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List of policy instruments

  • National Initiative in Digital Skills e.2030

    INCoDe.2030

    Description

    Focus area
    Key training policy measure
    The National Initiative in Digital Skills e.2030, Portugal INCoDe.2030 , aims to stimulate and ensure the development of digital skills as a tool for preparing a society oriented to the future and to the new opportunities arising from the accelerated adoption of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). This initiative seeks to ensure the generalization of access to digital technologies to the entire population and the training of younger generations by stimulating and strengthening digital skills. It also aims to professionally train the active population, promote specialization in digital technologies and ensure conditions for the production of new knowledge, enhancing research in the area of technologies/digital technologies, the use of artificial intelligence and programming languages.
    Implementation level
    At what level is the initiative implemented?
    National
    Legal base
    Legal base (E.g. Law, regulation, implementing provision, other)
    Council of Ministers Resolution (RCM Nº26/2018 of March 3rd)
    Starting period
    TIMESPAN: In what year did the initiative commence?
    2018
    Perspective
    PERSPECTIVE: is the initiative based on evidence derived from skill forecasts or foresight activities?
    Yes
    Policy area
    To which POLICY AREAS(s) does the initiative apply?
    Education
    Training
    Employment
    Innovation
    Digital economy
    Social inclusion
    Equality/equal opportunities
    Other
    To address the challenges and goals identified, the Portugal INCoDe.2030 program proposes to carry out a wide range of measures that aim to mobilize various governmental areas. These measures should be articulated with initiatives from the private sector, academia and civil society with similar objectives, and are structured in five lines of action: inclusion, education, qualification, specialization and research.
    Funding
    How it is funded?
    Funded by national government

    Skill mismatch

    Skill mismatch target
    What type(s) of skills MISMATCH does the initiative aim to addresses?
    Underqualification (individuals' qualifications/credentials are below their job's needs)
    Skill underutilisation (individuals' skills are not well used in their jobs)
    Skill shortages (employers cannot fill their vacancies due to a lack of skills in the labour market)
    Skill gaps (worker's skills are below the level of proficiency required by their employers and jobs)
    Skills matching focus
    How does  the initiative address skills mismatches?
    Match young graduates' skills to labour market
    One of the programme's aims is about the training of younger generations by stimulating and strengthening digital skills.
    Upskill or reskill employed adults
    The programme also targets the general population regardless of their employment situation.
    Upskill or reskill non-employed adults
    The programme also targets the general population regardless of their employment situation.
    Address sectoral or occupational skill shortages
    It is focused on the ICT sector and the digital and information society related skills.
    Address mismatch broadly
    The programme targets the general population regardless of their employment situation.
    Skills delivered
    What types of skill  does the initiative deliver?
    Basic digital skills
    More advanced digital skills

    Methods

    Methods
    What methods of undertaking skills assessments and / or skills anticipation does the policy instrument utilise?
    Other
    It was created the Digital Skills Observatory, a tool for monitoring, data processing and analysis of results on the evolution of the population's digital skills, the production of new knowledge in digital areas and the ability to exploit the social and economic potential of digital markets. A workgroup created the "Portugal Digital Competencies Reference Framework", a guideline for the general population, training and educational entities, organisations in general and companies.
    Use of skills intelligence
    How is labour market information / skills intelligence used within the initiative?
    Other
    This programme is a Digital Agenda used to upskill the whole population promoting, equipping and sponsoring all things Digital in the country. This is achieved by training young people in the use of technologies and in their ability to understand and solve problems; by capacitating and qualifying the active population which, due to their age or out-of-sync training with employment opportunities, struggle to access the job market; by specializing professionals through higher education to become key players in these fields; and by creating conditions for Portugal to become an active partner in the international scientific community, innovating and producing knowledge.

