The special focus articles in this issue deal with a key education policy vision: the networking of education offerings and sectors at municipal and regional level. These articles reflect on the new functional responsibilities and planning and development tasks that go hand-in-hand with such an undertaking. Approaches and models from day-to-day practice - such as local transition management, implementing a lifelong learning strategy and cross-border networking - are featured. In his introductory commentary to this issue, President Manfred Kremer of the Federal Insti-tute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) underscores the importance of networking strategies for ensuring greater vertical and horizontal permeability between the individual stages of education and education sectors. In order to eliminate functional weaknesses in the education and assistance systems, cooperation and networking must become a matter of course. This issue also includes reports on the proportion of university graduates in Germany compared to other OECD member states, on the introduction and testing of the extended examination for the occupation Management Assistant for Retail Sales and on improvements in the training for the occupation Judicial Clerk.