portalStrategy/Action plan · Completed (2022)
  8. Public consultation – temporary extension to the one-year bridge courseRegulation/Legislation · Discontinued (2021)

Source: Cedefop & ReferNet — Timeline of VET policies in Europe (2025 update) (CC-BY-4.0).

Open datasets

5 open datasets on apprenticeship and VET from Norway are listed on Europe's open-data portals, 4 of them specifically about apprenticeship.

Source: data.europa.eu — the official portal for European data (search API) (EC-reuse). Each dataset keeps its own licence.

Sources and licences

Apprenticeship schemes
Cedefop — European database on apprenticeship schemes. Cedefop's legal notice: reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged, save where otherwise stated. Fiches also credit national ReferNet experts. Read 2026-10-01.
Key figures
Eurostat (CC-BY-4.0); Eurostat; calculation by Apprentix (CC-BY-4.0); Cedefop (CC-BY-4.0); OECD (CC-BY-4.0); European Commission (DG EAC / EACEA), Erasmus+ project results (CC-BY-4.0).
National statistics
Statistics Norway (SSB) (CC-BY-4.0).
Policies
Cedefop & ReferNet — Timeline of VET policies in Europe (2025 update). CC BY 4.0. Cite as: Cedefop, & ReferNet. (2026). Timeline of VET policies in Europe (2025 update): Research dataset [Data set].
Open datasets
data.europa.eu — the official portal for European data (search API). Catalogue metadata: European Commission reuse notice (Decision 2011/833/EU). Each dataset keeps its own licence, shown per entry.
Last updated
2026-10-01

Apprentix republishes these figures and records; the publishers' own versions remain authoritative. See Data & sources for reuse conditions.

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