Raising the attractiveness of vocational education and training (VET) has been on the UK as well as the European agenda for some time, primarily for economic and social development reasons. However, little is known about the role of skills competitions in improving the attractiveness of VET. This study uses data from 110 interviews with WorldSkills competitors and their associates to examine the potential contributions of skills competitions to revitalise VET in the UK. Adopting the enhancement strategy we propose that the experiences of young people who have been internationally recognised for excellence in their respective vocations are inspiring for others. Such experiences have the potential to refocus the attention from a deficit model of VET to the level of excellence that can be achieved through competitions. However, the enhancement strategy in and of itself is not enough to raise the attractiveness of VET. To do so requires consistent policy efforts oriented on spreading excellence throughout the entire VET sector. The ultimate disruption of the policy cycle that perpetuates the existing vocational/academic divide may be achieved through a systemic approach that builds upon the examples of vocational excellence.

The involvement of business, including the engagement of employers, with the education sector, in particular across the secondary phase, has been a contested area for over 30 years. A recent example of employer engagement is the development of the new Diploma qualifications, introduced as part of the 14-19 education reform in England and supposedly, employer-designed qualifications: knowledge and transferable skills are developed in an applied context. It is argued that employer involvement in Diploma development represented an extreme manifestation of employer engagement. Research data reveal employers' enthusiasm and commitment to the task and their appreciation of being able to participate in shaping the education landscape in a significant way. At the same time the question is raised whether employers were stretched beyond their capacity. Even though a large number of employers were mobilised, there were clear insufficiencies in the process. Considering the size and spread of employers in England, the number of participating employers was small and so could not be representative. Employers were unfamiliar with the technicalities of qualifications development, and many felt that their initial vision and content suggestions were not incorporated as the qualification developed. Despite employers' good will, the question is raised about sustainability of existing employer engagement in the current economic climate, let alone its intensification.Keywords: employer engagement in compulsory education; employer input in curriculum development; Diploma qualification; education reform in England Background Links between business and education, across primary, secondary and tertiary phases, have been a feature of the English compulsory education system for well over 30 years (Huddleston 2012). Long before this, the Report of the Royal Commission on Technical Instruction (the Samuelson Report)

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