This Survey is carried out within the framework of the 2^nd Cycle of the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), an international multicycle programme for the assessment of adult competencies, promoted by the OECD and which the Portuguese government has joined.

The coordination and development of PIAAC's work in Portugal are the responsibility of a Project Group created by the Government officials responsible for the areas of education and employment. The Project Group is coordinated by Luís Rothes and João Queirós and has administrative and logistical support from ANQEP, I.P., with funding from the Technical Assistance Operational Programme (POAT 2020). The field work is carried out by a team led by the Catholic University of Portugal (UCP), selected through an international public tender.

Additional information can be found at PIAAC’s Group Project page, the website for the Adult Skills Survey created by the UCP and the OECD’s website on this Programme.

After ANQEP joined the Pact for Reconciliation, new work organisation policies were developed and implemented at the Agency during 2021 and 2022, aimed at promoting balance between professional, personal and family life. This balance is now widely recognised as one of the fair working conditions of the European Pillar of Social Rights, essential in improving productivity, well-being and quality of life for workers.

The process has now culminated in ANQEP's certification, based on Portuguese Standard 4552:2016 - Management System for Reconciling Professional, Family and Personal Life, following an audit which assessed compliance with the requirements set out in this standard. With this certification, one of the major strategic objectives set out in ANQEP’s Assessment and Accountability Framework (QUAR) for 2022 was fulfilled, demonstrating our ability to define and implement policies and good practices for reconciliation in line with our strategic mission.

Four new courses of short and medium duration were included in the National Catalogue for Qualifications, responding to specific skills in the area of environment and energy, namely the new green skills, consisting of a set of Short-term Training Units (UFCD), with a maximum duration of 375 hours:

- Green Hydrogen – fundamentals and technologies (300 hours)
- Renewable energies – Solar thermal (325 hours)
- Renewable energies – Solar photovoltaic (375 hours)
- Renewable energies – Wind (375 hours)

The training pathway of Green Hydrogen – fundamentals and technologies, was developed in partnership with ADENE – Agência para a Energia (Energy Agency), the Direção-Geral de Energia e Geologia (Directorate-General for Energy and Geology) and the Instituto de Emprego e Formação Profissional, I.P. (Institute for Employment and Vocational Training).

Contributions were also made to the pathways by the Energy Sectorial Council, namely the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) and the Institute of Welding and Quality (ISQ). These 4 courses can be completed through certified modular training, enabling an autonomous certification.

Following the International Public Tender to update the National Catalogue of Qualifications (NCQ), ANQEP has commenced initial meetings with the entities selected within the scope of the tender.

In all, 21 activity sectors are included. The objective of updating the NCQ is to carry out sectoral qualification and skills needs diagnosis studies, as well as the design of the respective skill benchmarks and instruments for recognition, validation and certification of vocational skills (Vocational RVCS). The NCQ is a strategic management tool for non-higher levels of qualifications - levels 2, 4 and 5 of the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) - and for regulating the respective double certification modalities and processes of recognition, validation and certification of skills existing in Portugal within the scope of the National Qualifications System. Among its objectives are the production of qualifications and critical skills for the competitiveness and modernisation of the economy and the personal and social development of people, as well as for the development of a clear and flexible qualifications framework, which benefits the comparability of qualifications at a national and international level.

Learn more about the National Catalogue of Qualifications (NCQ) here. 

In February 2022, the Qualifica Programme surpassed an important milestone: over 100 000 adults have improved their educational or vocational qualification level through the programme.

Established in 2017, the Qualifica Programme provides adults, who have not completed their 12^th year of schooling or obtained a vocational qualification, with the means and tools to achieve this goal. The Qualifica Programme currently has a network of 319 centres across the entire territory, promoted by different types of entities, such as schools, IEFP centres (Institute for Employment and Vocational Training), city councils and business associations. These centres provide personalised public service to adults, helping to define the most appropriate qualification pathway for each specific situation, based on each person’s specific characteristics, their educational and professional background, as well as their ambitions and expectations. In addition to the 100 000 certifications, which translate into an increase in people's qualifications, the programme has also made it possible to obtain around 800 000 partial certifications.