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With the emergence of a knowledge-based economy, learning becomes a feature of the entire life course and is not - as in the past industrial era - only related to the preparation for economic and social independence of the youth. A high speed of innovation as an intrinsic part of work, combined with a high level of obsolescence of knowledge and skills, should urge a redesign of the relation between training and work. Work and learning will co-exist again, not only for apprenticeship trajectories as in the times of the guilds, but as a common characteristic of expert work on all levels. Flexibility and change will increasingly become part of the routine organisation of work, causing a larger emphasis on learning while working. Furthermore, it implies permanent learning for individuals after being qualified in initial training. Learning is no longer the privileged domain of vocational education but an intrinsic element of economic and social developments. Consequently, the position of schools will change dramatically. New concepts are needed in the discussion of lifelong learning in relation to the challenges for VET [vocational education and training]. If VET colleges want to play a role in the process of lifelong learning, they have to develop new roles and routines. The paper focuses on learning processes within the economic context of work; work-related learning as a specific part of lifelong learning. The challenge for VET and especially the VET colleges will be to recognise, to optimise, and to facilitate work-related learning. Our central question in this paper is how Dutch VET can react effectively to these challenges of lifelong learning? To answer this question, we investigated work-related learning and new roles and routines for VET colleges by connecting case studies of learning processes in enterprises to delivery strategies of training professionals (Jager, Mittendorff & Nieuwenhuis, 2004). In the paper we will present the results of the enterprise cases in the form of support demand characteristics, which can be used as input for co-configuration of work-related learning between VET college and enterprise.