At central level, and until 2025, two bodies with responsibilities in adult education and training were the National Agency for Qualification and Vocational Education (Agência Nacional para a Qualificação e o Ensino Profissional, I.P. – ANQEP, I.P.) and the Institute for Employment and Vocational Training (Instituto do Emprego e Formação Profissional – IEFP, I.P.).

Within the framework of the organisational reform of the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation (Ministério da Educação, Ciência e Inovação – MECI), the Decree-Law 104/2025, 11 September, provides for the dissolution, by merger, of ANQEP and the integration of its responsibilities into the Institute for Education, Quality and Evaluation (Instituto da Educação, Qualidade e Avaliação - EduQA, I. P), the Institute for Employment and Vocational Training (Instituto do Emprego e Formação Profissional – IEFP, I.P) and the Directorate-General for Employment and Labour Relations (Direção-Geral do Emprego e das Relações de Trabalho - DGERT).

Thus, within the scope of adult education, EduQA, I.P. is responsible for:

• regulating, managing, and monitoring the system for recognition, validation and certification of competences and the educational provision for adults within the school context;
• coordinating and implementing adult school qualification policies, including the development and management of the system for recognition, validation and certification of competences.

The Institute for Employment and Vocational Training - IEFP, I.P. is the national public employment service. Its mission is to promote job creation and quality, combating unemployment via the implementation of active employment policies and vocational training. Its various duties include promoting academic and vocational qualifications for young people and adults, via dual certification provision and certified vocational training respectively, tailored to individual pathways and important to the modernisation of the economy.

The Directorate-General for Employment and Labour Relations - DGERT is the body within the Ministry of Labour, Solidarity, and Social Security (MTSSS) responsible for defining policies, regulating, and certifying training organisations in Portugal. It ensures the quality of vocational training through technical and pedagogical certification, managing the accreditation system and supporting the recognition of qualifications. In this context, DGERT is responsible for:

• regulating the system for recognition, validation and certification of competences and the dual certification modalities for adults, concerning the professional component of the qualification;
• recognising the vocational component of adult training certificates obtained in other countries by reference to the National Qualifications Catalogue (CNQ), when not covered by special legislation;
• collaborating in the development of the information system to support the dual certification modalities for adults, as well as of the system for recognition, validation and certification of competences;
• planning, managing, monitoring, and evaluating its certified network of training entities of the National Qualifications System (SNQ);
• participating in the design, management, and updating of the CNQ, in the technological component of dual certification qualifications at levels 2, 4, and 5 of the National Qualifications Framework (QNQ), in collaboration with the entities responsible for the matter, in the manner to be defined by the Coordinating Council in the SNQ.

It is the responsibility of the Agency for the Management of the Education System (Agência para a Gestão do Sistema Educativo - AGSE, I.P.) to coordinate the planning and rationalisation of educational establishments under the MECI and to manage, analyse and validate the provision of the adult education and training network by approving the classes/groups of trainees.

The management of the SNQ and its national instruments (the framework - QNQ, the catalogue - CNQ, the National Credit System for Vocational Education and Training and the Qualifica Passport) is ensured by the SNQ Coordinating Council, whose mission and composition are defined by ministerial order by the members of the Government responsible for the areas of education, science and innovation and labour, solidarity and social security.

Also within the organic reform of the MECI, the Regional Coordination and Development Commissions (CCDR) took over responsibilities relating to the planning, managing, and monitoring of the networks for dual certification for young people, of educational programmes for adults, and specialised centres for adult education qualifications.

At regional and local level, regional authorities implement education and training policies by supervising regional and local bodies: centres specialised in adult qualification (Centros Qualifica), basic and upper secondary education establishments (supervised by the MECI) and vocational training centres (supervised by IEFP, I.P.).