This book presents young people's views, understanding, and opinions on a range of issues related to learning, employment, and the world of work in England. They are compared with the statements and policies of those responsible for education, training, and employment. Chapter 1 explores education, training, and employment options open to young people and the real challenges they face as they attempt to make the transition to adulthood. Chapter 2 describes the two groups of young people presented in the book--apprentices and full-time students--and discusses questionnaire data and data selection. Chapter 3 presents apprentices' views on choosing between full-time education and the work-based route; advice and guidance; and problems with school. Chapter 4 presents apprentices' views on their learning experiences on and off the job. Chapter 5 explores young people's attitudes to and experiences of key skills. It finds considerable problems with the practice and philosophy of core or key skills; specifically, young people are ambivalent about key skills and the issue of transfer is still unresolved. Chapter 6 presents young people's experiences of being mentored, supervised, trained, and assessed in the workplace. Data shows systematic, well-planned mentoring and structured, ongoing assessment are not occurring as they should in apprenticeships. Chapter 7 brings together themes and suggests policy lessons. Appendixes contain 151 references and an index. (YLB)