As unemployment levels rise, so education and training move into the policy spotlight. For the government, this is a very uncomfortable place to be right now. A number of large companies have withdrawn from the flagship Work Programme--under which jobseekers are invited to take up unpaid work placements of between two and eight weeks--amid clamours of "slave labour," along with Marie Curie Cancer Care and Shelter. Iain Duncan Smith, defending his government's stance, has dismissed his critics for showing "an unjustified sense of superiority and sporting an intellectual sneer." Instead of howling about "sneering intellectuals" or "slave labour," the author asks the questions: does work experience actually work? What can be done to meet the needs of older unemployed people? Evidence from longitudinal studies suggests that training tied to work, or education tied to other life interests, are most likely to deliver results.