Vocational educators and trainers directly face the challenges of changing structures of work and economy in “new times”. This paper discusses changing relations of competence, learning and innovation in contemporary workplaces and the implications these have for vocational education and training (VET) policy and provision. Using empirical material collected in the course of a recent research project on competency-based training (CBT), the argument is made that CBT, as currently constituted in policy, limits possibilities for the creation of certain kinds of competence, learning and innovation by emphasising the development of outcomes rather than processes. The conclusion is drawn that new principles of competence, learning and innovation need to be promoted in VET in order for policy to better represent emerging understandings of these processes and their relations and actively encourage workplaces not only to adapt to the new socio-economic environment but also take a proactive approach with an ability to reshape this environment. © 1999, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
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