2022
Quality assurance systems aligned with the EQAVET framework
The pool of external experts, created via protocols established between ANQEP and 35 higher education institutions, was expanded to 173 individuals. This was done to respond to EQAVET verification requests submitted by the operators whose alignment processes involved support from the POCH programme (vocational schools, upper secondary schools and public schools offering vocational courses or own-school curriculum courses). The EQAVET conformity verification processes undertaken by external experts have enabled ANQEP to award 442 EQAVET labels so far.
2021
Inclusive education in VET
Working in conjunction with ANQEP, DGEstE and DGE, the Moita Vocational Technical School has continued the Pilot Project - Inclusive Education in Dual Certification Provision, which aims to create an operational guide to inclusive education in dual certification provision. Using working sessions with consultants and document analysis, it focusses on phase 2, which aims to answer the following questions: what are the main objectives? What is the scope of curriculum management? In terms of classroom practices and assessment, what learning situations need to be identified and how are they operationalised? This step is fundamental for the subsequent testing phase.
“Young + Digital" Programme (cont.)
As part of the "Young + Digital" Programme (Order No 250-A/2020, 23 October), 15 new training paths in the digital area were designed for unemployed young adults. These are made up of short-term training units of 25 and/or 50 hours.
For more detailed information, see 14.5 Reforms in the Areas of Transversal Skills and Employability.
Learning outcomes-based qualifications 2021
In April 2021, the National Agency for Qualification and Vocational Education (Agência Nacional para a Qualificação e o Ensino Profissional, I.P.) launched a public and international tender to update the National Qualifications Catalogue. The aim was to create a set of sectoral studies that analysed and anticipated qualifications and skills needs and the development of respective qualification benchmarks, mapped by competence units (CU) and described in terms of learning outcomes. This work is expected to be completed in 2023.
Quality assurance in adult education and training
In April 2021, the Strengthening Quality Assurance in Adult Education and Training in Portugal guide was published. It was written by OECD as part of a European Commission technical support programme for Portugal and offers recommendations in two areas: recognition and certification of adult education and training providers; and the monitoring of adult education and training providers and of adults’ outcomes. For the first dimension, two recommendations were suggested: developing a quality label to verify core, common certification standards; and centralising all the relevant information about certification processes. For the second dimension, the guide also identifies two recommendations: developing a common monitoring framework; and tracking outcomes in adult education and training.
In terms of quality assurance, a quality charter for the Qualifica Centres is being prepared, which aims to: (i) cover all areas of Qualifica Centre intervention, from initial adult entry to the monitoring of qualification paths, inside or outside the Qualifica Centre; (ii) counter the logic that activity should focus exclusively on lifelong guidance and RVCC processes; and (iii) improve referrals and the completion of adult qualification paths, focussing such paths on the candidates' profile. The quality charter also aims to establish benchmarks for procedures and outcomes and to set standards through examples of good practice and "Centres of Excellence".
#Home study for vocational education
Considering the success of the #HomeStudy project for students attending basic education and secondary education pupils on science-humanities courses temporarily unable to attend classes or as a complement to the study, the National Agency for Qualification and Vocational Education (Agência Nacional para a Qualificação e o Ensino Profissional) decided to support the development of thematic, audio-visual teaching content for specific vocational course disciplines. It also played an active part in developing common content for science-humanities, artistic and vocational courses.
Adults Incentive: National Adult Literacy Plan and the Qualifica Accelerator
In terms of the investments set out in the Recovery and Resilience Plan, approved in 2021 and to be implemented between 2021 and 2026, key actions include the modernisation of training provision, educational establishments and vocational training, as well as the Adults Incentiveprogramme, which boasts complementary mechanisms for promoting lifelong learning. Two of them are part of the Qualifica Programme: the National Adult Literacy Plan and Qualifica Accelerator.
Targeting working-age adults with low-level qualifications, both employed and unemployed, it is predicted that 225 local projects promoting level B1/B2/B3 qualifications will get off the ground by 2025, thus helping to implement the National Adult Literacy Plan. Additionally, support will be given to adults currently involved in RVCC processes, with a target of 100 thousand adults becoming qualified this way by 2025, via the Qualifica Accelerator.
