Maria João Carreiro highlights increased visibility and credibility of vocational education announcing new courses for 2026/2027 - Communication

Secretaria Regional da Juventude, Habitação e Emprego

The Regional Secretary for Youth, Housing and Employment, Maria João Carreiro, announced this Tuesday in Ponta Delgada that 58 new Level 4 vocational courses will be available at Azorean vocational schools for the 2026/2027 school year.

With these 58 new courses, spanning 21 vocational fields, vocational schools will offer more than 1,000 vacancies for young people who choose to pursue vocational studies with dual certification – academic and professional.  

Maria João Carreiro spoke at the Azores Industry, Trade and Services Fair – FICSA, where the “Your First Choice – Lab – Discovering careers” sessions are taking place. She was accompanied by the Regional Director for Vocational Training and Employment, Renato Medeiros, the President of the Board of AEPA – Association of Vocational Schools of the Azores, João Moniz, and the Vice-President of ANESPO – National Association of Vocational Schools, Domingos Borges.

“More than the number of courses or vacancies, it is important to highlight the diversity of the training provision, which reflects an effort on the part of vocational schools to tailor their courses to the needs of businesses and the interests of young people,” she said. 

The Regional Secretary emphasised that education in vocational schools is now an option “increasingly valued by young people, families and businesses,” which is why “education in vocational schools now enjoys greater visibility and credibility.” 

On the occasion, the government official noted that the “Your First Choice” campaign is already underway, featuring street and digital (social media) advertising. The campaign has been run annually by the Government of the Azores since 2023 to raise awareness among young people and families about the opportunities and benefits of vocational education, whereby young people can enter the labour market directly or pursue higher education.  

This year, the focus of the campaign, which complements the communication efforts of schools and their training programmes, lies in diversifying the range of training areas within Level 4 courses, enhancing the status of occupations, and raising awareness among young people of the importance of skills in becoming good professionals. 

“A trained electrician will undoubtedly be a more well-rounded electrician with greater scope for development than one without training. The same applies to all occupations. Our companies need more young people with the skills, know-how, confidence and independence that vocational education fosters,” she noted.

The “Your First Choice Lab – Discovering careers” sessions are taking place at FICSA, featuring daily, live and interactive demonstrations of careers and professional fields led by vocational training students. The sessions end tomorrow, Thursday, May 14.

During these sessions, organised by the Regional Government in close cooperation with vocational schools, young people have the opportunity not only to see first-hand how one works or what is learnt in a particular occupation, identifying areas of interest that they would often not discover through theory alone, but also to ask trainees and instructors questions about the training paths for each vocational course.

Maria João Carreiro also congratulated the regional Vocational Schools for their willingness to coordinate the provision of training courses for the 2026/2027 school year. This is a joint, open and ongoing collaboration with the Regional Government that benefits young people, families and the economy, reinforcing the role of vocational education as a path that is increasingly becoming the first choice for even more Azorean young people.