ABSTRACT
In Britain, the relationship between education and training on the one hand and the organisation of work and employment on the other constitutes a lively field of research questions, but it is not one which is well integrated. In this, Britain hardly differs from the other European countries. It does differ, however, by the way in which research questions are posed in relation to the social issues from which they arise and the answers to them. The intensity of changes in political and social configurations over the last two decades has given rise to the concept of a rupture, which is still debated (see, for example, Work, Employment and Society special issue, 1990; Gallie 1988).
