These three volumes comprise the background publication of the second report on vocational education and training (VET) research in Europe. The two parts of Volume 1 contain 10 papers; Volume 2 contains 11 papers in two parts; and there are 10 papers in the two parts and annex of Volume 3. In Volume 1 are the following: "Steering, Networking, and Profiles of Professionals in VET" (Lassnigg); "Financing VET" (Green et al.); "How to Improve the Standing of Vocational Compared to General Education" (Lasonen, Manning); "Certification and Legibility of Competence" (Bouder et al.); "Changing Institutional and Political Role of Nonformal Learning" (Bjornavold); "Problems Raised by the Changing Role of Trainers in a European Context" (Brugia, de Blignieres); "Lifelong Learning" (Cheallaigh); "Training for New Jobs" (Onstenk); "Vocational Training and Innovative Practices in the Environmental Sector" (Loos); and "Company-Based Learning in the Context of New Forms of Learning and Differentiated Training Paths" (Dehnbostel, Dybowski). Volume 2 contains these papers: "Globalization, Division of Labor, and Training Needs from a Company View" (Dejonckheere, Van Hootegem); "Training, Mobility, and Regulation of the Wage Relationship" (Hanchane); "Employment and Training Practices of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises" (Trouve); "Human Resource Development in Europe" (Nyhan); "Reporting on Human Capital" (Westphalen); "Vocational Training Research on the Basis of Enterprise Surveys" (Bellmann); "Skills Market" (Planas et al.); "Economic Performance of Education and Training" (Barrett); "Unemployment and Skills from a Dynamic Perspective" (Bollens); "Overqualification" (Buchel); and "Forecasting Skill Requirements at National and Company Levels" (Wilson). Volume 3 and its Annex contain these papers: "Training and Individual Performance" (Pfeiffer); "Effect of National Institutional Differences on Education/Training to Work Transitions in Europe" (Hannan et al.); "Education and Labor Market Change" (Hannan, Werquin); "Selection, Social Exclusion, and Training Offers for Target Groups" (Vranken, Frans); "Training and Employment Perspectives for Lower Qualified People" (Brandsma); "Research on VET at the Crossroads of Transition in Central and Eastern Europe" (Strietska-Ilina); "VET Research in Other European and Non-European Countries" (Lauterbach et al.); "Research on VET in the Current Research Framework of the European Commission" (Van den Brande); "Synopsis of Selected VET-Related Projects Undertaken in the Framework of the Leonardo da Vinci I Program"; and "Targeted Socioeconomic Research." (YLB)