There are many different approaches to the term ‘work-based learning’. One approach refers to learning that occurs when people do real work in a real work environment. This is paid or unpaid work that leads to the production of real goods and services. Practical learning that takes place in an educational institution – for instance in a vocational school’s workshop – and classroom-based learning that happens to take place in an enterprise are not WBL. Virtual firms, practice firms and simulation tools are used by some educational institutions. These are not a substitute for the participation of learners in work practice and process, as they cannot create all of the features of a real workplace, but they can be useful when the alternative is difficult to access.

According to an another approach Work-based learning (WBL) in vocational education and training is learning that occurs in real work environments through participation in authentic work activities and interactions. Work-based learning is a central tenet of VET, because it emphasises learning through practice in the workplace. Work-based learning is embedded in the curriculum and can involve deliberate engagement with those experiences for learning purposes and the formal recognition of the competencies achieved through those experiences. There are several different approaches to work-based learning in VET. In some models, the learner is an employee who is located in the workplace more than in the classroom, which contrasts with other models where learners are primarily students in education and training providers, with only some timespent in the workplace or undertaking work-related projects.

The third approach highlightens tree major aspects of WBL: learning through work, learning for work and learning at work.

The main types of WBL are as following:

• Apprenticeships provide occupational skills and typically lead to a recognised qualification. They combine learning in the workplace with school-based learning in a structured way. In most cases, apprenticeships last several years. Most often the apprentice is considered an employee, and has a work contract and a salary.
• Traineeships and internships are workplace training periods that complement formal or nonformal education and training programmes. They may last from a few days or weeks to months. They may or may not include a work contract and payment.
• On-the-job training is training which takes place in the normal work environment. It is the most common type of WBL throughout an individual’s working life. These most common types of WBL usually – but not always – combine elements of learning in the workplace with classroom-based learning.
• Job shadowing: is a short term opportunity that introduces the student to a particular job or career by pairing the student with an employee of the workplace. By following or 'shadowing' the employee, the student gets familiar with the duties and responsibilities associates with that job.
• Business/industry field trip: offer the students an insight in the latest technical advancements and business strategies of an enterprise. Students also gain awareness of the various career opportunities available and understand the driving forces of the community's economy.
• Entrepreneurial experience: This includes setting up of specific business, right from the planning, organizing and managing stage to the risk control and management aspects of a business.
• Cooperative education: In cooperative education, the work experience is planned in conjunction with the technical classroom instruction. This method is used by universities that do not have access to state-of-art equipment required to transact the technical course practically.
• School-based enterprise: A school-based enterprise is a simulated or actual business run by the school. It offers students a learning experience by letting them manage the various aspects of a business
• Service learning: This strategy combines community service with career, where students provide volunteer service to public and non-profit agencies, civic and government offices etc.