The global economic landscape is experiencing significant change, driven by a skills-first approach to workforce development (World Economic Forum, 2023). As nations address the requirements of de-carbonisation and the integration of generative artificial intelligence, the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and Further Education (FE) sectors are increasingly central to policy discussions. These sectors are frequently identified as primary engines for economic resilience (Keep, 2015), yet a disconnect remains. While policy mandates expect innovation from the sector, the intellectual labour and localised expertise of the practitioners delivering this change are often overlooked within the broader educational landscape (Hodgson and Spours, 2019). This special issue addresses that gap by proposing that for the sector to meet these challenges, it must be viewed as a legitimate site valuable practitioner-led knowledge production (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 2009; Kemmis & McTaggart, 2005; Eraut, 2004).