This book explores in detail the ways in which the assessment and accreditation of prior and current experiential learning is being practiced in higher education, further education, community and voluntary provision, training organizations and employment, provision for the unemployed, and updating and retraining. It is arranged in three parts. Part I is an account of the author's involvement in the development of the overall field of assessment of prior experiential learning (APEL) in Britain during the 1980s. It shows how APEL has progressed over 10 years into a day-to-day concern for policymakers and providers of formal courses and training and development programs in many sectors. Part II is an account of the developments in APEL at the end of the decade in higher education and further education. This part gives an insight into how APEL can be used with other economic and social developments to improve the organization and provision of opportunities for learning at the postsecondary stage. Part III uses what has been learned experientially as a launching pad for ideas about future developments. This part looks at underlying tensions, postindustrial training, and access as a two-way street. Appendixes include endnotes by chapter, a 50-item selected reading list, and an index. (YLB)