Vocational training and qualification agreement
Entitled “A strategic goal for people, companies and the country”, the agreement mentions, among other measures, "a review and update of the regulations applicable to different training types" and the creation of an inter-ministerial commission to coordinate the VET system, as part of the National Qualifications System. This agreement also includes a set of measures designed to improve the quality of the system, its mechanisms and response capacity, such as: creating training paths "in response to specific sectoral needs of the labour market"; studying the flexibility of short-term training unit workloads; strengthening the role and dynamism of the Sector Qualification Councils, as well reviewing and re-launching the Technological Specialisation Courses and the extension of the Apprenticeship System to level 5 of the National Qualifications Framework.
The Qualifica programme is key to this agreement, based on an understanding regarding (i) the revision of Qualifica Centre regulations; (ii) the expansion and consolidation of separately regulated RVCC processes; (iii) the expansion of the Qualifica Centres network; (iv) greater emphasis on the role of the Qualifica Passport; (v) the expansion of the Qualifica AP programme, and (vi) a greater focus on the role of the Qualifica Centres as a gateway to lifelong learning paths for adults.
Also linked to the Qualifica programme, the agreement specifies greater efforts to reboot education and training for people with incomplete paths; the launch of a programme (Qualifica Entrepreneur) designed for entrepreneurs and managers of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises with low qualification levels, and another - More Entrepreneur - for higher education. Another measure includes the greater role of companies in the Qualifica programme.
Qualifica Passport App
As part of the administrative modernisation strategy (SIMPLEX), a range of solutions have been developed to facilitate citizens’ interface with the educational system, as well as the management of student information within it. Initiatives include a Qualifica Passport mobile phone application, developed in recent months, and designed for adults in the qualification process and young NEETs, (not in education, employment or training). It is a native app for Android and IOS systems in accordance with the official website.
The Qualifica Passport records qualifications and competences acquired or developed throughout an adult’s life, guiding learning pathways through the simulation of different possible qualification routes for obtaining new qualifications and/or academic and professional advancement, according to adults’ profiles and interests.
“Young + Digital" Programme
As part of the "Young + Digital" Programme (Ordinance No 250-A/2020, 23 October) 13 new training pathways in digital skills were designed for unemployed young adults, made up of 25 and/or 50-hour short courses.
For more detailed information, see 14.5 National Reforms Related to Transversal Skills and Employability.
The qualification needs forecasting system (SANQ) – network planning
As part of SANQ, the regular update (every three years) of this mechanism took place in November/December 2020 at central level. The following changes were made:
- Inclusion of new qualifications, change of name and exclusion of qualifications according to the National Catalogue of Qualifications.
- Inclusion of "Identification of Qualifications Needs 2020 Survey" results, drafted by Statistics Portugal (INE) in conjunction with ANQEP and DGEEC (e.g., "Table 3 - Number of workers to be recruited over the next two years, according to non-higher education qualification and geographical location of employment vacancy (NUTS II)".
The new central SANQ model was made available to intermunicipal communities (CIM) and metropolitan areas (AM) to update their qualification needs analysis.
Between December 2020 and February 2021, the CIM/AM developed the regional development module and defined the relevance proposals (NUT III) for level 2 qualifications, education and training courses (CEF), and for level 4 qualifications, vocational courses (CP), according to regional and territorial characteristics.
There was an increase in the total number of CIM/AM that undertook regional development (from 19 in 2020 to 20 in 2021).
Quality assurance systems aligned with the EQAVET framework
Between January and November 2020, there were five training sessions for external experts to develop EQAVET compliant verification processes regarding the quality assurance systems implemented by the operators.
The pool of external experts, created via protocols established between ANQEP and 35 higher education institutions, was expanded to 173 individuals. This was done to respond to EQAVET verification requests submitted by the operators whose alignment processes involved support from the POCH programme (vocational schools, upper secondary schools and public schools offering vocational courses or own-school curriculum courses).
The verification processes carried out by the external experts allowed ANQEP to award 251 EQAVET seals in 2020 and 40 EQAVET seals in 2021 (by 20th February).
2020/2021 school year: exceptional and temporary measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Faced with the epidemiological situation in Portugal, the Portuguese government updated the measures to combat the spread of COVID-19 with Decree No 3-C/2021, 22 January. This legislation suspended face-to-face training and determined that, exceptionally, face-to-face activities could be substituted by distance learning if the right conditions are met.
