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Direção Regional de Qualificação Profissional e Emprego
Regional Government brings youth, skills training and employment programmes to Azores Industry, Trade and Services Fair – FICSA
Regional Government brings youth, skills training and employment programmes to Azores Industry, Trade and Services Fair – FICSA
Secretaria Regional da Juventude, Habitação e Emprego
Regional Government steps up investment in career guidance and vocational support for school-aged young people
Regional Government steps up investment in career guidance and vocational support for school-aged young people
Secretaria Regional da Juventude, Habitação e Emprego
Candidaturas ao “Jovem Autonomia” até 15 de maio
Candidaturas ao “Jovem Autonomia” até 15 de maio
May 5, 2026
Regional Government brings youth, skills training and employment programmes to Azores Industry, Trade and Services Fair – FICSA
April 8, 2026
Regional Government steps up investment in career guidance and vocational support for school-aged young people
March 31, 2026
Candidaturas ao “Jovem Autonomia” até 15 de maio
News
Nota de Imprensa
May 5, 2026
Regional Government brings youth, skills training and employment programmes to Azores Industry, Trade and Services Fair – FICSA
The Regional Secretariat for Youth, Housing and Employment (SRJHE) will be present at the next edition of the Azores Industry, Trade and Services Fair – FICSA 2026, which takes place from May 8 to 14 at Portas do Mar in Ponta Delgada, an annual event organised by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Ponta Delgada. This institutional participation will be coordinated by the Regional Directorate for Vocational Training and Employment and the Regional Directorate for Youth. It is intended to “raise public awareness of policies concerning youth, training, employment and skills development in the Region,” explained Maria João Carreiro. According to the Regional Secretary for Youth, Housing and Employment, the SRJHE stand will be an “open public service desk” to provide information on traineeship programmes, support for recruitment and professional retraining, as well as training opportunities in the Region, or youth mobility and volunteering programmes. “Our aim in taking part in this event is to bring citizens and businesses closer to the incentives and opportunities for qualification as well as training and employability available in the Azores, encouraging young people and workers to invest in their training and skills,” stated the government official. The SRJHE stand will be part of the “Qualifications Area” at FICSA. It will also feature a section promoting Vocational Education in Vocational Schools, as part of the “Your First Choice” campaign, which is run annually by the SRJHE to raise awareness among school-aged young people about the opportunities provided by this educational path and the application period for training programmes available at vocational schools. The courses for the 2026–2029 training cycle available at the 16 regional vocational schools and at the Azores Training Centre will be presented during FICSA, whose this year's edition is dedicated to employment and qualifications. Every day, the SRJHE stand will also hold sessions on “Your First Choice LAB – Discovering Careers,” featuring live and interactive demonstrations of occupations and career fields conducted by students from Azorean vocational schools. "When they see firsthand how people work or what they learn in a particular professional field, young people are better able to understand what each career path entails and identify areas of interest that they would often not discover from theory alone. These demonstrations are important in helping them make more informed decisions aligned with their interests," defended Maria João Carreiro. The schedule for the “A Your First Choice LAB” sessions can be found on the “Vocational Training and Employment in the Azores” and “Azores Youth” Facebook pages. FICSA, held annually during the Senhor Santo Cristo dos Milagres Festivities, features this year 122 business stands and 56 craft stands, run by the Crafts and Design Centre of the Azores, under the Regional Secretariat for Youth, Housing and Employment.
