ABSTRACT
In this chapter the notion of skills underlying the vocational education and training (VET) system in England is described in detail, both conceptually and in terms of the way it is embedded in the labour market and the qualification system. The implications for the nature and role of VET and the qualification system in England are drawn out and, at the same time, the ways and the extent to which this is distinct from the systems in other European countries, particularly France, Germany and the Netherlands – especially in terms of their understanding of ‘skill’. This chapter is therefore challenging to an English-speaking audience which usually takes for granted the conceptual basis of the system and the domination of ‘skills’ in the policy agenda – from Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) to the Leitch Review (2006) on World Class Skills.
