England's vocational education and training system (VET) has been criticised for several decades (Wolf, 2011). While its shortcomings have been explored to some extent (Chankseliani et al., 2016; Lupton, 2021), experiences of VET for young people with a migrant background did not receive much attention (McPherson et al., 2024). This scoping study explores issues about how VET helps young migrants integrate into the education system, the labour market, and local communities and societies. By looking at the role of VET in their transition through education and the labour market, the study presents (a) some of the core issues young people from different migrant backgrounds experience, (b) the challenges colleges and private providers face in providing effective VET offerings and (c) good practices supporting young people to achieve favourable outcomes. To realise our research aims, we use qualitative, in-depth interviews and focus groups with young people (aged 16-21) from different migrant backgrounds, migration histories and educational trajectories who continue their education in further education colleges and the practitioners who actively work with young people with migrant backgrounds. Based on the interviews we had with sixteen young learners and two practitioners who work with migrant young people and one national/regional ESOL coordinator, our results show diverse experiences for migrant young people. Most young people spoke of their colleges favourably, although they mentioned various issues that may hinder progression. Among these, professional spoken and written language skills were the most prevalent. They pointed out a mismatch between their aspirations and the courses they were placed in. Nevertheless, most acknowledged the valuable skills set they developed. The English and maths qualifications that are necessary to progress to higher-level qualifications prevent some young people from continuing with their educational aspirations even if these particular aspirations are practical and do not necessitate the required levels of English and maths. Practitioners in our study highlighted a range of complementary topics which were rarely recognised by young people in the study, namely young people being placed in lower-level courses than their ability due to their language skills and a change in the funding arrangements at the age of 18, which limits their options at a crucial point in their education paths. Our results highlight a gap in migrant-specific support and guidance in the VET area, a need to overhaul the funding system for them, and a more comprehensive careers advice provision for young people with a migrant background.

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