This paper is based on a study (2010-11) which examined the meso-social benefits of, and barriers to vocational education and training (VET) for adult refugees to European countries. The project was commissioned by CEDEFOP (the Centre Europeen pour le Developpement de la Formation Professionnelle), the European Agency funded by the European Commission to promote the development of VET in the EU. It involved bringing together experts from different European countries (UK, Germany, Romania, Italy, Denmark) to share knowledge. There is a large amount of information, both on refugees and on VET in individual countries and organisations. However, it is mostly treated as two separate, unrelated themes. This research begins to fill that gap, providing a cross European study and analysis. We argue that a key factor in shaping refugees’ experiences of, and access to, VET are the racial structures integral to capitalist societies. The findings are contextualised by drawing together other literature which analyses white privilege in the labour market, and we argue that barriers faced by refugees are potentially related to structures and discourses of white privilege which shape notions of work and workers in Europe and sustain racial hierarchies.