In terms of vocationally oriented provision for young people (specialised artistic and science-technology courses), the measures used in the first confinement were resurrected.
(See below "2020/2021 school year”: exceptional and temporary measures ...")
Exceptionally, face-to-face training for adults, particularly that at Qualifica Centres, should be replaced by distance learning if the right conditions exist. To this end, ANQEP re-implemented the guidelines on "Exceptional and temporary measures due to the COVID 19 pandemic - Adult qualification" made available in March 2020.
2020
Essential learning for vocational education
The essential learning (Aprendizagens Essenciais - AE) for all subjects of the socio-cultural and scientific component of vocational courses (cursos profissionais - CP) were approved by Order No 7414/2020, 24 July.
This resulted from recognition that the breadth and outdated nature of the socio-cultural and scientific component curriculum documents inhibited learning, with the curriculum urgently needing reorganisation, in line with the Exit Profile of Students Leaving Compulsory Education.
The Essential Learning for Citizenship and Development, Catholic Moral and Religious Education and Portuguese as a Foreign Language (levels A1, A2 and B1), defined for upper-secondary science-humanities courses, are applied to vocational courses.
Essential learning can be consulted on the site of the National Agency for Qualification and Vocational Education (Agência Nacional para a Qualificação e o Ensino Profissional - ANQEP, I. P.).
Guidelines for the recovery and consolidation of learning throughout the 2020/2021 school year
The pandemic forces us to plan a school year marked by uncertainty but informed by the experience of the 2019/2020 third term. Aware of the learning that did not occur and students who had problems keeping up with their peers, with this crisis impacting on other critical aspects of school success, the Ministry of Education has produced a guide with a set of support and recovery measures to be implemented by schools, according to different settings and in coordination with the respective educational communities. See section 14.2.
Educational measures for the integration of unaccompanied foreign minors (MENA) in the educational system
As children and young people who are beneficiaries or applicants for international protection are more vulnerable, their reception at the respective school clusters/ non-clustered schools, as well in the vocational education and training provision, is of paramount importance. Therefore, a set of educational measures are in place. For more information, see section 14.2.
Adult digital inclusion programme
As part of the Digital Transition Action Plan, approved by the Council of Ministers Resolution No 30/2020, 21 April, a set of measures was also approved, including the Adult Digital Inclusion Programme (Measure 3), coordinated by the Portugal Digital Mission Body.
This is an educational project for the digital inclusion of one million digital-excluded adults, based on a national network of 10,000 young volunteers and 950 training centres. The initiative is made up of the following activities:
- Development and monitoring of a national network with 950 centres (upper-secondary schools, universities, polytechnics, private social solidarity institutions, senior universities, Qualifica centres, among others).
- Development and monitoring of a national network of 10,000 young volunteers.
- Programme promotion (advertising, events and media), online presence (centres website, voluntary work app and social networks) and global coordination of the programme.
By 2023, this measure will actively contribute to the training of 1,000,000 digital-excluded adults in basic digital skills.
Boosting health measures for the 2020/2021 school year
The guidelines produced for schools in general apply to vocational education. See section 14.2.
2020/2021 school year: exceptional and temporary measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic
The Resolution of the Council of Ministers No 53-D/2020, 20 July, defines exceptional measures regarding how educational establishments will be organised and operate for the 2020/2021 academic year, thus ensuring the resumption of educational and training, both teaching and non-teaching, under safe conditions for the entire educational community. (See section 14.2)
As such, with regard to vocationally-oriented education and training, specialised artistic and scientific-technological courses, it is determined that:
1. Simulated practice can be used on vocational courses, specialised artistic and scientific-technological courses, practical training or on-the-job training.
2. In the final years of vocational courses, education and training courses, specialised artistic courses and scientific-technological courses, when it is impossible to complete all the hours foreseen on a face-to-face basis, each school is required to decide on the final evaluation of each student and corresponding conclusion and certification of the course.
3. In the final evaluation, the schools have as a reference the level of competence shown by the students in relation to the skills profile defined for each course and the Exit Profile of Students Leaving Compulsory Education.
4. Individual subjects or short training courses of a practical nature, and on-the-job training that cannot take place in a mixed or non-face-to-face regime operate on a face-to-face basis, because they require the use of specific spaces, instruments or equipment, ensuring compliance with health authority guidelines.
