Ideas about what constitutes work, the ways work is organized, the tools used in work, and the relationship between work and the other components of life are all changing rapidly. The implications of these changes for vocational education and training (VET) in Australia and elsewhere were examined. The following issues were considered: (1) the loss of a clear direction or mission for VET; (2) increasing debate over focusing VET programs on meeting the individual needs of vocational education students or concentrating on developing an industry-driven system focused on employers' needs; (3) debate over whether VET should focus on particular jobs, careers, work in general, or life in general; (4) debate over the extent to which the VET curriculum should focus on specific vocational skills versus broad, underlying principles; and (5) debate over the relative emphasis placed on preemployement versus in-employment training, classroom-based and experience-based training, and course-centered versus individualized instruction. The following immediate challenges facing VET were identified: (1) making employer involvement in VET an economic imperative; (2) improving awareness of workplace realities among vocational teachers; (3) adapting cooperative programs to deal with multiple employers; and (4) building international alliances in VET. (Contains 24 references, 3 figures, and 1 table.) (MN)