Apply for grants from the public sector competence funds

As a highly educated professional employed in the public sector, you can apply for funding for courses and training for professionals through public sector competence funds.

There are three competence funds:

• The Municipal Competence Fund
• The Regional Competence Fund
• The State Competence Fund

The funds open for applications several times a year, and are in some cases allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. If the funds receive many applications, they close until the next application round. And things typically move fast, so you need to be ready when applications open.

Read more about who can apply and what you can apply for here:

The municipal competence fund

Who can apply? Academics employed under municipal collective agreements can apply for support for individual courses and training via the municipal competence fund. The possibility should be seen as a supplement to the competence development efforts and funds already available in municipalities and regions.

What can you get a grant for? As an academic, you can get support for professional training and further education, such as

• Academic programmes or modules,
• Diploma programmes or modules,
• Master's programmes or modules.

You can apply for grants of up to DKK 30,000 per year for modules in a diploma programme and up to DKK 50,000 per year for modules in a master's programme.

As a municipally employed academic, you must have your municipal employer finance 20% of the costs (course fees, transport and materials) of the training.

When to apply? The Municipal Skills Fund opens for applications on 7 January, 1 April, 5 August and 4 November 2025. Grants are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis, so you must be ready when the applications open.

How do you apply?

Read more about the application process at denkommunalekompetencefond.dk (In Danish)

The regional competence fund

Who can apply? As an academic employed in the regions, you can apply for support to increase your level of competence for the benefit of regional task performance and your development opportunities in the regional labour market, including your competences in relation to strengthened, cross-cutting task performance. The fund complements the work already being done in the regions.

What can you get a grant for? You can get a grant for skills training or further training - for example

• academic programmes or modules,
• diploma programmes or modules,
• Master's programmes or modules.

You can apply for up to DKK 30,000 per year for modules in a diploma programme and up to DKK 50,000 per year for modules in a master's programme.

When can you apply? The Regional Competence Fund will open for applications on 12 March and 10 September 2025. Grants will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis, so you must be ready when the applications open. 

How do you apply?

Read more about the application process at denkommunalekompetencefond.dk (In Danish)

The State Competence Fund

Who can apply? Government employees covered by a common collective agreement can apply to the State Competence Fund for support with continuing training.

What can you get a grant for? The State Competence Fund provides grants for both diploma and master's modules, as well as grants for short non-ECTS courses of 3 days or more. You can apply for up to DKK 30,000 for modules on a diploma programme and up to DKK 50,000 for modules on a master's programme. For shorter courses, it is possible to apply for up to DKK 5,000 per course day, with a maximum of DKK 25,000.

When can you apply? The State Competence Fund opens for applications on 14 January, 6 May and 23 September 2025.

How to apply:

Read all about the application process at kompetenceudvikling.dk (In Danish)