Professions in Mozambique

In Mozambique, local terms for a profession or occupation include profissão, ocupação, trabalhador por conta de outrem (TCO) for an employee and trabalhador por conta própria (TCP) for a self-employed worker. The professional landscape is established but fragmented: formal and regulated employment exists alongside informal activities such as fast-food preparation, telephone repair, waste sorting, water carrying, firewood collection and window cleaning. A person’s practical activity does not automatically grant a legally recognized professional title. Occupations are grouped in the CPM-Rev.2 classification according to tasks and competencies. Major fields include agriculture and conservation; aquaculture, fishing and navigation; construction; industry, mining and gas; electricity, gas and water; transport and logistics; information and communication technology; health and social services; education; administration and management; finance; tourism and hospitality; and culture, arts and sport. Agriculture has the widest practical reach. About 80% of rural and peri-urban households are involved in agriculture, and Mozambique has approximately 4.5 million small agro-pastoral holdings, with 98.3% classified as small. Farmers, livestock keepers, fishers, forestry workers, agricultural processors and agricultural extension workers therefore form a particularly broad part of the occupational landscape. Coastal, urban, agricultural and resource-producing areas have different occupational priorities. Formal professional entry can use Educação Profissional, Mozambique’s professional education system. ANEP, the national authority for professional education, manages the Quadro Nacional de Qualificações Profissionais (QNQP), the Catálogo Nacional de Qualificações Profissionais (CNQP), accreditation of institutions and certification of trainees, trainers and assessors. Accredited IEPs, including CFPs and other occupation-focused providers, offer qualifications whose availability, admission requirements, assessment and places depend on the occupation and institution. QNQP levels 1 to 5 represent increasing knowledge, task complexity and autonomy. The CNQP includes Vocational and Occupational Certificates, sectoral qualifications and individual modules. ANEP regulates the quality of professional education; it is not the general licensing authority for every profession. Other entry pathways include a university degree where the occupation requires higher education, a public-sector career qualifier for government work, workplace learning, informal apprenticeship and self-employment. Recognition of Acquired Competencies (RCA) and credit transfer can help connect practical experience with formal qualifications, but Mozambique does not have one uniform career pathway for all occupations. Access to a qualification may depend on basic education, the provider’s requirements, an assessment and available places. Informal work often depends on experience, local reputation, tools and capital. Individual modules, higher QNQP levels, specialization, supervision responsibilities, public-sector progression and sectoral licences can support advancement, but formal higher qualifications are not automatically available in every location or occupation. Professional regulation varies by sector. Sectoral ministries and authorities oversee specific areas such as mining, energy, fisheries, navigation, health and public service. The Conselho Técnico Sectorial (CTS), or sectoral technical committee, helps validate occupational groups, occupational profiles and their relevance. Medical practice is subject to the Ordem dos Médicos de Moçambique (OrMM), while ANARME regulates pharmaceutical professionals, pharmacies, pharmaceutical establishments, licences and inspections. A professional licence, registration or professional card such as a caderneta or carteira profissional may therefore apply in one occupation but not another. Foreign qualifications require occupation-specific recognition or equivalence. Documents may need translation and authentication, and some occupations also require professional registration. For medical practice, OrMM requires a recognized diploma or equivalence together with good-standing evidence, identity documents, a criminal-record certificate and a curriculum vitae. Foreign doctors also need a Portuguese translation, confirmation from the embassy and ministry, and a local invitation or supervising arrangement that specifies the place and period of activity. A foreign qualification alone does not establish permission to practise. Employment conditions for subordinate paid work are governed mainly by Lei 13/2023, the Labour Law, with special regimes for artistic, sporting, domestic, home-based, maritime, mining, fishing, petroleum, port, rural and private-security work. The normal minimum working age is 18. A person aged 15 to 18 may work only under the legal conditions and representation requirements; work that is dangerous or harmful to health is not permitted for anyone under 18, and workers aged 15 to 18 are limited to 25 hours per week and 5 hours per day. MTGAS and IGT oversee labour standards, working time, wages, young workers, occupational safety and health, personal protective equipment (PPE), risk control and health monitoring. Sectoral minimum wages from 1 April 2026 are 7,072 MT in agriculture; 7,063.22 MT in fishing and 4,991.09 MT in kapenta fishing; 16,239.06 MT in large mining companies; 10,622.50 MT in manufacturing; 12,775 MT in large electricity, gas and water companies; 8,652 MT in construction; 10,845 MT in non-financial services; 10,600 MT in hotels; 8,690 MT in private security; 20,361.43 MT in banking and insurance; and 17,924.17 MT in microfinance. The applicable sector and employment arrangement determine which level is relevant. Social protection also differs by work status. TCOs and TCPs can fall under the Instituto Nacional de Segurança Social (INSS). The contribution rate is 7%: the employer pays 4% and the employee 3% for a TCO, while a TCP pays the full 7%. An employer must register at least 15 days after activity begins, and an employee must be registered no later than 30 days after the employment relationship starts. Covered benefits include sickness, hospitalization, maternity, paternity, death and funeral support, old age, invalidity and survivors’ benefits. State employees follow a separate public-service regime. Workers should check registration and contributions, while employers must register workers, declare employment, pay contributions and provide safe working conditions. Mozambique has no single national professional fee, training duration or licensing deadline. Training, assessment, examination, registration and licence costs depend on the provider, qualification and sector. The practical pathway therefore requires checking the responsible institution, entry requirements, qualification level, recognition status, costs, timing, safety duties and applicable wage or registration rules for the specific occupation.