The Portugal Digital 2030 Strategy, approved on 30 December 2024 and aligned with the EU Digital Decade 2030 programme, sets out national objectives for digital and AI skills across the workforce and school system. The strategy prioritises digital literacy, education, and training to meet labour market demands driven by digital and green transitions. It includes EUR 480 million from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan to modernise 365 Specialised Technological Centres, which provide lower secondary vocational education and develop courses linked to the digital transition. AI skills are listed among priority outcomes, alongside the existing AI Portugal 2030 national AI strategy.
Who it affects: Vocational students at secondary level and workers in transition through funded retraining programmes. The strategy applies across public and private sectors, with particular investment in technical and vocational pathways. Citizen-facing digital access programmes are also included.
What is notably missing: The strategy is a planning document, not a law. There is no binding requirement on employers to train workers in AI use, no specific AI literacy standard defined for schools, and no enforcement mechanism for training outcomes. The curriculum framework for schools relies on voluntary adoption. The EUR 480 million investment targets infrastructure and vocational centres rather than AI-specific literacy for the general workforce.