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1. Status in national legislation

2. Education, training and skills recognition

3. Mobility of youth workers

Status in national legislation

There is no specific legislation about youth work, as mentioned above.

The youth worker professional profile is a level 4 EQF level, with double certification, allowing access to the 12^th-grade degree of secondary school education, building bridges between non-formal and formal education.

As mentioned above, the National Agency for Qualification and Professional Education is reviewing the National Qualifications Catalogue, including the youth worker professional course at level 5. The aim is to raise the qualifications and strengthen youth workers’ skills, so that these professionals are better prepared to respond effectively to the problems and challenges facing youth work.

Youth workers are required specific training in some youth programmes, like summer camps. There is a growing quality requirement in the search for these professionals, as in the case of municipalities’ recruitment.

Programa Formar+ has a dedicated training for youth workers.

Education, training, and skills recognition

The "Técnico de Juventude" training has 1,025 hours of mandatory curricula, and 100 hours chosen by the trainee but must include field practice. The curricula include a brief history of youth work, the general organisation of the youth sector in Portugal, and the international level, programmes and initiatives in the field of youth, youth empowerment and citizenship, institutional structure of youth participation, project management, among many other topics. The curricula include workshop facilitation and some already existing training modules from the professional profile of the socio-cultural animator.

The curriculum of this course will be significantly changed considering the ongoing review being carried out by the National Agency for Qualification and Professional Education, to transform this course into a level 5 course, thus increasing the level of youth workers ‘qualifications and reinforcing their skills.

There is also a project called “Youth Pass” (Passe Jovem), aiming at the recognition and validation of competences of young people involved in non-formal education, that bridges with formal education diploma in secondary school. The framework is based on a European grid of non-formal education competences areas.

Mobility of youth workers

Portuguese youth workers regularly do training and work at the international level. Most Portuguese youth workers participate in national and international SALTO training, funded by Erasmus+ youth/sport and ESC programmes, and in some training promoted by the Council of Europe, among others. Programmes like Formar+ also promote the exchange of training and expertise between youth organisations.

Erasmus+ youth/sport and ESC National Agency promotes various national and international training courses aimed at youth workers with a view to strengthening their skills.