    Stakeholders

    Main responsible body
    Main body or organisation with overall responsibility for the initiative.
    Other
    A new INCoDe.2030 Technical Secretariat structure was created with several governmental representations (representatives participating: Presidency of the Portuguese Republic; Ministry for State and Public Administration Modernisation; Ministry for Science, Technology and Higher Education; Ministry for Education; Ministry for Labour, Solidarity and Social Security; Ministry for Planning and Infra-Structures; Ministry for Economy)
    Other involved organisations
    Which other organisations have a role in the initiative?
    National ministry
    Several government bodies comprise the INCoDe.2030 Technical Secretariat, having the responsibility for monitoring all planned activities, implementation and communication articulating with the Technical Coordination and the Forum for Digital Skills.
    National agency
    Agency for Qualification and Vocational Education (ANQEP) - Member institution of the work group that created the "Portugal Digital Competencies Reference Framework"
    National PES
    Instituto do Emprego e Formação Professional (IEFP, I.P.) - Institution member of the work group that created the "Portugal Digital Competencies Reference Framework"
    Research centres, universities
    Instituto Nacional de Estatística (Statistics Portugal) has a Monitoring and Evaluation role within the Initiative and also a member of the Observatory; Universidade de Aveiro (Aveiro University) - Institution member of the work group that created the "Portugal Digital Competencies Reference Framework"
    Other
    Direcção-Geral da Educação (Directorate-General for Education); Direcção-Geral da Qualificação dos Trabalhadores em Funções Públicas - INA (Directorate-General for Civil Service Workers' Qualification); Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia - FCT (Foundation for Science and Technology) - All member institutions of the work group that created the "Portugal Digital Competencies Reference Framework".
    The FCT also provides logistic, technical, administrative and financial support for the programme and the programme's Technical Secretariat.

    Sustainability

    Success factors
    SUCCESS FACTORS in the implementation
    The success factors are:
    ▪ A greater digital literacy and autonomy of populations that are currently most excluded, especially to access dematerialized solutions;
    ▪ A more complete learning of ICT areas by the young population boosting a new wave of entrepreneurship, a better-qualified workforce and a larger pool of skilled professionals;
    ▪ A higher qualification of the active population in the digital areas enabling a more competitive industry and efficient public administration;
    ▪ A skilled workforce with higher education feeding research and innovation centres, and being decisive in providing advanced solutions for many different areas.
    Barriers
    BARRIERS in the implementation
    Portugal INCoDe.2030 is structured as an integrated program for Portugal, to be boosted by building bridges and promoting the collaboration of people with different experiences and knowledge and from different public and private organizations. Meaning that the programme also depends on the mobilisation of a wide variety of actors from different scopes.
    Monitoring and evaluation
    MONITORING and EVALUATION: Is progress measured regularly? What are the indicators used to measure progress of the policy instrument? Have any evaluations been conducted?
    The Digital Skills Observatory is a monitoring tool for the population's digital skills, the production of new knowledge in digital areas and the social and economic adequacy of digital markets. Indicators measure: Action axis - Inclusion, Education, Qualification, Specialization and Research; Targets - Access, Human Capital, Utilization and Investment.
    Updates
    UPDATES: whether there have been any major updates of the initiative since it has been implemented?
    No
    Effectiveness
    EVIDENCE ON EFFECTIVENESS: How effective is the policy instrument?
    Some data produced by the Digital Skills Observatory is already evident: the growing attention focused on digital skills has been increasing; the importance and centrality that education professionals and parents feel that digital skills should have in the education of their children; the understanding that young people themselves are gaining of the professional and employment opportunities that ICT areas provide them, resulting in a higher number of applicants within the field transitioning to higher education (about 12% of all applicants); and the vocational track of secondary education to continuing studies experienced an increase of about 30% between 2017 and 2018.
    Sustainability
    SUSTAINABILITY: How sustainable is the policy instrument? Do you expect the instrument to continue over the next few years and why?
    The contribution of INCoDe.2030 in the process is partial, but the impetus created is long term and has already had a relevant role. It seeks to stimulate, welcome, and disseminate everything that civil society, companies, associations, and public administration bodies, carry out to improve the national status in digital skills.

  • Qualification Needs Anticipation System

    Sistema de Antecipação de Necessidades de Qualificações (SANQ)

    Description

    Focus area
    Main skills assessment/anticipation initiative
    The Qualification Needs Anticipation System (SANQ) is a national tool that supports the development of the VET network planning process and provides information to underpin other planning processes and leverage management strategies for skills development. SANQ improves the quality and amount of information young people, job seekers, employers, VET providers and policymakers have available when deciding on which skills to invest. It uses skills anticipation exercises’ data to inform government policymaking on skills and in planning VET provision, both in public and private co-financed sectors. Skills anticipation is used by local and regional authorities to inform their skills policy decisions.
    Link
    Reference/weblink
    https://anqep.gov.pt/np4/Instrumentos_do_Sistema_Nacional_de_Qualificacoes.html
    Implementation level
    At what level is the initiative implemented?
    National
    Legal base
    Legal base (E.g. Law, regulation, implementing provision, other)
    Law (DL 14/2007 of January 26th; DL 396/2007 of December 31st - Revision)
    Starting period
    TIMESPAN: In what year did the initiative commence?
    2007
    Perspective
    PERSPECTIVE: is the initiative based on evidence derived from skill forecasts or foresight activities?
    The SANQ is a system for diagnosing qualification needs and indicating priority areas and professional outlets, which allows for the establishment of guidelines for defining the network of training supply, and for updating the National Qualifications Catalogue (CNQ), which in turn is the skills forecast and foresight tool to plan the Portuguese VET network.
    Policy area
    To which POLICY AREAS(s) does the initiative apply?
    Training
    Employment
    Funding
    How it is funded?
    Funded by national government
    Funded by the EU
    European Social Fund (ESF)

