ABSTRACT
Scotland is a highly urbanised society. Learn Direct Scotland is the ‘brand name’ of the Scottish University for Industry. Vocational education and training (VET) was devolved before the creation of the Scottish Parliament. The establishment of the Parliament created the potential for democratic oversight and accountability for VET. The Parliament’s responsibility for VET is one of the features which make it more powerful than the German Lander. The statements on VET which are made by the main political parties seem to reflect Scottish support for a quite remarkable international consensus which has some main aspects. In the delivery of VET there is a bewildering range of organisations of different types. VET has long been characterised by a plethora of initiatives and programmes which are generally only poorly co-ordinated, if at all, which sometimes compete, and which are often discontinued after a short period of implementation.
