Over the past five years, Edge has hosted regular debates on the principles and philosophy underpinning Vocational Education and Training (VET) in England.
High quality vocational education is a key element of equipping young people with the skills they need and making education relevant. But at present the vision is fractured. Due to rapid policy change and deeply ingrained cultural views, there is not yet a consensus about the role and place of VET in our broader education system, and in society at large.
That is why these debates are so important. They bring together leading academics, researchers, employers, trade unions and international experts to discuss some of the key questions that underpin high quality VET. While these began as a way of driving academic thinking, the debate has become increasingly influential in policymaking and practice circles.
Continuing our longstanding partnership with Professor Chris Winch (King’s College London), Edge hosted a fifth series of debates on the philosophy of vocational education during late 2022 and early 2023.
Following these timely discussions, this report seeks to bring together insights drawn from the debates, as well as more detailed reflections from colleagues working across the VET research and policy landscape.
In this edition, we sought from contributors ‘provocations’ in response to three primary questions discussed at our debates:
- What is an Apprentice?
- How Broad or Narrow should VET be?
- How can we balance local, regional and national VET needs?