The Department of Educational Development and Vocational Training will implement new pathways for access to Vocational Training starting from the next 2025/26 academic year with the aim of providing new educational and professional opportunities to those individuals who do not have the required academic qualification. The measures are structured in three fundamental pathways: the basic skills accreditation process, preparatory courses for access, and access exams.
Thus, the basic skills evaluation and accreditation process, aimed at individuals over 18 years old who, without meeting the traditional academic requirements to access Vocational Training, have acquired knowledge through work experience, non-formal education, or informal learning. It allows for the official recognition of basic skills in communication in Spanish Language, Mathematics, and Digital.
The evaluation will be carried out through interviews, analysis of evidence, and, if necessary, a specific test. Participants will receive an official certification, valid nationwide, indicating their level of competence that can be used to access medium-level training cycles or other educational pathways.
The process will be open and ongoing, without the need for calls, and will take place in public educational centers designated as venues in all Andalusian provinces: the eight Provincial Institutes of Permanent Education (IPEP) and their two sections (SIPEP) in Algeciras and Linares. Applications can be submitted through the Virtual Secretariat of Educational Centers or in person starting from the second quarter of the 2025/2026 academic year.
Another pathway is the update of preparatory courses to access vocational training, aimed at individuals without academic access requirements. By successfully completing these courses, students can directly participate in the admission process for medium or higher-level Vocational Training. The courses can be taken in person and, as a new feature, also remotely (for access to higher level). Admission for these courses began on June 15th and will continue until June 25th. They will be taught from September in certain Secondary Education Institutes and Provincial Institutes of Permanent Education (IPEP), which can be found in the published Vocational Training educational offer.
Preparatory courses for access to medium-level training cycles are aimed at individuals at least 17 years old, completed in the year of course completion, who do not have the Compulsory Secondary Education diploma. For access to higher level, the courses are aimed at individuals at least 19 years old at the start of the course who do not have the Baccalaureate diploma or equivalent. The contents cover basic skills (communicative in Spanish Language, Mathematics, and Digital) and, in the case of higher level, also specific key skills (Multilingual, Entrepreneurial, in sciences and in technology and engineering) according to the professional field they wish to access.
Renewal of access exams
Finally, the Department is renewing the access exams to Vocational Training cycles, which are announced annually through a resolution in the second quarter of the academic year and allow individuals to demonstrate sufficient knowledge to successfully pursue these teachings. The requirements to participate are the same as for access courses, and passing them allows access to any training cycle nationwide.
The exams maintain the same content structure as the access courses. In the case of the access exam to higher level, different options can be chosen to prioritize access to certain professional fields. Additionally, it will be possible to take both the preparatory course and the access exam without a limit on attempts to improve grades, and recognition of previous learning will be facilitated through exemptions and validations.
With this new framework, the Department establishes a more flexible, accessible, and diversified access system to vocational training, in line with the recommendations of the European Council to recognize lifelong learning and work experience. This initiative represents another step in the modernization of Vocational Training, with a focus on equal opportunities, employability, and the integration of lifelong education for adults.