Drawing upon three large studies in Australian higher education, this presentation sets out a case for the kinds of curriculum practices, as well as a range of pedagogic practices that can be enacted prior to, during and after students’ work placements. Increasingly, tertiary education institutions are providing workplace experiences for their students to achieve goals associated with occupational preparation and work readiness. However, without considering how best these experiences might be organised, enacted and augmented the full benefits of these learning experiences may not be fully realised. Drawing upon three large studies in Australian higher education, this presentation sets out a case for the kinds of curriculum practices (i.e. intended, enacted and experienced), as well as a range of pedagogic practices that can be enacted prior to, during and after students’ work placements, and the kinds of personal practices of students likely to support the effective integration and reconciliation of experiences in both the workplace and educational setting as directed towards developing robust occupational knowledge.