To help schools and colleges to manage better their partnerships for vocational education and in response to an undertaking in "Lifelong Partners," HMIE has recently published a self-evaluation guide for use with school-college partnerships. Against this background of policy initiatives, it is timely to examine the current state of play in vocational education for school pupils in S3 and above. This report derives from HMIE inspection and other activities up to the end of the 2004/05 school session. HM Inspectors drew on the findings of published reports and carried out fieldwork in a sample of education authorities, secondary schools, further education colleges, and other training providers. They held discussions with a wide range of education authority officers, school staff, including head teachers, other school managers and teachers, and college managers and teaching staff. They also interviewed pupils who had participated in, or were participating in, vocational programmes delivered by their local college or other provider. The report describes and evaluates the planning processes in which schools, education authorities, and colleges engage. It describes current provision and identifies strengths and areas for improvement. It examines factors which contribute to successful vocational education. Finally, the report makes a number of recommendations for improvement and enhancement. Appended are: (1) Examples of Good Practice; (2) Organizations Visited and Consulted; and (3) Sources of Support. (Contains 7 footnotes.)