Epralima is situated in the small picturesque town of Arcos de Valdevez, Portugal, conveniently situated between the cities of Oporto and Vigo (Spain) and close to the coastal towns of the Atlantic Ocean.

Epralima is a cooperative organization, composed by institutions deeply solidified within the social, economic, cultural and local levels, namely, the municipalities of Arcos de Valdevez and Ponte da Barca, the Northwestern Agricultural Mutual Credit Bank, the Commercial and Industrial Association of Arcos de Valdevez and Ponte da Barca, Artelima_Alto Lima’s Academy of Arts and the Arcuense Heritage Study Group.

Epralima has based its developmental strategy on preparing youths and adults for the exercise of qualified professions, by developing mechanisms that create closer ties between the school and economic institutions, as well as professional and cultural associations within the social tissue, in the name of achieving an integrated and qualified entrepreneurial training project, which meets the integrated developmental needs of the country, particularly at the regional and local levels.

The goals of EPRALIMA are as follows:

• Prepare youths and adults towards the exercise of a qualified profession;
• Develop mechanisms in which Epralima and the local economic, professional and cultural institutions and associations can create better relationships;
• Provide trainees with professional experience and contact with the labour market, preparing them for an adequate socio-economic insertion.

Epalima’s New Opportunities Centre has been functioning since 2006 (and now its name is Qualifica Centre), giving this centre 11 years of experience in the assessment and certification of adults’ skills and qualifications. During this period the technical team has acquired know-how and knowledge in reference to adult certification and education, providing Epralima with a team of experts in the field of skills assessment.

Epralima’s New Opportunities Centre works in accordance to the needs of the local population. The New Opportunities Centres are responsible for implementing the procedure, according to the guidelines attributed by the National Agency for Qualification, through the implementation of a Quality Deed that defines each intervention stage to be applied by the technical staff. The mission of the New Opportunities Centres is to ensure that all citizens over 18 years have the opportunity to certify their qualifications at the primary/secondary level.

In the other hand, Epralima is a member of various companies located in the north of Portugal, and is a member of Alto Minho’s Incubator (INCUBO), local and regional authorities, and Portuguese social partners.

Epralima has actively participated in many European projects financed by the EU. We took part in EU projects financed by the following EU Programmes: Leonardo da Vinci, Socrates, Grundtvig and European Commission Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities DG (Equal Programme).

We are active in the following EU priority fields:

· Innovation projects - improving the quality of training systems through the development and transfer of innovative policies, contents, methods and procedures within vocational education and training.

· Knowledge society - modernization of education and training in the context of Information society, based on full social inclusion, contribution to the transfer of technologies and innovations from the education sector to business and in this way supporting the development of SME’s sector.

· Promoting public-private partnership and establishing contact networks for best practices exchange.

· Vocational education and training – our aim is to develop vocational education and training systems through the participation in various international projects aimed to improve the quality of initial education of teachers and trainers, and of their continuous professional development during their career.