    Skill mismatch

    Skill mismatch target
    What type(s) of skills MISMATCH does the initiative aim to addresses?
    Skill underutilisation (individuals' skills are not well used in their jobs)
    Skill shortages (employers cannot fill their vacancies due to a lack of skills in the labour market)
    Skills matching focus
    How does  the initiative address skills mismatches?
    Match young graduates' skills to labour market
    With the work of the National Qualifications Catalogue (CNQ)
    Address sectoral or occupational skill shortages
    With the work of the National Qualifications Catalogue (CNQ)

    Methods

    Methods
    What methods of undertaking skills assessments and / or skills anticipation does the policy instrument utilise?
    Expert panels
    The National Qualifications Catalogue is one of the main tools used by SANQ and is a nationally participated Expert panel for skills assessment and anticipation.
    Use of skills intelligence
    How is labour market information / skills intelligence used within the initiative?
    Informing the design of national qualification frameworks (NQFs)
    The National Qualifications Catalogue framework

    Stakeholders

    Main responsible body
    Main body or organisation with overall responsibility for the initiative.
    National agency
    Agency for Qualification and Vocational Education (ANQEP)
    Other involved organisations
    Which other organisations have a role in the initiative?
    National ministry
    Ministry of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security along with the Ministry of Economy and Digital Transition have the main responsibility for ANQEP's work.
    National agency
    Agência Nacional para a Qualificação e Ensino Profissional, I.P. (ANQEP, I.P.) is the SANQ coordinator National Agency.

    Sustainability

    Success factors
    SUCCESS FACTORS in the implementation
    According to the latest progress report, SANQ's National Qualification Catalogue (CNQ) has been a useful tool for citizens, education and vocational training operators, companies and organizations, social partners, and also for entities with responsibility in the management and regulation of the National Qualifications System. One of its main success factors has been stakeholder engagement which has been ensuring the quality of the skills assessment and anticipation work.
    Barriers
    BARRIERS in the implementation
    Although there has been a growing involvement of Portugal's Metropolitan Areas and Intermunicipal Communities (CIM/AM) in the regional deepening of the SANQ and in the concerted offers, which means the participation of other local players favouring the relevance of the offers in meeting the needs of the territory, SANQ is highly dependent on stakeholders participation. Stakeholder engagement is key for skills assessment and anticipation and it is especially materialised through the joint initiative Sector Councils for Qualification (CSQ) - which are intended to collaborate with ANQEP in the work leading to the update of the National Catalogue of Qualifications (CNQ).
    Monitoring and evaluation
    MONITORING and EVALUATION: Is progress measured regularly? What are the indicators used to measure progress of the policy instrument? Have any evaluations been conducted?
    Monitoring and Evaluation is carried out by ANQEP through yearly progress reports although publicly available information is not detailed and almost all about qualitative-based evaluation report. The materialisation of this initiative is the National Qualifications Catalogue (CNQ) along with the publicly released directives to VET network.
    Updates
    UPDATES: whether there have been any major updates of the initiative since it has been implemented?
    No
    Effectiveness
    EVIDENCE ON EFFECTIVENESS: How effective is the policy instrument?
    The frequent updating of the National Qualifications Catalogue (CNQ) and the directives for the VET network are systematically revised and widespread across the board. Based on the results of the SANQ, ANQEP, I.P. annually defines criteria for organizing the VET network of dual certification courses, which serve as support for the planning process of this network.
    Sustainability
    SUSTAINABILITY: How sustainable is the policy instrument? Do you expect the instrument to continue over the next few years and why?
    ANQEP will continue to update and consolidate the SANQ and intends to focus on the valorisation of dual certification modalities, among and families, but also with a strong involvement of the educational community, in particular, the professionals of information and vocational guidance, whose role is fundamental.
    In 2020, it is necessary to review the Anticipation of Qualification Needs (SANQ), updating and introducing new statistical data, of which we highlight the launching by INE, in conjunction with ANQEP, a survey to companies for needs and qualifications, which will feed, for the first time, the SANQ update. Simultaneously, strategic activities will be developed, such as the definition of a training plan aimed at teachers and other professionals in the education and training offers for young people, to be accredited by the Scientific Council of Continuing Education and the promotion of initiatives, within the scope of school and career guidance for young people.

