Insights from the Edge

This episode explores the pre-apprenticeships system in England and how it could be re-modelled to better prepare young people and employers for apprenticeships.

The Fabian Society recently published a new report, ‘Pathways to Apprenticeships’, in partnership with Edge and Youth Futures Foundation. The Chartered Institute for Personnel Development also contributed polling data to the report. 

Edge Foundation Senior Policy Advisor James Gordon hosts the report’s author Joe Dromey, General Secretary of the Fabian Society, and Lizzie Crowley, Senior Public Policy Manager at the CIPD too discuss.

Now that all the noise and excitement has died down a little, we look back at the Labour Party conference 2026, the first for Andy Burnham as Prime Minister. What stood out for the world of education and skills? What direction is the new Prime Minister charting for education in general? Edge Senior Policy Adviser James Gordon is joined by Simon Parkinson, General Secretary and Chief Executive at the WEA and Fiona Bardell, Senior Public Affairs Officer at the Association of Colleges to discuss.

In this episode of Insights from the Edge we’re looking back at what’s happened in FE and Skills policy so far this year. We’ll also look forward at what the remainder of the year might hold in store. This follows on from our first episode back in January, where we asked Ben Rowland from Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) and LJ Rawlings from Youth Employment UK what they were anticipating for the world of FE and Skills in 2026.

A lot has changed since then and we have a new Prime Minister and a new Education Secretary in post so it seemed like a good idea to pause and take stock. We're joined again by Ben Rowland and by LJ’s colleague Baz Ramaiah, Director of Policy and Research at Youth Employment UK and hosted by Edge Senior Policy Advisor, James Gordon.

England’s post-16 qualifications landscape is entering another significant period of reform with the introduction of V Levels. A new report from Edge Foundation draws on research with FE practitioners and a recent roundtable discussion held with FE stakeholders including, teachers, college principals, employers, awarding bodies and more. The roundtable constitutes a snapshot of a moment in time that reflects the reaction in June 2026 to the planned introduction of this qualification.

Edge Education and Senior Policy Researcher Dana Dabbous, and Education and Digital Skills Consultant Mark Campbell from Ada. National College for Digital Skills discuss the report with Olly Newton, Executive Director at Edge Foundation.

July is National Work Experience Month and Edge is a key Supporting Partner. In this episode,  Edge Executive Director Olly Newton hosts Beryl Henshaw, Managing Director, B&E Together Ltd and Nick Newman, Founder & CEO, National Careers Week CIC, who discuss the importance of work experience for young people, the challenges faced by employers, and the coming month. They share insights, success stories, and strategies to enhance work experience opportunities across the UK.

Evidence shows that when a student gains access to meaningful work experience activity, they not only develop a better understanding of what the world of work looks and feels like — they are also better prepared for the transition from education into employment. 

Chapters (timings are approximate)

00:00 Introduction to National Work Experience Month
01:34 The Importance of Work Experience for Young People
03:38 Challenges in Offering Work Experience
06:09 Building on National Careers Week
08:46 Virtual Work Experience and Social Capital
12:13 Collaboration for Effective Work Experience
14:45 Celebrating Best Practices in Work Experience
17:12 The Impact of Work Experience on Young Lives
18:45 Encouraging Employers to Get Involved

In this episode of Insights from the Edge, we’re looking at the findings of the recent first report from the Milburn Review with a particular lens on what young people themselves are telling us.  

Hosted by Olly Newton, Executive Director at Edge, with guests Ayesha Baloch, Head of Youth Employment Policy at Impetus and Lauren Mistry, Deputy CEO of Youth Employment UK.

Chapters (timings are approximate)

00:00 Introduction to the Milburn Review and Youth Voice
02:05 Insights from the Breaking Barriers Collective
04:25 Understanding NEAT: Barriers and Success Stories
05:18 Key Messages from the Youth Voice Census
09:25 Employer Perspectives on Youth Employment
14:12 Effective Strategies for Supporting NEAT Young People
19:03 Recommendations for the Milburn Review

A  series of 20 minute podcasts from Edge Foundation designed to be heard over coffee or a commute exploring how education and the world of work can better serve young people and meet skills and social needs in an ever-changing world.

What is meaningful modern work experience? How do we re-imagine work experience for the 2020s? In this episode we’re marking The Careers & Enterprise Company’s employer pledge week. How can we encourage employers, including SMEs, to offer work experience placements for young people?

Edge Executive Director Olly Newton is joined by John Yarham, from The Careers & Enterprise Company, the national body for careers education and Chris Mayne from Electech Innovation Cluster, a group of electronic and electrical engineering SMEs based in Lancashire.

Teacher encounters: https://www.edge.co.uk/practice/practice-library/teacher-externships/

In 2022, the Council of Europe launched a project on the Reference Framework for Competencies for Democratic Culture in Vocational Education and Training in Europe, or VET. Its broad aim was to support member states to develop a culture of democracy in their VET systems. In October 2025 the Council published Learning Democracy in Vocational Education and Training in Europe: An Anthology and Edge commissioned a series of essays based on the chapters in the Anthology and written by the same authors. This episode is hosted by Dr Andrea Laczik, Director of Research at Edge Foundation, with one of those authors, Søren Kristensen, Researcher Techne, Denmark, and Salvador Sala, Head of the European Space for Citizenship Education Unit, Council of Europe, France.

A new series of 20 minute podcasts from Edge Foundation designed to be heard over coffee or a commute exploring how education and the world of work can better serve young people and meet skills and social needs in an ever-changing world.

Ahead of "Breaking Barriers" a collective event from FE News in partnership with Edge Foundation, this episode looks at what we can learn from the day to day experiences of young people not in employment, education or training, otherwise known as NEETS. Edge Executive Director Olly Newton is joined by Hannah Barnett, Head of Social, Education and Health Hub at Brentford FC Community Sports Trust and Nicolette Campbell, Former Head of Programme & Design for a GM youth employment charity.

A new series of 20 minute podcasts from Edge Foundation designed to be heard over coffee or a commute exploring how education and the world of work can better serve young people and meet skills and social needs in an ever-changing world.

In this episode we reflect on the Government’s approach to V Levels, announced earlier this week. V Levels are a new form of post-16 qualification which will replace the range of different technical qualifications available for students after they finish their GCSEs. They will be equivalent to one A Level, allowing students to mix and match A-levels and V-levels.Host Sorah Gluck, Edge Senior Policy and Public Affairs Manager, is joined by guests Noni Csogor from the Sixth Form Colleges Association and Paul Steer from OCR.

(00:00) Introduction
(01:03) Overview of Level 3 reform
(05:05) What this means for AAQs
(07:28) Timelines
(10:07) The “myth” of complexity?
(12:25) Rationale behind first three subjects
(17:16) Reflections on overall reforms
(21:36) Close