Schools have always prepared students for work, but now they need to prepare students to meet higher demands in the workplace. Schools must also cater for students who would once have left school early to go to an apprenticeship or a job. Partly as a result, more than 90 per cent of schools now offer VET in Years 11 and 12. There has been a 38 per cent increase in the number of secondary students undertaking VET between 2005 to 2012, and a 77 per cent increase in the number of school-based apprentices over this period. Preparing Secondary Students for Work examines a range of issues surrounding vocational learning and VET in secondary schools. These include collaboration between schools, registered training organisations and employers; collaboration with parents, including explanations to parents as to how VET in the school context can equip their children to find sustainable employment; and collaboration between stakeholders at the state/territory and national levels.