Training Agreement and Apprenticeship
All vocational education at Gradia includes work-based learning.
Students gain practical skills in authentic work environments through either a Training Agreement or an Apprenticeship, combining studies with real workplace experience.
A Training Agreement is an unpaid work-based learning period during which students develop their vocational skills in a workplace. An Apprenticeship is an employment relationship, and the student receives a salary in accordance with the applicable collective agreement and employment contract. Students are responsible for finding their own apprenticeship positions.
A Job is Required for an Apprenticeship
- an apprenticeship student works at least 25 hours a week
- an apprenticeship student and an equal member of the work community, who receives a salary for his or her work
- In the workplace, you are guided by a workplace trainer
- The apprenticeship typically includes theoretical studies for 1–4 days per month
- The work tasks correspond to the vocational skills requirements of the fundamentals of the qualification you have completed. Skills acquired through work are shown in competence-based examinations.
- Through an apprenticeship, you will complete upper secondary-level qualification.
How to Apply for an Apprenticeship?
- Agree with your employer on the possibility of beginning apprenticeship training.
- Together with the employer, contact Gradia’s working life coordinators. If the requirements for an apprenticeship are met, the coordinator will provide guidance on how to apply and arrange a meeting with you. During the meeting, apprenticeship matters will be reviewed and the studies will be planned (the Personal Competence Development Plan, PCDP).
- Apprenticeship studies require Finnish language proficiency. Applicants whose native language is not Finnish and who have not provided sufficient proof of their language skills will be invited to a language skills assessment. More information about the language skills assessment (in Finnish).
- In some qualifications, there may be an entrance and aptitude test, a selection event, or a requirement for a prior qualification and/or work experience.
Upper Secondary Education Tuition Fees
Tuition fees for degree-seeking applicants coming from outside the EU and EEA and begin their studies after 1 August 2026:
- The fee for qualifications completed through apprenticeship training is 50% of the annual tuition fee specified in Gradia’s price list. This applies to the annual tuition fees for vocational qualifications, further vocational qualifications, and specialist vocational qualifications.
Gradia's website provides a more detailed description of who the fees apply to: Upper Secondary Education Tuition Fees.