Apprenticeship in Mozambique

Mozambique's vocational education system, called Educação Profissional, includes formal, non-formal and informal learning. Ensino Técnico-Profissional is offered through Institutos Técnicos Médios and Escolas Profissionais. Formação Profissional is delivered through Centros de Formação Profissional and other accredited institutions, including IFPELAC, which provides short- and medium-duration training through fixed and mobile services. Employers provide workplace learning and Estágios Formativos, while recognition and certification of acquired competences, called Reconhecimento de Competências Adquiridas (RCA), can validate prior work or informal skills when they meet national competence standards. Law No. 26/2022 governs public, private, cooperative, community and mixed institutions of professional education. It took effect after 60 days and replaced Laws No. 23/2014 and 6/2016. The Ministry of Education and Culture sets policy and planning, while ANEP regulates quality, manages the national qualifications framework and catalogue, accredits institutions and assessors, registers competence standards, certifies graduates and trainers, and carries out inspection and labour-market monitoring. For Ensino Técnico-Profissional, the usual entry baseline is completion of the first cycle of secondary education or an equivalent qualification. Each institution may set additional admission criteria. Professional training providers set their own access conditions. No single national age limit, application calendar or document list has been evidenced. The ANEP search tools should be used to check the institution, qualification and availability in the relevant province. The National Qualifications Framework, QNQ, has ten levels. The core vocational education levels run from 1 to 5. A Certificado Vocacional (CV) confirms occupational competence and can support progression to later QNQP levels, including higher education. A Certificado Ocupacional (CO) confirms competence for a specific occupation but does not provide access to higher education. The QNQP and CNQP organize qualifications and modules across 14 professional fields, including agriculture, construction, hospitality and tourism, health and social services, information and communication technology, extractive industry, transport and logistics, administration, fisheries and aquaculture, industrial production, environment, education, communication, and culture, arts and sport. The cited CNQP catalogue page records 206 registered qualifications and 22 independent modules and is marked through 20 March 2025, so current provincial availability requires verification. There is no single national duration for every qualification. The required workload, hours and credits depend on the qualification. Individual modules can be certified separately, while a complete qualification requires all required modules and at least 120 credits. Credit accumulation and transfer support flexible entry, exit and movement between learning pathways. Competence-based curricula assess whether the learner can apply the required skills in the defined context. Estágios Formativos are required in public, private and mixed companies, and ANEP registers the stage agreements. Under the 2026 assessment regulation, Experience of Work modules at levels 3 and 4 may be completed cumulatively at level 5. Assessment uses evidence from the required modules. Results are recorded as Não Alcançou, Alcançou, Alcançou com Mérito or Alcançou com Distinção, with a quantitative scale from 0 to 20 and thresholds of 15–16, 17–18 and 19–20 for the three passing levels. A Projecto Integrado is assessed by a jury of at least three assessors. A learner may receive partial certification for completed modules without holding the complete qualification. ANEP registers credits and issues certificates, while the institution issues declarations and assessment reports. A certificate does not guarantee a job or a training place. An institution must be accredited for the specific CNQP qualification it offers. Accreditation examines infrastructure, equipment, competence-based trainers, information systems and other qualification requirements. The process includes institutional licensing, a request to ANEP, self-assessment, inspection, an ANEP decision, and publication of the result. Trainers, assessors and verifiers require ANEP certification or registration. Learners have duties to complete required modules and assessments and to pay the institution's propina, meaning its institutional fee. Fee amounts, exemptions and bursaries vary by provider and programme rather than following one nationally evidenced amount. Funding comes from the State budget, the Fundo Nacional de Educação Profissional (FNEP), cooperation funds and other sources. Employers are responsible for a contribution of 0.5% to 1% of monthly payroll. Private, non-profit and community providers may receive competitive funding, and public-private partnerships are encouraged. The system also provides for gender equality, greater participation of women in science, engineering and technology, inclusion of people with disabilities or special needs, and participatory institution management involving employers, workers, learners and civil society. Availability differs by province. Agriculture, construction, maintenance, hospitality, health and social services, extractive and gas-related work, transport and logistics, and information technology have strong practical relevance. Mobile units and community-managed modules selected from the CNQP help reach remote districts. Published IFPELAC network figures are date-sensitive: one current Ministry portal lists 25 professional training centres and 32 mobile units, while an older ANEP profile lists 18 centres and 20 units. These figures should therefore be checked before relying on a local provider.