New Professional Competency Standards in 14 Sectors: What Changes in 2026

Key data

Companies in 14 industrial and service sectors must review their job profiles, selection processes and training plans. The Order EFD/374/2026, published on April 24, 2026, updates the professional competency standards of the National Catalog for 14 professional families, from Electricity and Electronics to Transport and Vehicle Maintenance.

The impact is not just administrative. When the National Catalog standards change, the reference frameworks that define what a certified worker can do in each sector change. This directly affects hiring decisions, the validity of professional certificates and the processes for accrediting work experience.

What does this regulation establish?

Order EFD/374/2026 updates the professional competency standards contained in the National Catalog of Professional Competency Standards for 14 professional families. These standards are the reference framework that defines the competencies that a worker must demonstrate in each professional profile.

The 14 professional families affected are:

The update has three direct consequences:

• Professional certificates and vocational training titles must be adjusted to the new standards.
• Competency accreditation processes are referenced to the new frameworks.
• The competency profiles required of workers in selection and training are modified.

Economic and operational impact

This update does not establish direct economic sanctions or specific amounts in the published regulation. However, the operational impact is real and has associated costs for several types of organizations.

For companies in the 14 sectors: they must review and update job profiles that reference certified competencies. If selection processes require certain professional certificates, the requirements for those certificates will have changed. Ignoring this update could mean hiring profiles that do not meet the new sector standards.

For training centers and certifying entities: adapting programs and procedures has a direct cost in hours of curriculum review, updating teaching materials and training evaluators. Failing to adapt programs can compromise the validity of the certifications they issue.

For workers: those in the process of accrediting their work experience must verify that their applications comply with the new competency reference frameworks, not the previous ones.

Who does it affect?

• Companies in the 14 affected sectors that hire workers with professional certificates or that require competency accreditation in their selection processes.
• HR departments and training managers who must update job profiles and internal training plans.
• Training centers that teach vocational cycles or programs linked to the 14 professional families affected.
• Certifying entities that manage professional competency accreditation processes.
• Workers in these sectors who want to accredit their work experience or who are taking training linked to these professional families.
• HR consultants and advisors who design job profiles or manage selection processes in these sectors.

Practical example

A company in the Electricity and Electronics sector with 30 technical workers has defined its job profiles with reference to competencies from the National Catalog. When it opens a selection process for an electrical installation technician, it requires a specific professional certificate.

With the update of Order EFD/374/2026, the competency standard that supports that certificate has changed. The HR manager must:

• Verify whether the certificate required in the job offer remains valid under the new standards.
• Review whether current workers with that certificate maintain equivalence with the new competency profiles.
• Update job descriptions if they explicitly reference competency units from the National Catalog.

The same scenario applies to a company in the Transport and Vehicle Maintenance sector that uses professional certificates as a selection criterion or as the basis for its subsidized training plans.

What should companies do now?

1. Identify if your sector is among the 14 affected families. Review the list: Agricultural, Graphic Arts, Electricity and Electronics, Energy and Water, Building and Civil Works, Mechanical Manufacturing, Extractive Industries, Wood, Furniture and Cork, Chemistry, Safety and Environment, Sociocultural Services and Community, Textiles, Clothing and Leather, Transport and Vehicle Maintenance, and Glass and Ceramics.
2. Review job profiles that reference competencies from the National Catalog or professional certificates, to verify their validity under the new standards.
3. Update selection requirements in active or planned job offers that require professional certificates from the affected families.
4. Communicate with the training centers you work with to verify that they adapt their programs to the new standards before starting new subsidized training actions.
5. Inform workers who are in the process of accrediting their work experience so they can adjust their applications to the new competency reference frameworks.
6. Check the entry into force date in the full text of Order EFD/374/2026 published in the BOE, as it is not specified in the available regulatory summary.