Entities

The National Qualifications System (NQS) was created in December 2007 (Decree-Law No. 396/2007, of 31^st December, altered by Decree-Law No. 14/2017, of 26^th January) and its primary objective is to raise the qualification levels of the active population, through school and professional progression, as well as to structure an initial and continuous educational and training offer, for young people and adults, adjusted to the needs of companies and the labour market.

In this context, structuring instruments were designed for the organisation of qualifications and conversion of qualification paths, such as the National Qualifications Framework (NQF), the National Catalogue of Qualifications (NCQ), as well as the National Credit System for Vocational Education and Training (NCS) and the Qualifica Passport, ensuring the relevance of learning for personal development and for the modernisation of companies and the economy, whilst at the same time valuing all the investment made in education and training.

The National Qualifications Framework is a unique reference framework for classifying all qualifications produced in the national education and training system, regardless of the access pathways. 

The NQF, in force since 1^st October 2010 (Ordinance No. 782/2009, of 23^rd July), revokes the application of the training level structure established by Decision No.85/368/CEE, of the Council, of 16^th July.

What are the objectives of the National Qualifications Framework?

• Integrate and articulate, in a single framework, the qualifications produced within the scope of the different education and training subsystems - basic, upper-secondary and higher education;
• Value and consider the skills acquired by citizens in non-formal and informal contexts;
• Promote access, evolution and the quality of qualifications;
• Improve the legibility, transparency and comparability of qualifications in the education and training system and in the labour market;
• Define the learning outcomes associated with the different qualification levels;
• Correlate national qualifications with the European Qualifications Framework.

How is the National Qualifications Framework structured?

The NQF is structured into 8 qualification levels, each defined by a set of indicators which specify the learning outcomes corresponding to the qualifications at that level, in terms of Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes.

Access the Interpretive Guide of the National Qualifications Framework here.

Consult here the correspondence between previous levels of education and training, current qualification levels and ISCED levels.

How does it articulate with the European Qualifications Framework?

In Portugal, the referencing process demonstrated that there is a clear and direct relationship between the levels and descriptors of the National Qualifications Framework and those of the European Qualifications Framework.

Access the Reference Report of the National Qualifications Framework to the European Qualifications Framework here.

Thus, if an individual has a level 4 qualification of the National Qualifications Framework, then he/she has a level 4 qualification of the European Qualifications Framework.

To compare qualification levels from the National Qualifications Framework with qualification levels from another European country, click here. 

The NCQ is an instrument for the strategic management of non-tertiary level qualifications - levels 2, 4 and 5 of the National Qualifications Framework. It also regulates the respective training offers for double certification and the processes of recognition, validation and certification of competences existing in Portugal, within the scope of the National Qualifications System.

What information does it provide?

• The qualifications which exist at levels 2, 4 and 5 of the National Qualifications Framework, organised by education and training areas;
• The qualifications which provide a solution to regulated activities/professions;
• The updates introduced for each qualification.

Access the National Catalogue of Qualifications here.

Who is it for?

The NCQ is a useful instrument for citizens, education and vocational training providers, companies and organisations, social partners, as well as entities responsible for managing and regulating the National Qualifications System.

The SCQ are structures that integrate the National Qualifications System, established to collaborate with the Agência Nacional para a Qualificação e o Ensino Profissional, I.P. ANQEP - National Agency for Qualification and Vocational Education and Training) in the process to update the National Catalogue of Qualifications.

What are their responsibilities?

• Identify NCQ updating needs, depending on the specialised technical knowledge they have about the sector or professional activity they represent;
• Submit proposals for inclusion, exclusion or alteration of qualifications to ANQEP and give an opinion on the proposals presented by ANQEP;
• Support ANQEP in the design of qualifications, based on the methodological guidelines defined by it;
• Mobilise efforts, in cooperation with ANQEP, to enhance and disseminate the work carried out within the scope of the SCQ;
• Promote the NCQ as a strategic instrument of the National Qualifications System and contribute, in close coordination with ANQEP, to its continuous development and improvement.

How are they comprised?

The SCQ are comprised of representatives of entities of the National Qualifications System, and other entities with sectoral relevance, namely:

• Specialists appointed by the governance area which oversees the activity sector covered by the SCQ;
• Entities that regulate access to and exercise of professions and professional activities;
• Confederations and trade unions, employers, business and industrial associations;
• Professional associations;
• Vocational training centres with direct management and vocational training centres with participatory management of the IEFP, I.P.;
• Public, private and cooperative education establishments, including professional schools, training entities and Qualifica Centres, in particular those with sectoral or regional specialisation;
• Technological centres, innovation centres and research and development centres, with sectoral specialisation;
• Reference companies and business groups;
• Competitiveness Clusters;
• National and international independent experts of recognised merit.

The Directorate-General for Higher Education, as well as higher education establishments which offer education and training which enable the continuation of the qualification path in a particular professional sector covered by the SCQ may also be part of the SCQ.

