Foreword

We live in a world where for too long, and in too many countries, vocational education and training (VET) has been the poor cousin of national strategies to provide young people and adults with the knowledge and skills they need – and employers demand. That is why vocational education has often been seen as a provision fit only for ‘other people’s children’ against the gold standard of academic routes culminating in university study. But evidence from countries with high performing vocational systems tells us that they provide a very effective means of integrating learners into the labour market and for opening pathways for further learning and personal growth - and there are signs that things are changing.