This institution was created under the Decree 26/89 of January 21, later revoked by the Decree 70/93 of March 10, which established the purposes of professional teaching and instituted the law in the context of which the professional schools are founded.

ETAPVM was the first professional school created in the northern region and the second in Portugal. It was constituted on September 20 1989 with the signing of a programme contract regulating the organization and functioning of this education institution. It was agreed on and signed by the State representative GETAP - Professional, Artistic, and Technological Education Office and by the City Hall of Caminha - the promoting entity, starting to function on November 21 1989.

Following the publication of the Decree 4/98, COOPETAPE - Cooperativa de Ensino CRL - owner of ETAPVM school, obtained the official working authorization from the Ministry of Education on October 31 1999.

“Attentive to the future challenge and sensitive to the importance of young people´s preparation for their active life, while applying a model of training alternative to the conventional and so called regular and systematic one” (Educative Project - ETAP Vale do Minho, 2002), ETAPVM has grown up and developed in a way to consolidate a dynamic project for the harmonious and supported development of the community where it is inserted; a project which takes care of the young people´s initial training and qualification (in various training areas at intermediate level), identifying previously the most urgent needs and taking advantage of the region potentials and thus, co-operating for the personal and professional progress of young people, their quality of life, for a better integration in the society and more specifically, in the Alto Minho region.

In 1989 the first school opened in Vila Praia de Âncora, another one in 1991 in Caminha and in 1996, in Vila Nova de Cerveira. The last one opened in Valença in 2000. At present, the branch of Caminha is the head office of ETAPVM. It is a building which is pre-eminent thanks to its beauty, on one hand, to its localization with the mouth of the Minho River and Spain (in particular Santa Tecla Mountain) and on the other hand, the fact of having been, not so long ago, a convent, whose magnificent rebuilding and improvement made it a different and beautiful school with its historical façade.

As far as the training is concerned, ETAPVM has courses of Level III qualification, with equivalence to the grade 12, developing a pedagogical model in accordance with the initial professional training plan used in the professional schools elsewhere (Secondary Teaching of Portuguese Educative System), providing training courses in various areas such as: Restaurant, Hotel, building construction, environment, computers and juridical services.

During the fourteen years of training activity, ETAPVM project has been following the local development needs taking advantage of strategic partnerships with various social, economic and cultural agents, at a local, national and international level, in a way to consolidate its actions with the proposals suggested and the challenges presented. As examples, the following activities can be mentioned:

• The participation in ANESPO (National Association of Professional schools) activities since its creation, namely through the insertion of its directive organs and the participation in the activities developed by this association;
• The participation in the European Forum for Professional Education;
• The signing of cooperation and collaboration protocols with commercial associations, enterprises, associations, employment centres and universities.
• The participation in the Secondary Teaching Observatory.

Taking into consideration the interests of the region and contributing, in a perspicacious way to take advantage of its human, economical and territorial resources, the school has been developing the following activities:

• Initial training (level III);
• Level IV training (CET);
• EFA course (Adult Education and Training) under the technical and pedagogical orientation of ANEFA (currently the General Direction of Vocational Training in the Ministry of Education), backed up by the Operational Programme of Work, Training and Social Development;
• Project workshop of ANOP (Projects National Association);
• Programmes supported by the National Agency Socrates/Leonardo, Comenius;
• Local development and cooperation for development (ex: Cultural exhibition, Active people training);
• During this school year, the SPO (Service of Psychology and Orientation) started working taking place of UNIVA (Insertion Unit for Insertion in Active Life);
• Centre of Skills Recognition, Validation and Certification.