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This paper discusses the context of learning about work in secondary schools: growth in participation in the upper secondary school years, high levels of youth unemployment, fewer opportunities for students to learn employment-related skills through working in a job, fewer opportunities to interact with a range of adults, a longer period of economic dependency and emphasis on the context in which learning takes place. Successful programs designed to teach thinking skills, learning skills and higher-order cognitive skills incorporate three key features: characteristics of out-of-school learning (shared intellectual work and joining accomplishment tasks), aspects of apprenticeships and a basis in particular bodies of knowledge rather than general abilities. Different countries use different ways of introducing this learning, such as part-time work for full-time students, work experience programs, school-industry programs, vocational education programs, and job placement. Issues raised include monitoring labour market outcomes for the various forms of learning about work and the quality of learning in the workplace.