A key policy goal in many countries is ensuring that people develop the wide range of expertise required to service the needs of their economies and enable citizens to lead healthy and prosperous lives. Yet, creating the necessary economic and educational infrastructure and institutions to achieve this goal continues to be perceived and operationalized differently across the world. This is particularly noticeable in relation to Vocational Education and Training (VET). This chapter explores how VET can be conceptualized as both a social institution within formal educational infrastructures and as a boundary crossing agent that connects the economic, educational, and community spheres. These themes are examined through a discussion of three dynamic and interrelated concepts that have been considered as important to the development of expertise: occupation; apprenticeship; and communities of practice. The chapter draws on social theories of learning, political economy, social institutional theory, and social and economic history. © Anna-Theresa Renner, Leonhard Plank and Michael Getzner 2024.
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