Preparing Students for the New World of Work: Critical Reections on English Policy for Work-Related Learning in the Twenty- First Century

Introduction How education prepares young people for the future, and in particular for their future working lives, has become an increasingly central concern both for national governments and for supra-national agencies such as the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the European Union (EU). e perception that a ‘knowledge economy’ places di­erent demands on education systems, and that competitiveness in a high-skills knowledge economy is essential for post-industrial Western economies such as the UK, has led to expansion and reform of all forms of educational provision, with compulsory schooling at the heart of change.