Primary course (Frumnámskeið)

Completion of the course grants the theoretical qualification for:

• Forklift trucks with a lifting weight up to 10 tons – category J
• Tractors with equipment and the smaller types of earthmoving machines (4t and smaller) – category I
• Basket cranes and concrete pumps– category D
• Steamrollers– category L
• Paving machines for road surfaces – category M
• Loading cranes mounted on vehicles with lifting capacity of up to 18 tm – category P

The course takes place online. Students can therefore study wherever and whenever it suits them on a computer, tablet and/or smartphone. The program is open for 8 weeks from registration and takes approximately 15-18 hours to complete. 

The first chapters of the course cover occupational safety and health issues, physics, hydraulics, mechanics, batteries and safety measures when digging trenches. The chapters that follow deal with individual categories of working machines and matters associated with them. 

The primary course ends with a written multiple-choice test. Testing takes place at the premises of the AOSH or at partners. A valid photo ID must be shown before the test. 

At the beginning of the program, students can choose the date and location for the written test after completing the program. That decision can be changed, but with 48 hours notice of changes. 

Students who pass the test at the end of the Primary Course may start practical training with an employer in the operation and care of working machines. Practical training shall take place under the guidance of persons holding qualifications to hold training sessions. Numbers of participants will be restricted and training may only take place where there is no danger of accidents.

The AOSH also has facilities for practical training and taking practical exams in special simulators. You need to contact the AOSH to make an appointment for a simulator.

Students who have obtained confirmation of having completed the practical training may request an examiner from the Administration of Occupational Safety and Health and take the practical test. A valid photo ID must be shown before the test. On passing the test, they receive confirmation of this which they may then submit to the Administration when applying for operators’ licences for a particular category, or categories, of machine. The fee for the practical test and the licence must be paid before the test is taken. A copy of the candidate’s driving licence must be submitted with his or her application for a machine operator’s licence. Applicants for crane operators’ licences, in categories A, B, D and P, must produce a medical certificate.

The minimum age for taking the Primary Course is 16 years; three months before their 17th birthday, candidates may start training on machinery under the guidance of a person qualified to teach the use of the type of machinery in question. To obtain a machine operator’s licence, the candidate must have reached the age of 17 and hold a driver’s licence.

Driving schools offer courses (Icelandic: Grunnnámskeið) which lead to qualifications for the operation of working machinery. These consist of 80 hours, and cover all categories of working machinery for which operators’ licences are required.