This paper delineates factors influencing the development of policy for vocational education and training (VET), by identifying similarities and differences between policy in the United Kingdom and Australia. Although framed by the same model of economic orthodoxy, significant differences emerge in policy orientation and implementation which are sourced in political and ideological factors founded within the historical and institutional bases of these countries. These differences are of greater magnitude than is apparent from the adoption of common initiatives such as competency standards and industry leadership in both countries. Having overviewed these differences, the case of Modern Apprenticeships being implemented in the United Kingdom is advanced to illustrate further these factors and their consequences for practice within VET. This is undertaken by comparing that initiative to models of entry-level training which have been enacted here. The theoretical basis for this discussion is found in an analysis of policy from an interrelated three part framework advanced by Ball (1990) which comprises economic, political and ideological factors.