Azores Training Centre promotes innovative, modern and integrated public training and qualification service
Azores Training Centre promotes innovative, modern and integrated public training and qualification service
Ponta Delgada
Secretaria Regional da Juventude, Habitação e Emprego
The Azores Training Centre (CQA), created in February 2023 to replace Capelas Vocational School, will promote an innovative, modern and integrated public training, qualification and certification service in the Region. It will be accessible to young people and adults, both employed and unemployed, from all the islands as well as companies and employers.
The Regional Secretary for Youth, Housing and Employment, Maria João Carreiro, gave this assurance after a meeting with the CQA Board, chaired by Acir Meirelles, which was also attended by the Regional Director for Vocational Training and Employment, Renato Medeiros.
"The Azores Training Centre is a new opportunity for the Region to have better-prepared workers and more competitive companies," she said.
During the meeting, several matters were discussed such as the launch of the works contract for the renovation and refurbishment of CQA, an investment under the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP) implemented through the Regional Secretariat for Tourism, Mobility and Infrastructures.
"We are emptying the rooms, workshops and pavilions, while the contractor is already setting up the building sites. Our concern is to guarantee the safety of those working and studying here, on the one hand, and to eliminate the constraints on the CQA's training activity, on the other hand. I have seen that this work is going according to plan," she said.
The CQA is part of the Valorizar Network, responsible for recognising, validating and certifying skills. In this regard, Maria João Carreiro ensured that it will maintain its "full activity" during construction work, due to be completed in January 2026, namely the promotion and dissemination of training courses for young people and adults.
For the 2024/2025 school year, the CQA is providing two level 4 vocational certification courses under the DUAL.AÇORES scheme, Electrical Installation Technician and Measurement and Budgeting Technician, and two level 2 vocational certification courses for young people and adults who have completed the 6th grade, Manicure-Pedicure and Logistics Operator.
In June, a Portuguese language course will begin for 50 foreign citizens. In turn, distance learning courses will start in September for basic education and secondary school graduates, both during and after working hours, accessible to all Azoreans, regardless of their island of residence.
"We have indicators that this new public training response is already reaching Azoreans and employers and we cannot put this work on hold; on the contrary, the challenge is to strengthen and stimulate this public service with even more intensity," she stressed.
As part of the public measures to support qualification, 20 training initiatives have already been held, covering 350 young people and adults, including QUALIFICA.IN, with a 66% success rate and an employability rate of around 70%, in areas such as geriatrics, auto body painting, meat cutting, welding/locksmith and culinary/catering.
In addition, more than 1,500 unemployed people have already improved their professional skills in the courses promoted under the Recovery and Resilience Plan, with training tailored to the profile of the unemployed and the recruitment needs of companies.
"Much of the success of these measures has come from the increasingly necessary cooperation with companies and employers," she said.
In 2023, the Valorizar Network certified 503 adults, more than the 46 certifications issued on average by the Qualifica Centres, according to the National Agency for Qualification and Vocational Education.
According to the National Statistics Institute, the number of adults certified in RVCC processes in the Azores (749) in the 2022/2023 school year was higher than in Madeira (134) and the Algarve (408).
The works contract for the renovation and refurbishment of CQA was awarded to the AFAVIAS-Açores, SA / AFAVIAS, Engenharia e Construções consortium for 8.9 million Euros, plus VAT. The consignment agreement was signed on April 26 for a completion period of 600 days.
The Innovative features to be created at the CQA include a 5.0 Laboratory with technological innovation, robotics and artificial intelligence; a business incubator to foster entrepreneurship, with specialised technical support and open to students from all schools; and a FABLAB to stimulate innovation and complement the training provided at the CQA.
