Australia's competitive success with innovation-based products and services is an influential factor to its long-term prosperity. Phillip Toner, Jane Marceau, Richard Hall and Gillian Considine examine the role of vocational education and training (VET) and occupations in innovative industries and firms. They find VET is vital to developing knowledge and practical skills across a broad range of occupations, and people in vocational occupations are among principal sources of ideas for technological innovation. Further, innovative firms reported a high level of satisfaction with public and private training, which the authors conclude is due to the high level of consultation between firms and TAFE. However, firms identified the need for employees to develop generic skills, such as working in teams and developing problem-solving and communication skills, as an opportunity for the VET sector to meet unmet demand.