  • Sectoral Councils for Qualifications

    Conselhos Sectoriais para a Qualificação (CSQ)

    Description

    Description of the initiative
    The CSQs are part of the National Qualifications System (SANQ) and their purpose is to collaborate with the National Agency for Qualifications and Vocational Education (ANQEP, I.P.) in the work leading to the updating of the National Qualifications Catalogue (CNQ). The CSQ work and the updated CNQ is used to plan the TVET Portuguese network according to the labour market needs of skills for today and in the future. Even though CSQs are part of SANQ, it has a legally framed regulation and their members are external to SANQ management.
    Focus area
    Main skills assessment/anticipation initiative
    The CSQs are consultative bodies whose main task is to identify the strategic and essential qualifications for the different sectors of the economy as a response to today's and future labour market challenges. It is a main national tool for managing skills assessment and anticipation in 18 different sectors of activity.
    Link
    Reference/weblink
    https://anqep.gov.pt/np4/Instrumentos_do_Sistema_Nacional_de_Qualificacoes.html
    Implementation level
    At what level is the initiative implemented?
    National
    Legal base
    Legal base (E.g. Law, regulation, implementing provision, other)
    Constitution and regulation of the Sector Councils for Qualification (Order nº6345/2020 of June 16th);
    Starting period
    TIMESPAN: In what year did the initiative commence?
    The CSQ were created in 2007 (Decree-Law nº 396/2007 of December 31st); updated in 2017 (Decree-Law nº 14/2017 of January 26th); revised and regulated independently in 2020 (Order nº 6345/2020 of June 16th).
    Perspective
    PERSPECTIVE: is the initiative based on evidence derived from skill forecasts or foresight activities?
    The initiative is based on expert contributions, available or conducted research, and national and supra-national labour market analysis.
    Policy area
    To which POLICY AREAS(s) does the initiative apply?
    Education
    Training
    Employment
    Funding
    How it is funded?
    Funded by national government

    Skill mismatch

    Skill mismatch target
    What type(s) of skills MISMATCH does the initiative aim to addresses?
    Underqualification (individuals' qualifications/credentials are below their job's needs)
    Skill shortages (employers cannot fill their vacancies due to a lack of skills in the labour market)
    Skill gaps (worker's skills are below the level of proficiency required by their employers and jobs)
    Skills obsolescence (some or all of an individual's skills are no longer relevant to the current employer or in the labour market generally)
    Skills matching focus
    How does  the initiative address skills mismatches?
    Address sectoral or occupational skill shortages
    The initiative is specifically designed to address occupational skills assessment and anticipation in 18 different sectors, as well as to update each of the occupations' skills on those sectors.

    Methods

    Methods
    What methods of undertaking skills assessments and / or skills anticipation does the policy instrument utilise?
    Skills forecasting
    The council meets annually to assess the need for new skills in each sector and occupation.
    Skills foresight
    The council meets annually to assess the need for new skills in each sector and occupation.
    Expert panels
    The council is an expert based and labour regulator platform and meets annually to assess on each sector and occupation.
    Skill audits
    The council meets annually to audit each occupations' skills and of each sector.
    Other
    The council updates the National Qualifications Catalogue, a tool that is used in its turn to plan the Portuguese TVET network and other platforms for skills mismatch or labour market needs.
    Use of skills intelligence
    How is labour market information / skills intelligence used within the initiative?
    Informing the design of national qualification frameworks (NQFs)
    The National Qualifications Catalogue is updated and used as a planning tool.
    Designing training programmes to activate unemployed
    The National Qualifications Catalogue is updated and used as a planning tool for designing training programmes to activate unemployed.
    Informing decisions on course funding/provision
    The National Qualifications Catalogue is updated and used as a planning tool for planning the Portuguese TVET system, hence the decision on course funding and provision.