May 5, 2026
Regional Government brings youth, skills training and employment programmes to Azores Industry, Trade and Services Fair – FICSA
The Regional Secretariat for Youth, Housing and Employment (SRJHE) will be present at the next edition of the Azores Industry, Trade and Services Fair – FICSA 2026, which takes place from May 8 to 14 at Portas do Mar in Ponta Delgada, an annual event organised by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Ponta Delgada. This institutional participation will be coordinated by the Regional Directorate for Vocational Training and Employment and the Regional Directorate for Youth. It is intended to “raise public awareness of policies concerning youth, training, employment and skills development in the Region,” explained Maria João Carreiro. According to the Regional Secretary for Youth, Housing and Employment, the SRJHE stand will be an “open public service desk” to provide information on traineeship programmes, support for recruitment and professional retraining, as well as training opportunities in the Region, or youth mobility and volunteering programmes. “Our aim in taking part in this event is to bring citizens and businesses closer to the incentives and opportunities for qualification as well as training and employability available in the Azores, encouraging young people and workers to invest in their training and skills,” stated the government official. The SRJHE stand will be part of the “Qualifications Area” at FICSA. It will also feature a section promoting Vocational Education in Vocational Schools, as part of the “Your First Choice” campaign, which is run annually by the SRJHE to raise awareness among school-aged young people about the opportunities provided by this educational path and the application period for training programmes available at vocational schools. The courses for the 2026–2029 training cycle available at the 16 regional vocational schools and at the Azores Training Centre will be presented during FICSA, whose this year's edition is dedicated to employment and qualifications. Every day, the SRJHE stand will also hold sessions on “Your First Choice LAB – Discovering Careers,” featuring live and interactive demonstrations of occupations and career fields conducted by students from Azorean vocational schools. "When they see firsthand how people work or what they learn in a particular professional field, young people are better able to understand what each career path entails and identify areas of interest that they would often not discover from theory alone. These demonstrations are important in helping them make more informed decisions aligned with their interests," defended Maria João Carreiro. The schedule for the “A Your First Choice LAB” sessions can be found on the “Vocational Training and Employment in the Azores” and “Azores Youth” Facebook pages. FICSA, held annually during the Senhor Santo Cristo dos Milagres Festivities, features this year 122 business stands and 56 craft stands, run by the Crafts and Design Centre of the Azores, under the Regional Secretariat for Youth, Housing and Employment.
Nota de Imprensa
April 8, 2026
Regional Government steps up investment in career guidance and vocational support for school-aged young people
The Regional Secretary for Youth, Housing and Employment announced today that the Regional Government is stepping up its investment in screening and vocational and career guidance for school-aged young people, aligned with the strategic proposal of the Regional Agenda for Vocational Education (ARQP) – Empowering Azoreans – Azores 2030. Maria João Carreiro spoke at the closing session of the “Qualifications 2036” seminar, organised by the Economic and Social Council of the Azores (CESA) in Ponta Delgada. On the occasion, she highlighted the increased focus on the Vocational and Career Guidance Office (GOVP) – established in 2022 – in supporting school-age young people in the Azores. “With GOVP, screening and vocational and career guidance sessions for school-aged young people will be further stepped up and expanded, encouraging them to draw up an individual career plan – an essential step in preventing these young people from becoming NEETs,” she explained. As the government official announced on Tuesday at a press conference to present the interim results of the ARQP, the NEET rate among young people in the Azores fell from 19.3% in 2020 to 12.1% in 2024, whilst the 2025 target set in the ARQP stood at 15%, representing a “very positive development” for the Region. Among other targets, the ARQP sets out the implementation of measures and actions to reduce the NEET rate among young people, through new models of early vocational guidance. “From the early school years, Azorean young people now have access to more coordinated measures from the Regional Directorate for Youth and the Regional Directorate for Vocational Training and Employment, which provide opportunities for vocational guidance and socio-professional integration,” she emphasised. According to her, GOVP “has been essential” in developing tailored training and employment solutions for NEETs, the long-term unemployed and other groups most in need of support, having already conducted 2,415 individual sessions and 420 group sessions with registered jobseekers. Maria João Carreiro also pointed out that public policies for training and employment “are being developed within a context that is profoundly different from that of five, 10, 15 or 20 years ago,” noting that the Region has seen its young population aged between 15 and 34 decrease by more than a quarter, falling from 78,469 to 57,434. “There are fewer young people in the Region’s demographic structure, longer educational pathways and more challenging transitions between education and work,” she noted. In a context where early dropout rates from education and training have fallen sharply compared with the figures of 20 years ago, the Region now has record highs in the number of employed people and record lows in the number of unemployed, she highlighted. According to the Regional Secretary, the Region “has moved from a model heavily reliant on employment schemes and precarious contracts to one increasingly focused on skills development, permanent employment and job quality,” as a response to the cyclical and structural challenges in training and employment that still persist. Since 2021, from the more than 7,200 placements under the hiring support scheme, 4,892 have benefited young people, with 87% on permanent contracts. “The shift in the profile of supported hiring is clear: whilst in 2017 only 1.1% of placements were permanent contracts, this figure reached 100% in 2025,” she concluded. Maria João Carreiro also noted that the initiative promoted by CESA, "Coordinated Public Action in Education and Vocational Training for Vulnerable Groups," underlined the importance of the path the Region has been following since 2021, a process in which the Regional Government relies on CESA’s contribution and participation.
