The Centro de Estudos e Formação Aquiles Estaço, Lda, is the owner of the Escola Profissional Fialho de Almeida, a Vocational School that is situated in the south of Portugal, a small rural village, Vidigueira, in Beja’s district. Alentejo region is one of the poorest regions of the EU, it has a lack of industry and enterprises and few perspectives. Vidigueira shares the same characteristics with the rest of the areas around Alentejo: it has a high rate of unemployment and school leaving, the population tends to decrease and it is ageing or migrating to more attractive places.

CEFAE is a Private enterprise in the area of teaching and it was created in the 1st of September on 1999. The School was born from a contract between the Portuguese Ministry of Education and the City Hall of the towns of Cuba and Vidigueira (in July, 1991). Now the owner is a Cooperative of Local entities. It provides professional or vocational courses (10 courses), that gives to students the secondary level and professional qualifications - level IV of the European Union. This Vocational School approaches professional education in a perspective that privileges the development of the professional skills and competences. Our School has focused on developing technological/vocational courses that can satisfy the needs of the Alentejo, providing skilled workers that will hopefully help the growth and development of the region.

The school promotes international projects since 2003 (Leonardo da Vinci_Mobility, Comenius Bilateral and Multilateral projects, Language Assistant; Leonardo da Vinci, Grundtvig Partnerships and KA1/KA2 Erasmus + projects).

We look for to develop innovative projects, which prepare our students, while active individuals/ citizens in community. This preparation passes for their involvement in rich, multicultural activities that allow them to make learning to act in their communities spreading to know. Our students are from a disadvantaged area situated in the interior of Portugal, with low financial resources and where the unemployment is very high. Fortunately, Vidigueira is near the two main cities in Alentejo: Beja and Évora and it is only about 180 km far from Lisbon and Faro. But besides all the needs felt by the population, there are many other attractions that make Vidigueira a wonderful place to live in when compared to other parts of the country or the world. The Alentejo is one of the safest and most unpolluted places in Portugal, people are simple but very welcoming and friendly, the gastronomy and traditional products are widely recognized and the support of economic activities.

Nowadays, the focus of development is to explore agriculture and tourism as promoters of local development and employment. The same way, our school created new vocational courses related with winery and oenology; agriculture; food quality control and processing; and tourism. Our students attend different vocational courses: Multimedia, Audiovisuals, Social/Cultural Entertainment, Tourism, Social and Psychological Care, Viticulture and Enology, Food Processing and Quality Control, Agriculture, Health care.