ABSTRACT
Recent debates on national vocational education and training (VET) systems are increasingly focusing on two important issues. Firstly, it has been widely recognised that change may be an important feature of most successful VET systems. This is particularly the case for some newly industrialised economies where the speed and content of change are vital to the flexibility of their international competitiveness (Ng 1987). However, the relevant question concerns the way in which change is initiated, how change is supported, and how change is managed subsequently. Secondly, increasing recognition has been given to the linkage between economic, industrial and VET policies in the achievement of economic objectives (Ashton and Green 1996). For example, the creation of the Department for Education and Employment in England and Wales, and the Education and Industry Department in Scotland, reflects this particular concern. However, this recognition raises two further issues. On the one hand, attention is now increasingly focused upon the kinds of institutional set-up which may bring about better coordination among participants in the system; on the other hand, it is becoming obvious that consensus is a crucial condition for efficient and effective coordination to be achieved.
