A strong system of vocational education and training (VET) is increasingly seen as a precondition for overcoming the current economic crisis in Europe. From being treated as the ‘poor relative’ of education and training systems, policymakers now acknowledge that VET not only plays a key role in the integration of young people into the labour market, it also provides the skills and competences essential for innovation and entrepreneurship. However, for VET to be able to meet these high expectations, continuous and systematic renewal is of critical importance. There are a number of factors relating to the economic crisis that pose challenges for VET labour market cooperation in Europe. The first is the increasing (potential) demand for IVET in relation to rising numbers of unemployed young people. While young people are not the only target group for VET, they represent the largest cohort within VET programs. Furthermore, the current crisis is serving to intensify skills polarisation in terms of qualification requirements, that are rising for all occupational groups, even elementary ones (see Cedefop, 2008b); skills mismatch is also becoming more pronounced due to contractions in the global economy (Cedefop, 2010d). Therefore, the need to support European VET systems to identify and anticipate future skill needs, to develop better matching between skills and labour market needs, and to bridge the gap between the worlds of education and work is imminent.