Youth

Apprenticeship Courses are a training path, in alternation, with double certification. In other words, social, scientific and professional skills are developed, enhanced by a strong component of training carried out in a company context, necessary for the exercise of a professional activity, whilst, simultaneously, also enabling post-secondary studies and access to higher education.

Apprenticeship courses are regulated by Ordinance No. 70/2022, of  2^nd February, in its current wording (see Declaration of Rectification No. 10/2022-Diário da República (Official Portuguese Gazette) No. 51/2022, Series I of 2022-03-14), which foresees the expansion of the offer of apprenticeship courses, favouring the integration of young people in the labour market, boosted by a strong training component carried out in a work context.

Apprenticeship courses are developed in accordance with the competence and training standards associated with the qualifications in the National Catalogue of Qualifications (NCQ). Apprenticeship courses, hereinafter referred to as “Apprenticeship Courses” and “Apprenticeship+ Courses”, confer respectively a level 4 or 5 qualification of the National Qualifications Framework (NQF), integrated in the NCQ.

Apprenticeship Courses (which operationalise level 4 qualifications of the NQF) are developed over three training periods, with a workload varying between 3000 and 4000 hours, and are organised into four training components (Ordinance No. 70/2022, of 2^nd February, in its current wording). 12 to 18 hours are added to the workload of Apprenticeship Courses for the completion of the final evaluation test (FET), and up to an additional 250 hours may be added for the development of pedagogical support activities for trainees and the development of sports, cultural, environmental and civic or community intervention activities. The weekly workload must be set at between thirty and thirty-five hours and may not exceed six or seven hours a day, respectively.

The curriculum structure of Apprenticeship Courses includes the following training components:

a) Sociocultural training and scientific training, aimed at the acquisition and development of knowledge, skills and attitudes for the training of young people and adults and which are considered necessary for obtaining a school qualification, in accordance with the competence standards associated with the qualifications in the NCQ;

b) Technological training, aimed at acquiring and developing knowledge, skills and attitudes which respond to what is defined in the professional profile and in the competence standards associated with the respective qualification;

c) Work-based learning, aimed at the application and consolidation of acquired knowledge, skills and attitudes, accomplished through activities carried out in the context of a company or other employers.

The planned training components can be carried out remotely, either totally or partially, provided that the necessary technical and pedagogical conditions are met to guarantee training quality.

Apprenticeship+ courses (which operationalise level 5 qualifications of the NQF) have a workload varying between 1325 and 1675 hours, and are organised into four training components (Ordinance No. 70/2022, of 2^nd February, in its current wording). Up to 18 hours are added to the workload of Apprenticeship+ Courses for the presentation of a project work, of a practical nature, which can be prepared individually or collectively, as long as the project is common to the ongoing training action. The weekly workload must be set at between thirty and thirty-five hours and may not exceed six or seven hours a day, respectively.

The curriculum structure of Apprenticeship+ Courses includes the following training components:

a) General and scientific training, aimed at acquiring and developing knowledge, skills and attitudes that complement and support the learning of the technological training component;

b) Technological training aimed at the acquisition and development of knowledge, skills and attitudes which respond to what is defined in the professional profile and to the competence standard associated with the respective qualification, based on a technological specialisation of a sectoral nature with a high level of professional qualification;

c) Work-based learning, aimed at the application and consolidation of acquired knowledge, skills and attitudes, accomplished through activities carried out in the context of a company or other employers.

The planned training components can be carried out remotely, either totally or partially, provided that the necessary technical and pedagogical conditions are met to guarantee training quality.

Apprenticeship courses culminate with the presentation and defence, before a jury, of one or more practical projects, based on the activities of the professional profile or competence standard associated with the respective training standard, in which the skills and knowledge developed throughout the training are demonstrated, and can be presented as follows:

a) Final evaluation test (FET), for Apprenticeship Courses;

b) Project work, for Apprenticeship+ courses.

There are Apprenticeship Courses in the most diverse education and training areas, from industry and technology, services, commerce and transport, to agriculture and the environment.

For whom?

Apprenticeship Courses related to NQF level 4 of qualification integrated in the NCQ are the most suitable for young people who, at the start of the training, cumulatively fulfil the following requirements:

a) Have completed the 9^th year of schooling or hold a legally equivalent qualification;

b) Are up to and including 29 years of age.

Apprenticeship+ courses related to NQF level 5 of qualification integrated in the NCQ are the most suitable for adults who, at the start of training, are between 18 and 29 years old, inclusive, and fulfil one of the following requirements:

a) Hold an upper-secondary education course or legally equivalent qualification;

b) Have completed the basic level of education and are attending an education or training pathway or a recognition, validation and certification of competences (RVCC) process at the upper-secondary level. On an exceptional basis, candidates covered by compulsory schooling may be admitted even if they have not completed 18 years of age at the start of the training;

c) Hold a NQF level 5 qualification diploma or certificate, a Technological Specialisation Diploma or a higher education degree or diploma and who wish to invest in their reskilling.

What is the certification?

The completion of Apprenticeship Courses is dependent on the approval of all training components and the Final Evaluation Test, for Apprenticeship Courses (level 4 of the NQF), or the Project work for Apprenticeship+ Courses.

Successful completion of an Apprenticeship Course and an Apprenticeship+ Course results in the issuance of a certificate of qualifications and a diploma, under the terms of the applicable legislation, issued by the training entity, through registration on SIGO - Sistema Integrado de Informação e Gestão da Oferta Educativa e Formativa (Integrated Information and Management System for the Educational and Training Offer), in accordance with the templates available in Ordinance No. 70/2022, of 2^nd February, in its current wording.

The conclusion with a minimum mark of 10 of one or more CU and/or STTU, as well as the work-based learning, which does not enable the completion of an Apprenticeship Course or Apprenticeship+ Course, gives rise to the issuance of a partial qualifications certificate by the training entity through the SIGO platform, in accordance with the template included in the aforementioned Ordinance.

Where?

Apprenticeship Courses and Apprenticeship+ Courses are regulated and coordinated by the Instituto do Emprego e Formação Profissional – IEFP (Institute for Employment and Vocational Training) and they may function in the following entities:

a) Centres managed by the IEFP (direct and participated management);

b) Training entities certified by the Direção-Geral do Emprego e das Relações de Trabalho – DGERT (Directorate-General for Employment and Labour Relations);

c) Other entities which, due to their legal nature and scope of action, do not require certification as a training entity if their establishment or operation authorisation certificates include the development of the training activity, under the terms provided therein, with the exception of public, private or cooperative educational establishments, including professional schools covered by Decree-Law No. 92/2014, of 20^th June, in its current wording.

Consult the available courses and schools/training entities here.