Three new ministerial orders regulating the vocational training system for employment were published in the first quarter of 2019. They set quality requirements in training provision and its funding.

The 2015 reform of vocational training for employment under the remit of the labour ministry (Act 30/2015) set the basis for a training system with stability and coherence, introducing a new framework for coordination between State and regional authorities (Autonomous Communities). It provides for better management of resources and guarantees the right to job training. Follow-up legislation (Royal Decree 694/2017) in 2017 further specified types of training actions, target groups and skills accreditation, as well as measures for the development of an integrated information system. In the first quarter of 2019, in agreement with the social partners and Autonomous Communities, three new orders developing features of the reform (Act 30/2015) were published, regulating:

  1. the catalogue of training specialties (Order TMS / 283/2019);
  2. types of training by competent administrations and its financing (Order TMS / 368/2019); and
  3. a State register of training entities (Order TMS / 369/2019).

1. Responsiveness to changing labour market needs

A training speciality consists of ‘the grouping of professional competences, contents, and technical specifications that respond to a set of work activities framed in a phase of the production process and related functions, or to the acquisition of transversal competencies necessary in a professional environment and context’.

The new structure of the catalogue of training specialties and its updating procedure allow quick response to emerging training demands in different sectors and to new profiles arising from digital transformation in business and society.

The catalogue comprises all types of formal and non-formal training developed within the framework of the vocational training system for employment. Each speciality will detail the competences to be achieved, requirements, and associated costs of the training programmes. Competent public authorities will use the catalogue to prepare and offer training programmes in line with identified needs. It aims to improve labour market transparency and unity as well as worker mobility.

Order TMS/283/2019 foresees mechanisms for dissemination, monitoring and evaluation to ensure compliance with the objectives set. Accreditation procedures, career guidance and individualised support are also considered.

2. Incentives to support training for employment

Order TMS/368/2019 updates the conditions for granting public subsidies to finance training for employment schemes, both at State and regional levels (competitive regime of subsidy award, public procurement, etc.). It includes:

  • adjustments related to compensating companies that offer unpaid work placements to people wishing to gain work experience;
  • aid granted to unemployed workers covering transportation costs, maintenance and accommodation expenses; and
  • measures to help learners combine training with family life.

3. A nationwide network of training providers

Order TMS/369/2019 harmonises the system of accreditation of all training providers to improve coordination and inter-administrative cooperation in the training for employment system. All vocational training providers authorised by the different competent authorities are integrated into one network through the State registry, which also ensures coherence with the catalogue of training specialties (associated or not with professional certificates).

The register will be updated, in real time, by the State public employment service (SEPE) and coordinated with those available at regional level, sharing a common data structure. The measure is part of the common employment services portfolio aiming to guarantee equal access to free public employment services across the country.

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Orden TMS/283/2019, de 12 de marzo, por la que se regula el Catálogo de Especialidades Formativas en el marco del sistema de formación profesional para el empleo en el ámbito laboral [Order TMS / 283/2019, of March 12, which regulates the Catalogue of Training Specialties within the framework of the vocational training system for employment in the workplace]. 

Orden TMS/368/2019, de 28 de marzo, por la que se desarrolla el Real Decreto 694/2017, de 3 de julio, por el que se desarrolla la Ley 30/2015, de 9 de septiembre, por la que se regula el Sistema de Formación Profesional para el Empleo en el ámbito laboral, en relación con la oferta formativa de las administraciones competentes y su financiación, y se establecen las bases reguladoras para la concesión de subvenciones públicas destinadas a su financiación.

Orden TMS/369/2019, de 28 de marzo, por la que se regula el Registro Estatal de Entidades de Formación del sistema de formación profesional para el empleo en el ámbito laboral, así como los procesos comunes de acreditación e inscripción de las entidades de formación para impartir especialidades formativas incluidas en el Catálogo de Especialidades Formativas.