Guide · VET Mobility
A plain-English guide to Portugal’s vocational system: the main types of course, who runs them, how they map to EQF levels, and the realistic options for international students and European VET schools.
In Portugal, school is compulsory until age 18 or until the student completes 12th grade. At upper-secondary level (10th to 12th grade) students choose between general courses aimed at university and vocational pathways that combine a secondary diploma with a professional qualification.
Vocational qualifications are organised in the Catálogo Nacional de Qualificações (National Qualifications Catalogue), managed by ANQEP. Levels follow the QNQ (National Qualifications Framework), which is aligned with the European Qualifications Framework (EQF). A qualification at QNQ level 4 is therefore an EQF level 4 qualification anywhere in Europe.
| Course | Who it is for | Where | Length | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cursos profissionais | Students after 9th grade (typically aged 15–18) | Public secondary schools and escolas profissionais | 3 years | EQF 4 + secondary diploma |
| Cursos de aprendizagem (apprenticeship) | Young people, in a dual system with strong in-company training | IEFP training centres and partners | Usually 2–3 years | EQF 4 + secondary diploma |
| Cursos artísticos especializados | Students in music, dance, visual and audiovisual arts | Specialised art schools | 3 years | EQF 4 |
| CET (Cursos de Especialização Tecnológica) | Holders of a secondary diploma | Training providers and schools | About 1 year | EQF 5 |
| CTeSP (Cursos Técnicos Superiores Profissionais) | Secondary graduates entering higher education | Polytechnic institutes | 2 years (120 ECTS) | EQF 5, short-cycle higher education |
| Cursos EFA and Centros Qualifica | Adults completing education or validating experience | IEFP, schools, certified training entities | Variable | EQF 2–4 |
A key feature of Portuguese VET is workplace training (formação em contexto de trabalho, FCT). Students on cursos profissionais spend several hundred hours in real companies, and many schools use Erasmus+ to run part of this training abroad. The same thing works in reverse: European VET students come to Lisbon companies for their placement.
The Lisbon metropolitan area has the largest concentration of vocational provision in the country: public secondary schools with cursos profissionais, dozens of private escolas profissionais, IEFP training centres, the Turismo de Portugal hotel school, art schools and the polytechnic institutes of Lisbon and Setúbal offering CTeSP.
To find a specific course, search by qualification area in the national catalogue on anqep.gov.pt, the IEFP course offer on iefp.pt, and CTeSP programmes on dges.gov.pt. Each school publishes its own admission rules and calendar.
If you are already a VET student in another European country, this is by far the easiest route. Your school applies for Erasmus+ funding and sends a group to Lisbon for a work placement. The grant covers travel and living costs, and no Portuguese is required. This is what we organise: see VET internships in Lisbon.
Foreign students who live legally in Portugal can apply to cursos profissionais, apprenticeship courses or adult courses, but teaching is in Portuguese. Newcomers usually start with Portuguese language courses (for example Português Língua de Acolhimento, offered through IEFP and schools).
CTeSP programmes are higher education, so international applicants follow the polytechnic’s admission rules, which may include the international student regime and tuition fees. Most programmes are taught in Portuguese.
For European vocational schools, Lisbon combines a large service economy, an international working culture and a mild climate all year. The sectors with most demand from visiting VET groups are:
We place groups of 5 to 30 students with more than 50 verified Lisbon companies across 10 sectors, and handle Learning Agreements, accommodation, transfers, supervision and Europass for every student.
Programme
All 10 sectors, the five-step process and what is included.
Read more →Quality
What Portuguese certification guarantees for your students’ placements.
Read more →Resources
Guides for coordinators planning Erasmus+ VET mobility.
Read more →Yes, but most full vocational programmes are taught in Portuguese, so you need a good level of the language. Without Portuguese, the most realistic options are a short Erasmus+ placement through your own school at home, or a CTeSP at a polytechnic for students who meet the higher-education entry rules.
Very rarely. Cursos profissionais, apprenticeship courses and IEFP training are almost always in Portuguese. Erasmus+ work placements are different: students work in English-friendly companies, with English-speaking supervisors.
Cursos profissionais and cursos de aprendizagem give a secondary diploma plus a professional qualification at level 4 of the National Qualifications Framework (QNQ), which matches EQF level 4. CET and CTeSP programmes are level 5.
Our group placements run for 1 to 4 weeks.
ANQEP (Agência Nacional para a Qualificação e o Ensino Profissional) manages the National Qualifications Catalogue and VET policy. IEFP runs public training centres and apprenticeship courses. DGERT certifies training entities. DGES oversees higher education, including CTeSP.
Send us your school profile, group size, sector and preferred dates. We reply with a placement proposal within 48 hours.