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The effective governance of education and training in the UK is the responsibility of the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and is a major priority of the UK government. Many aspects of initial and continuing training are subject to continuous reform as the UK builds on its strengths and addresses challenges in the emerging systems of lifelong learning. Priorities in the UK are closely in line with the objectives of the Lisbon strategy. Vocational education and training (VET) systems in the UK tend to be complex as well as fast changing. This short review gives an overview of the main structures, trends, and challenges. Key elements include the notion of competence to define the content and assessment of VET learning and an increasingly flexible and diverse approach to learning provision. The contents are: General policy context; Policy developments; Institutional framework; Initial vocational education and training; Continuing vocational training for adults; Delivery mechanisms and providers; Training of teachers and trainers; Skills and competence development; Guidance and counselling; Financing investment in human resources; European and international dimension. Included as appendices are: Acronyms and abbreviations; Glossary; Legislative and bibliographic references; Main organisations.

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This article summarises the main conclusions of the ‘Maastricht study’: Achieving the Lisbon Goal: The Contribution of VET (Leney et al., 2004 [indexed at TD/TNC 80.541]), which the UK Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA), in collaboration with the Institute of Education and other international partners, prepared for the European Commission’s DG Education and Culture in 2004. Based on the self-assessment reports prepared by the Directors-General for VET [vocational education and training] (DGVTs) of 31 European countries, and on independent expert reviews of the national and international literature on VET, the report analysed the contribution of VET to achieving the Lisbon goal and influenced the framing of the Maastricht Communique [to] which the European education ministers agreed in December 2004. This summary of the findings of the report is organised under the following sections: (1) The potential of VET as an aspect of European cooperation; (2) The current state of play and progress of VET towards achieving the Lisbon goal; (3) Innovation in VET teaching and learning; and (4) Conclusions.

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