Adult vocational training courses (AMU) are short courses for adults in work. Here is the system behind them: common competence descriptions, individual competence assessment, VEU allowance and travel allowance — with the 2026 rates and the figures from Statistics Denmark.
Introduction
AMU stands for adult vocational training (arbejdsmarkedsuddannelser): short, job-oriented courses, typically lasting a couple of days, for adults in work or unemployed. They are offered by vocational colleges and AMU centres all over the country.
FKB: the map of the courses
The courses are grouped into common competence descriptions (FKB). An FKB describes a job area. According to the Ministry of Education, AMU currently covers about 135 FKBs with about 3,000 labour market training courses and single subjects linked to them.
IKV: what can you already do?
IKV stands for individual competence assessment. The school assesses what you can already do in relation to one or more AMU programmes. The law says that recognition of prior learning is given in the form of an individual education plan: your own plan for what you can do and what you are missing.
What it costs and what you get
If you are in work, you — or typically your employer — can get VEU allowance for the time you are on a course. If you live far from the course venue, you can get travel allowance.
| Year | VEU allowance per hour | Travel allowance per km |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | DKK 127.03 | DKK 1.12 |
| 2025 | DKK 131.55 | DKK 1.12 |
| 2026 | DKK 137.47 (DKK 5,086.39 per week) | DKK 1.59 |
Most courses have a participant fee, which the school provides. In the social and health care field, the participant fee is DKK 0 following an agreement from January 2024.
The caps
- 01VEU allowance for at most 37 hours a week and at most your normal working hours.
- 02No more than 10 weeks (370 hours) per calendar year.
- 03The same course at most 3 times per calendar year.
- 04Travel allowance for kilometres beyond the first 24 km, at most 576 km per day or 400 km per journey if you stay at the course venue.
- 05Complain to AUB no later than 4 weeks after the decision.
How many take AMU?
| School year | AMU participants, total | Of which «Real estate and other services» |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 523.736 | 25.347 |
| 2019 | 485.892 | 14.296 |
| 2021 | 358.040 | 10.590 |
| 2023 | 389.165 | 13.766 |
| 2024 | 384.110 | 12.502 |
| 2025 | 392.934 | 13.441 |
Notice the drop in 2021. What do you think happened that year? Statistics Denmark does not give the explanation itself. The figures are given per school year because the calendar year 2025 is not yet complete.
Example: cleaning
The AMU courses in cleaning belong to FKB 2679 “Cleaning service” (Rengøringsservice). Find the current courses and dates at voksenuddannelse.dk or from the school.