The paper raises important questions about the relationship between Vocational Education and Training (VET), work-based learning (WBL) and social justice. It adopts an analysis that moves beyond conceptualisations that validate WBL as an acknowledgement of the dignity of labour. It seeks to go beyond analyses that mobilise a conventional…

Providing skills and expertise applicable to the workplace has always been a central component of universities' provision. However, repeated government initiatives to involve employers more actively in the skills system over the past 60 years have shown few lasting successes. In this paper, Professor David Phoenix reflects on past initiatives and…

Today's education-to-career ecosystem is too complex to navigate and lacks a supportive policy infrastructure for exposing students to the world of work and empowering them to make informed choices about their education and career options and advance along their desired pathways. This report highlights the need for states to build more effective…

The final report of the "Australian Universities Accord" consultation process highlighted the impact of work-integrated learning requirements on students' ability to complete professional qualifications, conceptualising equity in terms of a need to ensure 'equitable participation'. This article uses the case of social work education to…

This paper examines an interdisciplinary initiative at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL), focusing on the collaboration between qTech and qNomics in delivering a multi-disciplinary project designed to bridge the gap between academic learning and professional experience. The collaboration fosters direct engagement with industry and provides…

This article proposes that work-integrated learning (WIL) is a Landscape of Practice (LoP) within the wider higher education ecosystem. It applies concepts from the LoP literature to present a new perspective on WIL programs and ecosystems. It further emphasizes that students are central within the WIL LoP, developing knowledge as they traverse…

This policy brief highlights the need to transform adult skills development by expanding beyond traditional continuing vocational education and training (CVET) to include workplaces and digital environments supported by frameworks that connect formal, non-formal and informal learning pathways. It stresses the importance of workplaces as lifelong…

Career Technical Education (CTE) and career readiness have become a national priority, reshaping high school curricula across the country. Once primarily centered on college preparation, college and career readiness now emphasizes career pathways as a key component of learner success, with 43 states including at least one career-focused indicator…

Fifty years after its founding, Cedefop reflects on the evolution of vocational education and training (VET) in Europe and presents a renewed vision for the future. While the EU has built strong foundations in initial VET, major challenges persist in adult learning, skill mismatches, and the need to integrate VET more closely with broader…