2019/2020 school year: exceptional and temporary measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic
The guidelines produced for schools in general apply to vocational education. See section 14.2.
The following measures are particularly important for vocational education:
- Learning is done via non-face-to-face teaching, and schools should define and implement a distance learning plan, with the appropriate methodologies for the available resources and evaluation criteria, which consider the students’ different contexts to provide equitable access.
- Learning is on a face-to-face basis for the 2nd and 3rd years of upper-secondary vocational courses in subjects that have a national final exam, with only the remaining subjects taught virtually (from 18 May).
- In the final years of vocational courses, education and training courses, specialised artistic courses and scientific-technological courses, tests regarding professional aptitude, final assessments, artistic aptitude and technological aptitude may be carried out via non-face-to-face means, and, as part of its autonomy, each school is responsible for organising the most appropriate procedures for this purpose.
Vocational education students entering higher education
On 5 March, the Government approved legislation (Decree-Law No 11/2020, 2 April) which, by the end of the legislature, aims to double the number of those students entering higher education after secondary-level vocational education and specialised artistic courses.
There is still considerable inequality regarding access to higher education, especially for students who have taken the vocational route. Current data indicate that, while 85 % of students who finish secondary school via the traditional science or humanities path enter higher education, for vocational education students the percentage is just 18 %, "equivalent to 4,500 students per year". To eradicate this imbalance and adapt the higher education access system to a wider range of secondary-level students, the Government is approving new measures that foresee students taking exams at the higher education institutions they apply to, in order to assess whether they have the knowledge and skills considered necessary to succeed in the respective study cycle.
Digital development ecosystem pilot project (E2D)
The E2D Pilot Project (Projeto-Piloto Ecossistema de Desenvolvimento Digital – E2D) was launched in February 2020 to help schools diagnose the degree of digital integration in their educational and organisational practices, as well as the development and implementation of a Digital Action Plan to improve each cluster’s priority areas. This involves around 40 school clusters.
In the initial phase, the project will include a diagnosis and analysis of the results obtained through SELFIE - Self-reflection on Effective Learning by Fostering Innovation through Educational Technologies (a European Commission tool) and, in a second phase, helping schools design and implement their Digital Plan.
Learning outcomes-based qualifications
As part of learning outcomes-based qualifications, the National Qualifications Catalogue is being updated in 2020 and is expected to be concluded in 2021.
For more information on this subject, see content for previous years below.
INCoDe.2030
As part of the INCoDE.2030 initiative, the following are recent measures for Action Area 3 - Qualification, the aim of which is to "Qualifying the working population by providing them with the knowledge necessary to be part of a job market that relies heavily on digital competences"):
- Integration in the National Qualifications Catalogue (Catálogo Nacional de Qualificações – CNQ) of a Short-Term Training Unit (Unidade de Formação de Curta Duração - UFCD) on digital literacy to be implemented in education and training provision by the National Qualifications System training bodies (Sistema Nacional de Qualificações - SNQ).
- Updating of Key Competence Reference Framework for Adult Education and Training (basic level) in the area of digital competences, based on the Dynamic Reference Framework for Digital Competence for Portugal (Quadro Dinâmico de Referência de Competência Digital para Portugal - QDRCD).
The qualification needs forecasting system (SANQ) – network planning
As part of SANQ, between December 2019 and February 2020 the Intermunicipal Communities (CIM) and Metropolitan Areas (AM) developed the Regional Detail Module and defined its proposals of relevance (NUT III) for level 2 qualifications, education and training courses (CEF), and level 4 qualifications, vocational courses (CP) according to regional and territorial specific characteristics.
In relation to the previous year, There was an increase in the total number of CIM/AM that undertook the Regional Detail (from 17 in 2019 to 19 in 2020).
Quality assurance systems aligned with the EQAVET framework
In January 2020, there were several training sessions as part of the EQAVET model to enable external experts to check EQAVET compliance verification processes.
For more information on this subject, please see the content for previous years below.
Qualifica
The call for tenders to consolidate the Qualifica Centres network was concluded and the organisers of the new 34 Qualifica Centres were notified.
As for the Qualifica Passport, the work being done to make the Qualifica Passport App available are in the final stage.
A new publicity campaign for the Qualifica Programme is being prepared.