In September 2021, the Council of Ministers approved the draft of the Organic Law on the Organization and Integration of Vocational Training. In this last quarter of the year, its parliamentary proceedings will be carried out in both houses, the Congress and the Senate. The text aims to allow a more flexible system that responds to citizens’ demands for vocational training.

The draft Law consolidates the current vocational training of the education system and vocational training for employment into a unique model at the service of students and workers.  With this new regulation – aligned with the Vocational Training Modernization Plan already being developed – the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (MEFP) aims to turn these studies into a first-rate itinerary for young people and workers by allowing a continuous update of professional skills.

The future Law thus establishes a single, modular and flexible provision of Vocational Training. It will be organized in training itineraries that encourages progression through five ascending grades: grade A – partial accreditation of competences; grade B – Certificate of Professional Competence; grade C –  Professional Certificate; grade D – Training Cycles; and grade E – Specialization Courses. 

The entire offer within cycles of Grades C, D and E will be dual in nature and there will be two types: General Dual Vocational Training and Advanced Dual Vocational Training.

• General Dual Vocational Training is when the practice period in a company is between 25% and 35% of the total duration of the course and when the company assumes up to 20% of the learning outcomes of the curriculum. This type of dual vocational training is in the nature of tutored practical training without a contractual link to the workplace and no remuneration is paid.
• As for Advanced Dual Vocational Training, it is when the practice period in the company ascends to 35% and 50% of the total duration of the training and when the company assumes up to 40% of the learning outcomes or professional modules of the curriculum.  This type of dual vocational training already constitutes a paid contractual relationship between the student and the company. 

Regarding the recognition of competences, the new text also streamlines the system of accreditation of professional competences acquired through work experience and non-formal training channels. The draft text consolidates the permanently open procedure for any professional skill that began in March 2021 with the approval of Royal Decree 143/2021.  The previous skills’ accreditation process was slow and not efficient, to the point that, in a decade, only 300 000 people were able to receive their accreditations. With the new system, the MEFP plans to accredit the professional competences and skills to more than three million workers in the next four years, of which, 450 000 will start already this year.

The draft Vocational Training Law regulates the relationship between Vocational Training and university education, promoting mutual recognition, such as higher education credits, to facilitate the establishment of training itineraries that recognize previously acquired training in both directions.

The draft law creates new management instruments for the new Vocational Training system:

• State Registry of Professional Training – will allow any citizen to access it and obtain an updated training-professional life report with their training experience.
• Modular Catalogue of Professional Training – will determine the professional modules, linked to each of the competence standards.
• Catalogue of Professional Training Provision – will determine the set of available training actions.
• Catalogue of Professional Competence Standards – will replace the current National Catalogue of Professional Qualifications.

Likewise, other aspects that the draft law establishes are:

• development of a general strategy for professional guidance within the framework of Vocational Training;
• obligation for all schools to be listed in the State Register of Non-University Teaching Schools or in the Register of Professional Training Entities;
• creation of a new body of specialist teachers in unique sectors of Vocational Training, which may be accessed by advanced vocational training technicians in certain specialties.
• internationalization of vocational training through participation in international projects, in training projects between Spanish and foreign schools, as well as the mobility of students and teachers between schools in different countries.

This future law, which aims to achieve the consensus of employers, trade unions, political parties and autonomous communities, could enter into force at the beginning of 2022.

More information:  https://www.lamoncloa.gob.es/consejodeministros/resumenes/Documents/2021/070921-Proyecto%20Ley%20FP%20-%20Dossier.pdf

Source: Eurydice Unit Spain