    Stakeholders

    Main responsible body
    Main body or organisation with overall responsibility for the initiative.
    National agency
    National Agency for Qualifications and Vocational Education (ANQEP, I.P.)
    Other involved organisations
    Which other organisations have a role in the initiative?
    National ministry
    Experts appointed by the governmental area that oversees the activity sector covered by the CSQ
    National agency
    The National Agency for Qualifications and Vocational Education (ANQEP, I.P - Member)
    Social partner: employer organisation
    Representatives of the employers (Members)
    Social partner: trade union
    Representatives of the trade union confederations and associations (members)
    National PES
    Institute of Employment Services and Vocational education training (IEFP, I.P. - Member)
    Chambers of Commerce
    Business and industry associations, representing the activity sectors covered by the CSQ (Members)
    Training Providers
    Public, private and cooperative education establishments, including professional schools, training entities and Qualifica Centres, particularly those with sector or regional specialization. Directly managed Vocational Training Centres and IEFP, I. P.'s participated Vocational Training Centres (Members)
    Research centres, universities
    Technology centres, innovation centres and research and development centres with sectorial specialisation (Members)

    Sustainability

    Success factors
    SUCCESS FACTORS in the implementation
    It is dependent particularly on member participation and their expertise, and their capacity to stay relevant. Also on the managing capacity of ANQEP, I.P. and the quality and projection of CSQs work outcomes.
    Barriers
    BARRIERS in the implementation
    No known factors inhibited the implementation of the CSQs, but it is highly dependent on member's active participation.
    Monitoring and evaluation
    MONITORING and EVALUATION: Is progress measured regularly? What are the indicators used to measure progress of the policy instrument? Have any evaluations been conducted?
    There is no known formal monitoring evaluation progress measurement beyond the regular meetings and the constant updating of the NQC.
    Updates
    UPDATES: whether there have been any major updates of the initiative since it has been implemented?
    Yes
    It was revised and regulated independently in 2020 (Order nº 6345/2020 of June 16th)
    Effectiveness
    EVIDENCE ON EFFECTIVENESS: How effective is the policy instrument?
    The National Qualifications Catalogue is updated yearly.
    Sustainability
    SUSTAINABILITY: How sustainable is the policy instrument? Do you expect the instrument to continue over the next few years and why?
    This initiative was recently regulated (2020) and there are no identified risks at the present that can put its sustainability in stake. The instrument is to be kept functioning and widely used for the Portuguese TVET framework strategic and operational planning.

  • Vocational Courses

    Cursos Profissionais

    Description

    Description of the initiative
    The vocational courses are work-linked initial vocational education and training (VET) courses provided in schools of secondary education, targeting young people
    Focus area
    Key training policy measure
    The vocational courses have three main goals: to contribute to the development of young people's personal and professional skills; to develop training offers related to the local and regional labour market needs and; to enable the students to continue to post-secondary education or higher education. It confers a double certification (secondary and professional) awarding at EQF level 4. The vocational courses initiative is a secondary level education programme characterized by a strong connection with the professional world. Being in close cooperation with the local business sector, it takes into account the students' profile by focusing the learning process on the development of competencies for a specific profession.
    Link
    Reference/weblink
    https://anqep.gov.pt/np4/cursos_profissionais.html
    Implementation level
    At what level is the initiative implemented?
    National
    Legal base
    Legal base (E.g. Law, regulation, implementing provision, other)
    Ministerial order
    Starting period
    TIMESPAN: In what year did the initiative commence?
    1989 - present
    Perspective
    PERSPECTIVE: is the initiative based on evidence derived from skill forecasts or foresight activities?
    The LMSI tool used is the Qualification Needs Anticipation System (SANQ), which aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of skills supply and demand. It uses statistical information on labour market retrospective dynamics (last 5 years) and anticipation of skills needs. The system entails an employer survey on recruitment intentions and skills needs and proceeds to a qualitative analysis of skills demand. The SANQ has a direct impact on the provision of vocational education and training in the public and private schools/training centres. Grounded on the criteria and priorities produced by the SANQ, the institutional VET actors define the training offer that includes the vocational courses.
    Policy area
    To which POLICY AREAS(s) does the initiative apply?
    Training
    Funding
    How it is funded?
    Funded by national government
    Funded by the EU
    The professional courses are financed by European funds (through the ESF) and the national state budget

    Skill mismatch

    Skill mismatch target
    What type(s) of skills MISMATCH does the initiative aim to addresses?
    Skill shortages (employers cannot fill their vacancies due to a lack of skills in the labour market)
    Skills matching focus
    How does  the initiative address skills mismatches?
    Match young graduates' skills to labour market
    The planning of the Portuguese VET network is carried out according to the Qualification Needs Anticipation System (SANQ), which through a strong connection with the professional world and its demand it provides young people relevant skills for a smoother Labour Market transition.
    Address sectoral or occupational skill shortages
    The planning of the Vocational Courses networking is done according to the Qualification Needs Anticipation System (SANQ) directives which in turn are strongly leveraged by the Portuguese labour market's specific sectoral and occupational skills needs and shortages.

