As Denmark’s largest infrastructure project, it is particularly important that the construction of the Fehmarnbelt tunnel makes a positive contribution to the training of skilled labour. Sund & Bælt, therefore, requires its contractors to deliver at least 500 apprentice FTEs during the project’s construction phase – a target that has already been met halfway.

From the start of construction until today, some 269 apprentice FTEs have been completed. There are currently 89 full-time apprentices attached to the main contractor, FLC, from 19 different vocational training programmes. In total the project employs more than 3,000 people and apprentices are an important part of the workforce both now and in the future. Sund & Bælt is delighted that the project has reached this important milestone and is halfway to its apprenticeship target – not least because it requires a significant amount of effort to attract apprentices.

"At Sund & Bælt, we feel that we have a particular responsibility to attract and train the workforce of the future. It is crucial for the realisation of major infrastructure projects that more young people are interested in – and have the opportunity to – pursue a career in the construction industry. We have set an ambitious goal, and we are proud that we’re now halfway there,” says Sund & Bælt’s Sustainability Director, Emilie Juel-Helwig.

Dansk Metal, the Danish Union of Metalworkers, welcomes the opportunities that the project offers young people.

"Our apprentices on the Fehmarnbelt project receive excellent training. They get a lot of re-sponsibility on large projects and are trained by skilled workers. It’s good news that Femern is now halfway to meeting their apprenticeship target. At Dansk Metal we’re now looking forward to seeing how the target will ultimately be achieved,” says Per Andersen, Union Secretary at Dansk Metal.

Focus on collaboration and well-being
By far the majority of the apprenticeships are attached to the main contractor, Femern Link Contractors, FLC, which is responsible for training 470 of the 500 apprentice FTEs. Indeed, they are proud that more than half of the apprenticeship target has now been reached.

According to Charlotte Lie Steen, who is responsible for apprentices at FLC, this is due to a combination of close collaboration with the educational institutions, local education committees and a strong focus on well-being and learning.

"It has meant a lot that we’re visible in vocational education. And since the start of construction, we have been strongly focused on ensuring a sense of well-being among our apprentices through social activities and a high professional quality, e.g. with trade-specific days out of school. We will, of course, continue to do this until we have reached our target,” says Charlotte Lie Steen.

Apprentices on the Fehmarnbelt project range across many different professions. One of them is 20-year-old Lukas Brix, who will soon complete his training as a metal worker with FLC.
"It has been incredibly exciting and enriching to be an apprentice on the Fehmarnbelt project. Being part of such a large and historic project has exceeded my expectations. I’ve been given a lot of responsibility and gained experience that I look forward to using when I’m a fully qualified metal worker,” says Lukas Brix.

That the apprenticeship target is now more than halfway complete does not mean that Sund & Bælt is taking the challenge lightly.
"We’re doing everything we can to create an exciting and attractive learning environment for our apprentices. There is still some way to go to our target, and we also intend to incorporate the good experience from the Fehmarnbelt project into other infrastructure projects,” says Emilie Juel-Helwig.

Facts:

• Sund & Bælt, the client for the Fehmarnbelt Fixed Link, requires the contractor consortia to train at least 500 apprentice FTEs during the construction period. An apprentice FTE corresponds to 1,924 hours.
• The main contractor, Femern Link Contractors, FLC, must train 470 apprentice FTEs, while the remaining 30 FTEs are divided among Fehmarn Belt Contractors, FBC, and Femern Systems Contractors, FSC.