Ten thousand new places will be opening up on in professional education for students in Portugal later this year as the government sets out to ‘combat the stigma of professional courses’.
The places are being promoted as part of a campaign to get as many youngsters into professional training as there are in traditional further education.
Talking to TSF radio today, education minister Tiago Brandão Rodrigues explained: “At this point in time we have roughly 45% of students who complete secondary education doing so via professional courses. We want to increase this number to 50%, and this has been difficult which is why we have decided to open up more places (on available courses)”.
The most popular choices – and courses that previously have had to turn applicants away – including industry 4.0. Automation and IT. These will be particularly reinforced, said Brandão, adding that “for a long time, professional courses have been considered ‘secondary’ in our system of education. We do not see them as this. These students finish the 12th year with all the attributes they need for higher education, but with a double certificate – academic and professional – that allows them to face the job market”.
