Preventing early school leaving and supporting integration into labour market are in the focus of national policies across Europe. In Estonia, this orientation is strongly reflected in national education strategies, which prioritise reducing dropout, supporting transitions after compulsory basic education, and improving access for at-risk groups (Haridus- ja Teadusministeerium, 2024). Vulnerability in Estonian VET is concentrated among SEN students, learners requiring language support (refugees from Ukraine and Russian-speaking students) and young people from socio-economically disadvantaged regions. Among the most significant targeted policy measures are the vocational orientation study programme – an EQF level 2 programme designed as a preparatory or second-chance pathway – and a set of measures supporting SEN students through adapted curricula, counselling, and support services. While evaluations suggest these measures have strong inclusive intentions (Kallaste et al., 2022; Roos et al., 2021), evidence also points to uneven implementation (Riigikontroll, 2025). This paper focuses on the gap between policy intentions and policy enactment. The study is theoretically informed by a policy enactment perspective, which conceptualises policy as a process of interpretation and translation shaped by local contexts, institutional histories rather than as linear implementation (Ball et al., 2012). Policy reforms and interventions aimed to support inclusion may have unintended consequences and generate new forms of differentiation and vulnerabilities when enacted in practice. The study employs a qualitative multi-method research design combining systematic policy analysis with semi-structured interviews conducted in three Estonian vocational schools with staff and vulnerable students. Vocational orientation programme emerges as a key institutional buffer supporting transition and preventing dropout. Schools use these programmes flexibly to respond to diverse needs and increasingly as a mechanism to redirect students at risk of dropping out from EQF level 4 programmes. While this flexibility enhances inclusion, it also involves delayed progression and the potential segregation of vulnerable learners, and difficulties in transition to the labour market. Moreover, institutional capacity strongly shapes policy enactment. Schools differ markedly in their access to support specialists. In contexts with limited resources, vocational teachers increasingly perform hybrid roles combining teaching, counselling, and social work. This expanding role is largely unrecognised in formal policy and raises concerns regarding staff burnout. Student interviews reveal diverse transition trajectories, ranging from relatively linear pathways to highly fragmented ones involving repeated dropout and mental health struggles. For many students, the transition from basic education to VET coincides with a difficult developmental period, intensifying vulnerability and leading to cumulation of disadvantages.

Ball, S. J., Maguire, M., & Braun, A. (2012). How schools do policy: Policy enactments in secondary schools. Routledge. Haridus- ja Teadusministeerium [Ministry of Education and Research] (2024). Eesti Vabariigi haridusseaduse muutmise ja sellega seonduvalt teiste seaduste muutmise seaduse (õppimiskohustuse kehtestamine) eelnõu seletuskiri [Act Amending the Education Act of the Republic of Estonia, draft explanatory memorandum]. https://hm.ee/sites/default/files/documents/2024-05/Eesti%20Vabariigi%20haridusseaduse%20ja%20teiste%20seaduste%20muutmise%20SELETUSKIRI%20%28%C3%B5ppimiskohustus%29.docx Kallaste, E., Lang, A., Rentel, A., Räis, M. L., & Sõmer. M. (2022). Lisaõppe ja kutsevaliku õppe analüüs [Analysis of additional studies and vocational orientation curriculum]. https://www.hm.ee/sites/default/files/documents/2023-01/L%C3%B5ppraport%20(1).pdf Riigikontroll [National Audit Office of Estonia]. (2025). Haridusliku erivajadusega noorte kutseõpingute ja töölesiirdumise toetamine. [Audit report: Supporting vocational training and transition to work of young people with special educational needs]. Riigikontroll [National Audit Office of Estonia]. https://aruanded.riigikontroll.ee/80140/ Roos, L., Trasberg, K., Kõiv, K., & Säre, E. (2021a). Implementing VET start programme in Estonian vocational schools: The experience of teachers and support specialists. Socialinis ugdymas, 55(1), 16–41. https://doi.org/10.15823/su.2021.55.2