ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the effectiveness of a vital part of the English education system, namely practical or vocational education. It starts with a brief overview of the current policy context in England, describing some of the concerted recent attempts to improve vocational education and some likely directions for policy over the next few years. The first part of this chapter therefore examines, from an historical perspective, why the status of the English vocational system remains relatively low compared with the academic route. Then moves on to consider effectiveness. Much vocational education takes place in classrooms in the Further Education sector and starts by discussing the effectiveness of the FE sector and in particular the value of the vocational education and qualifications that it produces. The Chapter describes the crucially important role of the apprenticeship system in providing the technical skills needed for the UK economy and also discusses the effectiveness of training schemes for the low skilled and unemployed.
