The Portuguese Government intends to valorize professional higher technical courses (CTeSP), which after a decade of existence face significant problems of attractiveness, employability and low salaries. The study "CTESP — Evaluation of a Decade of Professional Higher Technical Courses", presented by the Research Centre for Higher Education Policies (CIPES), diagnosed that the main challenges involve financing, employability and recognition by the State and public administration careers. The Minister of Education, Science and Innovation, Fernando Alexandre, acknowledged these problems and announced that the Executive will allow institutions greater strategic flexibility to adjust the training offer to the needs of businesses and regions.
The CTeSP reached a weight of 13% of new enrollees in higher education in a decade, but growth in supply was not matched by growth in demand. The occupation rate of places remained only slightly above half of the available capacity, and the course completion rate shows unfavorable evolution, with dropout at the end of the first year increasing from 19% to 29% between 2015/16 and 2022/23. More than half of graduates then continue to a bachelor's degree, usually within the same institution and area of training, which indicates that these pathways are often already planned before entry.
The courses will now have formal evaluation to become "a structuring offer" of higher education, with financing linked to regions and greater participation of the Regional Coordination and Development Commissions, municipalities and businesses. The integration of graduates into public administration careers will only proceed after the intended evaluation. In 2023, graduates of these courses had average monthly remuneration below that of bachelor's degree holders and those with undergraduate degrees, concentrating in smaller companies and with a greater weight of fixed-term contracts.
The study recommends that CTeSP obtain accreditation by A3ES, that a national database be created with all available courses, and that the offer in post-working hours be increased, which currently accounts for only 12% of enrollees. The authors also advocate for more specialist teaching staff, countering the predominance of academically-oriented faculty, who represent 80% in these courses.
