This paper reports on an ongoing research project which seeks to examine the transfer processes between the challenges of the world of work and school-based training contexts by investigating the interplay between these two contexts in four European countries (England, Germany, Sweden and Finland). Three elements of transfer processes are identified and discussed: institutional frameworks, curricular provision and teacher training and professionalism. These three elements will guide the presentation and discussion of preliminary findings drawn from the comparative investigation of transfer processes in Sweden and Finland. The paper focuses on upper secondary education and the connections made with the world of work. The discussion is embedded in a brief overview of the wider discourse on the fit of school-based training provisions with the challenges posed by the increasingly dynamic economies in Sweden and Finland, including a discussion of current reform agendas in the two countries. Finally, the transfer mechanisms developed in these two Nordic countries are examined for potentially valuable lessons for the German context.In Germany, the recently introduced concept of 'areas of learning' (Lernfeldkonzept) has initiated a reconstruction of learning processes at vocational schools. The concept's main idea is to transfer activities and tasks trainees are confronted with in training companies into self-contained 'areas of learning' taught at vocational schools. Traditional subjects are transformed into cross- curricular teaching and learning arrangements in which comprehensive tasks have to be fulfilled and real-life problems have to be solved by the trainees. Ideally, these learning arrangements should be planned and implemented in such a way that the trainees are able to improve their skills by actively engaging in learning arrangements that resemble the structure of the corresponding occupational field. However, the transfer process of typical tasks of occupational fields into school curricula has proven difficult. Current research indicates a lack of articulation between the situations trainees are faced with in their training companies and teaching and learning provision in vocational schools. This articulation can be described as a transfer process between the world of work and school-based training. Problems associated with this transfer process seem to be one of the main reasons for the limited acceptance of the concept by teachers and trainees at German vocational schools. The paper concludes with a comparative summary of the current issues involved in these three national contexts with regard to school-to-work transfer processes. The difficulties are outlined, but the emphasis will be on potentially useful strategies for linking school- and work-based learning. Various types of evidence will be drawn from the three countries, including both analysis of the research literature and empirical work.