In recent years, VET has gained importance within the Spanish education system due to growth in enrolment and its normative and social recognition as a pathway for qualification, employability and social inclusion (Brunet & Moral, 2017; Martínez-Morales & Marhuenda-Fluixà, 2020). Historically perceived as a secondary pathway linked to segregation or school failure (Merino, 2005), subsequent reforms attempted to reverse this situation through the organisation of VET into training cycles; nevertheless, they did not fully succeed in eliminating the divide between academic and vocational pathways (Echeverría & Martínez-Clares, 2021). More recently, Organic Law 3/2022 has consolidated a modular, competence-based system aligned with European standards. Existing research indicates that VET in Spain predominantly enrols students from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds, with prior trajectories marked by low academic performance or risk of early school leaving, including a significant presence of young people of migrant origin (Merino et al., 2021). Access to VET is mediated by guidance processes and institutional opportunities, turning transitions into tension-laden spaces in which Basic VET may function as a retention mechanism despite high dropout rates (Tarabini & Jacovkis, 2021). In this context, trajectories are shaped as processes of dynamic vulnerability through the interaction of prior trajectories and institutional responses (Castel, 2003), where structural and guidance-related factors intensify or mitigate pre-existing risks at critical decision points (Arora et al., 2015). This article analyses how educational vulnerability is constructed and addressed in transitions into VET, focusing on the interaction between public policy repertoires, institutional practices and students’ experiences. Methodologically, the study combines a systematic analysis of national regulations coded along three key dimensions (attractiveness, transition, participation and retention) with qualitative data from observations in VET centres in the province of Valencia and interviews with students, therefore allowing to examine how policy framings of VET are recontextualised in institutional practices and personal experiences. The findings indicate that: students reproduce political narratives about the practicality of VET and improved educational relationships to explain its relevance after difficult school experiences; transitions are strongly mediated by guidance processes and centre-level support capacities, making vulnerability particularly visible at moments of change; and promises of permeability and equal opportunities are perceived unevenly across institutional and territorial contexts, revealing gaps between policy discourse and experienced realities. Taken together, transitions towards VET emerge as critical points where prior trajectories, institutional responses, and local conditions interact, shaping the students’ sense of belonging, well-being, and retention within the system

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