    Methods

    Methods
    What methods of undertaking skills assessments and / or skills anticipation does the policy instrument utilise?
    Other
    The LMSI tool used is the Qualification Needs Anticipation System (SANQ), which aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of skills supply and demand - quantitative analysis uses statistical information on labour market retrospective dynamics (last 5 years) and an employer survey on recruitment intentions and skills needs; and qualitative analysis of skills demand. The VET actors define the training offer, including the vocational courses, based on SANQ criteria and priorities.
    Use of skills intelligence
    How is labour market information / skills intelligence used within the initiative?
    Please select the most important options and explain how the labour market information (LMI) has been used (maximum 50 words)
    Designing standards and accreditation
    The LMI is used to either design new occupational standards and accreditation or to update existing ones, which in turn are operationalised through strategic VET network planning. The Vocational Courses are the outcome of LMI information.
    Informing decisions on course funding/provision
    The LMI is used to inform decisions on VET planning, where the Vocational Courses provision is included.

    Stakeholders

    Main responsible body
    Main body or organisation with overall responsibility for the initiative.
    National agency
    Agency for Qualification and Vocational Education (ANQEP)
    Other involved organisations
    Which other organisations have a role in the initiative?
    National ministry
    Regional ministry
    Training Providers

    Sustainability

    Success factors
    SUCCESS FACTORS in the implementation
    The professional schools have a curriculum with modular organisation, unlike generalist education. The professional schools have an education model that is successful in the involvement of students within the learning process, increasing educational attainment and levels of qualification. The diversification of educational actors involved in professional schools allowed for higher visibility of VET and involvement of actors with influence in the local labour markets.
    Barriers
    BARRIERS in the implementation
    The professional courses were almost all co-financed by ESF in its origin, and reported organisational and financial difficulties coming from the financing scheme's limitations regarding the concept and scope of professional schools. Currently, the courses that are only co-financed by ESF in some regions and schools complain that authorized courses are below the needed to meet the demands of youngsters and local employers, at least in some professional areas and regions.
    Monitoring and evaluation
    MONITORING and EVALUATION: Is progress measured regularly? What are the indicators used to measure progress of the policy instrument? Have any evaluations been conducted?
    ANQEP ensures the monitoring, evaluation and regulation of the provision of vocational education and training of dual certification. An assessment of the relevance of qualifications is published each year, based on a retrospective analysis of employment and evolution and a perspective of qualification needs. The unit of analysis for employment is the National Qualification of Professions at four-digit level and the National Code of Qualifications at six-digit level. The relevance assessment is a quantitative composite indicator that varies between one (not relevant) and ten (maximum relevance).
    Updates
    UPDATES: whether there have been any major updates of the initiative since it has been implemented?
    Yes
    The programme was created in 1989 as an innovative experience originated by civil society initiatives, including social partners, employment associations, and local development initiatives. The creation of professional schools was a successful strategy as part of education reform and an evaluation of previous VET experiences at the secondary level. In 2005, the government included professional courses in regular secondary schools. The LMSI became very important in regulating the growth of professional courses.
    Effectiveness
    EVIDENCE ON EFFECTIVENESS: How effective is the policy instrument?
    The more recent evaluation with results of the instrument, dated 2020, draws on data covering the period 2017/18. There was a 22% increase in student numbers from 113,749 (2011/12) to 138,591 (2017/18). The participation rate in double certification courses in secondary education oriented to young people, in the Continent, was 42%. The Vocational Courses represent the majority of these offerings, with 80% of students enrolled.
    Sustainability
    SUSTAINABILITY: How sustainable is the policy instrument? Do you expect the instrument to continue over the next few years and why?
    It is expected the Vocational Courses to remain as the key instrument of the Portuguese VET for young people at the secondary level. Having started as an innovative experience more than 30 years ago, they became mainstream and are now the model for all schools' VET courses. They may face new financial constraints after 2020, depending on the strategy adopted for the co-financing of ESF to Portuguese education and training policy.