Over three thousand Azoreans are currently enrolled in the Valorizar Network, a public service created by the Government of the Azores with the purpose of providing all those residing in the Region aged 18 or over with a training opportunity to qualify their basic and secondary education skills as well as their professional skills, thus reducing the skills shortage of the working population, which will increase the certification levels of the adult population.
The Valorizar Network is also a stimulus and a support tool to all adults seeking professional enhancement, enabling the acknowledgement of skills acquired throughout their personal and professional lives.
This service also allows the identification of the skills to be provided to the unemployed referred by the employment services or the employees of companies that have enrolled in the Valorizar Network in order to provide them with adequate responses to their training needs and develop skills that benefit their integration or reintegration in the labour market by increasing their employability and career development.
The Network operates from three centres: Angra do Heroísmo, Horta and Ponta Delgada. The remaining islands are covered by several mobile certification teams.
With this initiative, the Azorean Government accomplishes one of the goals that had been stipulated in the Government’s programme: the enhancement of the Azorean population by acknowledging and validating their skills and professionalism, and the implementation of structures to improve their qualifications.
In addition to increasing employability, the recognition of skills will bring the Azores closer to the European averages and increase the qualification of the Azorean business sector.