The Balearic Islands regulate the preparatory courses for access to vocational training cycles

The Official Gazette of the Balearic Islands (BOIB) publishes, in issue 112 of September 8, 2026, Order 25/2026, of August 28, of the Minister of Education and Universities, which regulates the specific training courses preparatory for accessing intermediate and higher level vocational training cycles. The regulation, signed by Antonio Vera Alemany, establishes an access route for people who do not meet the academic requirements to enter these vocational training programs directly.

The order, which enters into force the day after its publication, develops the provisions of articles 47 and 49 of Decree 39/2025, of August 1, on the organization of vocational training in the Balearic Islands, which empowers the minister to regulate these courses. The text is based on Organic Law 2/2006 on Education (LOE), and Organic Law 3/2022, on the organization and integration of vocational training, which require educational administrations to offer these itineraries in accordance with the principles of accessibility, equal treatment, and equal opportunities.

Two courses, two access levels

The regulation establishes two types of specific training courses, which do not lead to any academic or professional degree but are enabling courses to access vocational training cycles:

• The CFGM access course, to access an intermediate level vocational training cycle, with a duration of 378 hours and a weekly teaching load of 14 hours.
• The CFGS access course, to access a higher level vocational training cycle, with a duration of 459 hours and a weekly teaching load of 17 hours.

The courses can be taught in a face-to-face or blended learning format, and in the latter case, distance hours cannot exceed 50% of the total. Authorized centers must mandatorily offer all modules of the common part and, at a minimum, two of the modules of the specific part.

Contents and recipients

The CFGM access course is organized into four competence modules: communicative in the Spanish language, communicative in the Catalan language, mathematics, and digital, in addition to tutoring and academic and professional guidance. The CFGS access course adds a common part with a key multilingual competence in the English language and a specific part that must be chosen from three modules:

• Key competence in Society and Entrepreneurship
• Key competence in Sciences
• Key competence in Technology and Engineering

As for the recipients, it is accessible to people who do not meet any of the academic access requirements and who are at least 17 years old within the calendar year of the start of the CFGM access course, or 19 years old in the case of the CFGS access course. The student-to-group ratio is, generally, a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 30, although it may be reduced to 6 in centers located in specific territorial or demographic contexts.

Effects and evaluation

Passing the CFGM or CFGS access course allows direct access, without the need for a test, to any intermediate or higher level vocational training cycle, respectively, without prejudice to the admission procedure and the competitive merit system. Furthermore, total or partial completion entails total or partial exemption, valid at a national level, from the corresponding access test.

The evaluation is formative, continuous, and integrative, and the grade for each module is formalized as passed or not passed with a numerical score between 1 and 10. The course is considered passed when the student obtains a final grade of 5 or higher, and those who do not pass may enroll a second time, retaining the grades of the passed modules.

The regulation, which has undergone public hearing and information procedures, represents a step forward in ensuring that thousands of students in the Balearic Islands who do not have the direct academic requirements can continue their professional training and improve their qualifications and labor market insertion.

Source: Official Gazette of the Balearic Islands, no. 112, September 8, 2026, Section I. General Provisions, p. 48598 (official reference: Order 25/2026, of August 28, of the Minister of Education and Universities).