April 8, 2026
Regional Government steps up investment in career guidance and vocational support for school-aged young people
The Regional Secretary for Youth, Housing and Employment announced today that the Regional Government is stepping up its investment in screening and vocational and career guidance for school-aged young people, aligned with the strategic proposal of the Regional Agenda for Vocational Education (ARQP) – Empowering Azoreans – Azores 2030. Maria João Carreiro spoke at the closing session of the “Qualifications 2036” seminar, organised by the Economic and Social Council of the Azores (CESA) in Ponta Delgada. On the occasion, she highlighted the increased focus on the Vocational and Career Guidance Office (GOVP) – established in 2022 – in supporting school-age young people in the Azores. “With GOVP, screening and vocational and career guidance sessions for school-aged young people will be further stepped up and expanded, encouraging them to draw up an individual career plan – an essential step in preventing these young people from becoming NEETs,” she explained. As the government official announced on Tuesday at a press conference to present the interim results of the ARQP, the NEET rate among young people in the Azores fell from 19.3% in 2020 to 12.1% in 2024, whilst the 2025 target set in the ARQP stood at 15%, representing a “very positive development” for the Region. Among other targets, the ARQP sets out the implementation of measures and actions to reduce the NEET rate among young people, through new models of early vocational guidance. “From the early school years, Azorean young people now have access to more coordinated measures from the Regional Directorate for Youth and the Regional Directorate for Vocational Training and Employment, which provide opportunities for vocational guidance and socio-professional integration,” she emphasised. According to her, GOVP “has been essential” in developing tailored training and employment solutions for NEETs, the long-term unemployed and other groups most in need of support, having already conducted 2,415 individual sessions and 420 group sessions with registered jobseekers. Maria João Carreiro also pointed out that public policies for training and employment “are being developed within a context that is profoundly different from that of five, 10, 15 or 20 years ago,” noting that the Region has seen its young population aged between 15 and 34 decrease by more than a quarter, falling from 78,469 to 57,434. “There are fewer young people in the Region’s demographic structure, longer educational pathways and more challenging transitions between education and work,” she noted. In a context where early dropout rates from education and training have fallen sharply compared with the figures of 20 years ago, the Region now has record highs in the number of employed people and record lows in the number of unemployed, she highlighted. According to the Regional Secretary, the Region “has moved from a model heavily reliant on employment schemes and precarious contracts to one increasingly focused on skills development, permanent employment and job quality,” as a response to the cyclical and structural challenges in training and employment that still persist. Since 2021, from the more than 7,200 placements under the hiring support scheme, 4,892 have benefited young people, with 87% on permanent contracts. “The shift in the profile of supported hiring is clear: whilst in 2017 only 1.1% of placements were permanent contracts, this figure reached 100% in 2025,” she concluded. Maria João Carreiro also noted that the initiative promoted by CESA, "Coordinated Public Action in Education and Vocational Training for Vulnerable Groups," underlined the importance of the path the Region has been following since 2021, a process in which the Regional Government relies on CESA’s contribution and participation.