SCQ are chaired by the President of the ANQEP Board of Directors, who has the ability to delegate this competency. 

In terms of specialists, their composition varies, taking into consideration the education and training areas integrated in each Council. 

How many SCQ are there and how are the SCQ structured in terms of education and training areas?

18 SCQ were created. Their structure is in accordance with the following table:

 

   

The National Credit System for Vocational Education and Training (regulated by Ordinance No. 47/2017, of 1^st February) enables the allocation of credit points to double certification qualifications integrated in the National Catalogue of Qualifications (NCQ) and is aligned with ECVET (European Credit System for Vocational Education and Training).

The credit points for a qualification, and for each of the units that comprise it, are obtained when trainees achieve the learning outcomes or demonstrate the competencies to which these units refer, that is, when they obtain certification in the respective qualification units. 

Which entities are involved in the National Credit System for Vocational Education and Training?

• The National Agency for Qualification and Vocational Education and Training (Agência Nacional para a Qualificação e o Ensino Profissional, I. P. - ANQEP, I. P.) is the entity responsible for defining the credit points in the standards contained in the NCQ.
• Education and training entities are responsible for registering (in the SIGO system/Qualifica Passport) the attribution of credit points resulting from educational and training processes and also for the transfer of credit points.
• Qualifica Centres are responsible for registering (in the SIGO system /Qualifica Passport) the attribution of credit points resulting from processes of recognition, validation and certification of competences (RVCC) and also for the transfer of credit points.

How can you find out how many credit points are associated with each qualification?

This information is available in the NCQ, at www.catalogo.anqep.gov.pt. A person’s Qualifica Passport, which can be accessed at any time, also contains information on how many credit points they have already obtained and how many they have yet to obtain.

The Qualifica Passport is an electronic instrument for recording qualifications and skills acquired throughout an adult's life and for guiding learning paths. The Qualifica Passport provides adults with access to useful and relevant information to organise the education or training path they have already completed (however random and dispersed it may be) and, based on this, identify the available options to achieve school and professional progression. 

Based on the capitalisation of competencies acquired by adults throughout their lives, the Passport enables the simulation of various possible qualification paths to obtain new qualifications and/or school and professional progression, prioritising training proposals which enable the completion and/or increase of adult qualification, as well as double certification qualification.

The Passport can be changed, updated and printed at any time, becoming an instrument that accompanies the adult in all phases of his/her active life.
Access the Qualifica Passport website here. 

This is a national model defined by ANQEP which enables vocational education and training entities (VET) to develop quality assurance systems in line with the European Quality Assurance Reference Framework for Vocational Education and Training (EQAVET Framework). Its main objective is to promote a culture of continuous improvement of the intervention quality in the field of vocational education and training at the entities.

The alignment with the EQAVET Framework, carried out by VET entities, is the subject of a compliance verification process ensured by experts with experience and knowledge in the fields of quality assurance systems assessment and I-VET, which are part of an external expert group managed by ANQEP.

The EQAVET label is awarded in recognition of quality assurance systems, aligned with the EQAVET Framework, implemented by VET providers.

For whom?

All education and training providers which implement level 4 training offers of the National Qualifications Framework.

Access the Quality Assurance in Vocational Education and Training website here. 

The SAQN is a system for diagnosing qualifications needs and indicating priority areas and professional opportunities, making it possible to establish guidelines for defining the training offer network, and for updating the National Catalogue of Qualifications.

What are the operational objectives of SAQN?

1. Formation of a basic macro diagnosis (updated every 3 years) on the economic and labour market dynamics which influence the qualifications demand, in the short and medium term, enabling an intermediate regional understanding (NUTS II – Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics);
2. Formation of recommendations and annual guidelines proposal for the prioritisation of qualifications which, within the scope of the NQS, constitute the potential training offer (levels 2, 4 and 5 of the NQF), applicable in the planning of the offers network at the beginning of each training cycle;
3. Identification of potential future qualifications, and of adjustment needs in the existing ones, enabling the dynamic updating of the NCQ;
4. Further expansion of the diagnosis at the regional level, within the framework of Metropolitan Areas (MA) and Intermunicipal Communities (IMC) and the coordination of regional stakeholders in the presentation of a joint proposal for a local network of educational and training offers.

How is the collaboration with Metropolitan Areas and Intermunicipal Communities carried out?

The Metropolitan Areas and Intermunicipal Communities (MA/IMC) are responsible for developing the Regional Expansion module, in accordance with the guidelines defined by ANQEP. The regional expansion enables the implementation of a specific approach to the regional and sub-regional context, working with the information generated by the basic diagnosis from each municipality.

What are the results of SAQN?

ANQEP is responsible for updating the SAQN at the NUTS II level, every three years. Consult the relevance of SAQN at the NUTS II level, updated in December 2020, here.

Based on the relevance defined for the NUTS II every three years, the MA/IMC can carry out a regional analysis, which results in the definition of the relevance of qualifications at the NUTS III level. Consult the relevance of SAQN at the NUTS III level, updated in March 2021, here.