2025

2024

2023

The Qualifica Centres overseen by public basic and upper secondary education school clusters (SC) or non-clustered schools (NCS) represent approximately 37 % of the entire national network, which has over 300 centres. As such, they play a key role in the Qualifica Programme and the strategy to mobilise the adult population for lifelong learning.

These Centres should benefit from the schools' educational assets and resources, as well as the synergies created with local communities. Here, it is important that rules are defined for allocating human resources to those Qualifica Centres overseen by the abovementioned SC/NCS, thus facilitating the tasks entrusted to them in the areas of information and guidance, referral, training, recognition and validation of competences and certification.

To this end, Despatch No 8271/2023, 14 August was published. This determines the rules allocating weekly hours for teachers working in public schools that oversee or are partners of Qualifica Centres. The legislation also establishes the rules allocating the number of guidance and competence validation professionals (GCVP) to the Centres.

As part of making the National Qualifications System (SNQ) more flexible, the first nine level-5 vocational RVCC reference frameworks have been included in the National Qualifications Catalogue (CNQ).

As such, adults with unrecognised and uncertified professional experience can remedy their situation. The level-5 reference frameworks were designed together with a number of IEFP protocol vocational training centres and a higher education body.

Being able to obtain a level-5 qualification through RVCC makes this process more flexible and complementary in terms of other NQS education and training types, as well as improving people's qualifications in Portugal.

For more information, see the ANQEP, I.P. website.

Creating short and medium-length courses in the digital area has had a very positive impact on young people and adults seeking to improve their skills. Courses on programming, digital marketing, data analysis and no-code visual programming, created in 2021 as part of the "Young + digital" programme, have over 15,000 enrolments and 11,000 certificates.

Also in the digital field, but more geared towards adults with low digital literacy, the pathways created via the "Digital Skills Certificate" programme are attracting many adults. Since their creation in 2021, over 24,000 people have enrolled on these courses, and more than 17,000 have been certified.

ANQEP’s training provision not only helps meet the growing demand for professionals with digital skills from the business community, but also gives workers the opportunity to acquire new skills.

ANQEP recently included four new short and medium-length courses in the National Qualifications Catalogue, responding to specific skills in the area of environment and energy (new green skills). These pathways consist of a set of short training units lasting a maximum of 375 hours:

- Green hydrogen – fundamentals and technologies (300 hours)

- Renewable energies – solar thermal (325 hours)

- Renewable energies – solar photovoltaic (375 hours)

- Renewable energies – wind (375 hours)

The green hydrogen fundamentals and technologies training pathway was developed in partnership with ADENE – Agência para a Energia  (Energy Agency), the Direção-Geral de Energia e Geologia  (Directorate-General for Energy and Geology) and the Instituto de Emprego e Formação Profissional, I.P. (Institute for Employment and Vocational Training).

Contributions were also made by the Conselho Setorial da Energia (Sector Council for Energy), namely the Agência Portuguesa do Ambiente - APA (Portuguese Environment Agency) and the Instituto de Soldadura e Qualidade - ISQ.

These four courses can be completed through certified modular training, enabling autonomous certification.