Abstract:

Vocational Education and Training (VET) is increasingly seen as a key policy instrument to improve the labour market prospects of youth by equipping them with practical and occupation-specific competencies aligned with evolving labour market needs. VET also targets adults who have left school early and face greater barriers to re-entering education or employment.

Given its highly practical and occupation-specific nature, particularly in tertiary-level courses, VET must continuously adapt to meet changing industry requirements. Introducing new teaching methods and diversifying VET courses is crucial to ensure that programs remain relevant and effective in preparing individuals for the workforce and to avoid course dropout.

Moreover, since different regions have distinct industrial landscapes and economic strengths, tertiary-level VET courses should be tailored to reflect these geographic variations. By aligning the training offer of vocational programs with the specific industries and labour market demands of each area, VET can better equip learners with skills that directly correspond to local employment opportunities. This regional alignment not only enhances the employability of graduates but also supports local economic development by providing businesses with a skilled workforce suited to their sector-specific needs.

This paper aims to examine and characterize tertiary-level VET programmes in Portugal, with a specific focus on Cursos Técnicos Superiores Profissionais (CTeSP). Given the regional alignment between the programmes and industrial landscape, the study analyses their spatial distribution and uses clustering methods to provide a systematic overview of the structure and diversity of CTeSP provision across Portugal. Among the methods tested, Self-Organizing Maps (SOM) proved to be the most effective in capturing the diversity and structure of the CTeSP offer across regions.

The findings indicate the existence of nine distinct clusters corresponding to major fields of training, such as engineering, manufacturing, and construction. Their regional distribution is heterogeneous and follows three main patterns: some programmes are concentrated in metropolitan areas such as Lisbon and Porto; others exhibit strong district-level specialization; and a third group shows a more diffuse distribution across the territory.

By revealing patterns of concentration and scarcity across regions, the results offer a basis for strategic VET planning, enabling policy makers to better allocate resources and strengthen CTeSP provision in areas where training supply does not adequately meet labour market needs.

Keywords:

Vocational Education and Training, CTeSP, Portugal, Tertiary Education, Spatial Analysis, Clustering, Self-Organizing Maps, Skills Demand, Regional Specialization.