2025
New procedure for accrediting basic skills acquired through non-formal learning
The Council of Ministers has approved, as proposed by the Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sports, the new Royal Decree on the assessment and accreditation of basic skills acquired through work experience, non-formal training and informal learning. This measure is designed for people who, despite not having an academic qualification, have acquired key knowledge through work experience or non-formal and informal learning.
The main objective is to allow those who can demonstrate a basic level of Spanish language, mathematics and digital skills to access the Vocational Training system. This represents a great opportunity for millions of citizens who will be able to improve their qualifications and expand their possibilities in the labour market. In fact, this new procedure is estimated to benefit more than 10 million people.
One of the main innovations is that the process will always be open, free and easily accessible, ensuring that anyone with a low level of basic skills can validate them and continue their training according to their professional needs.
The process will be carried out in public adult education institutions, vocational training centres or collaborating entities authorised by the autonomous communities.
This Royal Decree elaborates on the provisions of the Organic Law on the Organisation and Integration of Vocational Training and the Royal Decree on the Organisation of the Vocational Training System, approved in 2022 and 2023, respectively. It is part of the modernisation plan for Vocational Training promoted by the Government, which has involved an investment of more than 6.5 billion euros.
More than 6 700 new Vocational Training offers for the active population
The Council of Ministers has approved seven Royal Decrees establishing 6 729 new Vocational Training courses. In addition, specific aspects of the so-called grades A, B and C of the new VET model promoted by the Executive are regulated therein.
Among these new courses, 5 432 consist in partial accreditations of competence (grades A), also known as micro-accreditations. These are the smallest training units in the new system, with a duration of ten to fifty hours. They are especially aimed at the qualification and requalification of workers, and are adapted to their professional needs and circumstances, in order to guarantee their employability.
On the other hand, 929 programmes are certificates of competence (grade B) with a duration of between 50 and 250 hours. Finally, 368 new vocational certificates (grades C), each with a duration of 400 to 1000 hours of training, have also been created.
These new training programmes, aimed at the active population, are more limited in size and are derived from the Basic, Intermediate and Advanced Vocational Training cycles already in force. All of them can be accredited and accumulated within the new Vocational Training system, which will allow citizens to build upward and individualised training itineraries to progress in their professional development.
This new initiative is part of the process of transformation and modernisation of the Vocational Training system carried out by the Spanish Government in recent years. With this measure, the Government is exponentially multiplying the training options for young people and workers and, consequently, their professional and employment opportunities within the framework of vocational training at the service of people.
2024
The Ministry of Education allocates over €867 million to workers’ Vocational Training
In August, the Council of Ministers approved, at the proposal of the Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sports (MEFD), the allocation of over 867.28 million euro to the autonomous communities in order to implement Vocational Training actions targeted to people in the workforce.
Of the total funds, coming from the Spanish budget, 696.5 million euro will be allocated to the educational offer for unemployed workers; 145.9 million euro will be intended for training programmes for employed workers; and 24.8 million euro will support specific programmes convened by the autonomous communities for both employed and unemployed workers.
Autonomous communities, for their part, are committed to the development of those actions between January 1, 2024 and December 31, 2025. These measures must meet the labour market needs in connection with those actions linked to the National System of Vocational Training.
The allocation of this budget was recently approved by the autonomous communities in the Sectoral Conference on the System of Qualifications and Vocational Training for Employment, accountable to the Ministry.
The Ministry of Education allocates €128 million to workers’ education
In November 2023, the Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sports (MEFD) launched a new call for grants for the training of employed and unemployed individuals, totalling €128 million. These subsidies are intended for entities that develop training initiatives linked to the National Catalogue of Professional Qualifications within the professional sphere, aiming to the acquisition and improvement of the skills of the active population in sectors considered strategic in the Professional Training Modernization Plan. These sectors include hospitality and tourism, automotive, renewable energy, automated manufacturing and robotics, telecommunications and information systems, as well as green transition and circular economy, among others.
Additionally, the grants will cover scholarships and support for transportation, work/family reconciliation, meals, and accommodation for unemployed individuals participating in training activities. Furthermore, compensation to companies for the implementation of training modules in workplace settings is also part of the goal of these grants.
Groups of training entities with a national presence that have facilities duly registered in the corresponding Registry of Training Entities, may also benefit from these grants. The initiative aims to direct these aids towards small and medium-sized enterprises to provide their employee training.
The types of training encompass those related to professional certification, offered in full or modular formats, targeting employed individuals. In addition, training aimed at workers that responds to the qualification needs identified by companies will be considered. Those accredited entities that present programmes agreed upon with said companies may participate. The call also includes specific training programmes aimed at the unemployed.
2023
Reskilling and upskilling of the working population
In June 2023, the Agreement of the Sectoral Conference on the System of Qualifications and Vocational Training for Employment was issued. This Agreement approves the proposal for territorial distribution and the criteria for the distribution of 111 million euros intended for the development of reskilling and upskilling of the working population, linked to professional qualifications in strategic sectors, care of people and areas at risk of depopulation, within the framework of component 20 "Strategic plan to promote training professional", of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, in the 2023 budget year.
This measure will impact the training of more than 200 000 employed or unemployed people. Training actions will give priority to training in emerging and rapidly evolving skills and with future job creation prospective. Likewise, these actions will attend to training in those sectors that, as a consequence of the foreseeable evolution of economic and social conditions, will generate jobs in the future. These funds are preferably directed, without exclusivity, to the following eleven strategic sectors:
1. New advanced information technology.
2. Automated machine-tools and robotics.
3. Aeronautical equipment.
4. Modern rail transportation equipment.
5. Energy-based vehicles and new equipment.
6. Agricultural machinery.
7. New materials.
8. Biopharmaceuticals and advanced medical products.
9. Consumption chain: manufacturers and distributors.
10. Hospitality and tourism.
11. Care services.