Regional Agenda for Vocational Training is “delivering results” and bringing about “significant changes” for the Region - Communication

Secretaria Regional da Juventude, Habitação e Emprego

The Regional Secretary for Youth, Housing and Employment, Maria João Carreiro, presented today the results of the mid-term evaluation of the Regional Agenda for Vocational Training in Ponta Delgada – Empowering Azoreans. It was established in 2022 as a strategic proposal to enhance the skills and employability of Azoreans, as well as to promote vocational education and training in the Region.

At a press conference attended by Renato Medeiros, Regional Director for Vocational Training and Employment, and Francisco Simões, Assistant Researcher at CIS-ISCTE (University Institute of Lisbon) and coordinator of the Regional Agenda’s scientific team, the government official stated that this unprecedented initiative in the Azores is “delivering results” in these first four years of implementation. It is also bringing about “significant changes” for the Region.

“The results achieved underline the importance of the path we are following, as well as the suitability of this strategic proposal for the Region’s economic, social and demographic challenges,” she said, noting that the Regional Agenda has been designed to run until 2030.

Coordinated by Francisco Simões, the mid-term evaluation identifies “consistent progress” in the ongoing implementation of the Regional Agenda, with “measurable impacts” in strengthening career guidance for NEETs, the long-term unemployed and other vulnerable groups. There has also been progress in raising the social profile of vocational education and training, and in increasing adult education and training in the Azores.

The evaluation also highlights impacts such as new collaborative practices among training providers, schools and businesses; the recognition of the value of vocational education and training paths; the diversification of training provision, including in initial training; the modernisation of training support facilities in the 16 regional vocational schools; and the refurbishment of the Azores Training Centre through the RRP.

Five of the eight targets set for 2025 were met or exceeded in 2024, representing a “positive development,” noted the government official. 

This is the case with the reduction in the early school dropout rate, which fell from 27% in 2020 to 19.8% in 2024, when the target for 2025 was 25%; the NEET rate among young people, which fell from 19.3% in 2020 to 12.1% in 2024, whereas the target for 2025 stood at 15%; or the reduction in the incidence of long-term unemployed in the Region’s total unemployment figures, which fell from 37.6% in 2020 to 27.5% in 2024, whilst the target for 2025 was 32%.

The annual number of adults participating in workplace training has also risen from 450 in 2020 to 2,626 in 2024, exceeding the target of 900 adults set for 2025. Similarly, the annual number of adults with low qualifications involved in learning processes via the Valorizar Network increased from 450 in 2020 to 796 in 2024, whereas the target for 2025 stood at 660 adults involved in these programmes. 

“What we are seeing today is a Regional Agenda that is taking shape,” Maria João Carreiro noted, emphasising that this kind of assessment is not standard practice in public policies, and is therefore an exercise in transparency regarding the targets set out in the Agenda proposal. 

According to the Regional Secretary, the conditions are in place “to enter a new phase of consolidation” of the Regional Agenda for the  2026–2030 period, specifically in terms of strengthening its governance, rebalancing policies for vulnerable groups, implementing the OVER-SEES project, and recalibrating the training provision, as indicated by the mid-term evaluation.

“The signs are positive and reinforce confidence in a strategic choice for the Azores. The growing recognition of the value of vocational qualification and training is a very positive sign for the future of the Azores,” he said, reiterating the Regional Government’s appreciation for the “mobilisation and commitment” of vocational schools and businesses in “successfully pursuing a goal that is in everyone’s interest.”

The Regional Agenda for Vocational Training stems from the  Regional Vocational Training Forum, an initiative of the PSD/CDS-PP/PPM coalition government launched in 2021. Public and private entities were brought together to analyse vocational education and training as well as to compile proposals and recommendations for the development of this sector, consolidating its central role in addressing structural challenges in training and employment.