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This paper is part of a project designed to investigate the extent to which urban communities that include significant populations of disadvantaged citizens are engaging in community-based strategies centred on learning and the contribution of vocational education and training (VET) organisations. The project included a research forum on urban disadvantage and learning communities at which invited speakers were asked to contribute an account of their experience and understanding of learning communities to ‘focus on implications for the role of VET in building learning communities’. The author draws on his experience of VET/community partnerships to consider three related issues: the emerging phenomenon of community partnerships and learning communities; disadvantage in urban Australia; and vocational education. It is concluded that there is a policy trend towards encouraging the development of a community approach to the provision of postcompulsory education and training. The greatest obstacle to developing new models of education and training that will erode barriers to participation is adherence to old ownership values in relation to institutions, courses, students and funding. The author suggests that initially, change is likely to occur through communities developing their own ‘full service capacity building approach to education, training and employment’ with VET and institutional providers forming part of ‘complex regional mosaics’.