This study aims to investigate the concept of proven experience, which is being increasingly used and emphasised in documents relating to the education of student teachers and nurses as well as in the training of these two professions. The study is aimed at academic vocational training (AVT) and is based upon interviews with the tutors of student teachers and nurses during their periods of AVT. The purpose of this study is to understand what constitutes the essence of proven experience, arising from the verbal statements given by AVT tutors in the field. The conclusion of this study is that the concept of proven experience should be considered at three levels: experience, tested experience and proven experience. Furthermore, those who use it without further consideration should understand the complexity of the concept. From a critical perspective it seems that government agencies use a concept that we assume is more characterised by ideological rhetoric than by conceptual precisenes