On the last sunny Monday of autumn in this year of significant political change, Edge Foundation marked its 20th anniversary with an afternoon reception on the Terrace at the Houses of Parliament. Past the buttoned-up Victorian deco of Central Lobby and the medieval gravity of Westminster Hall, we gathered together colleagues, stakeholders, supporters MPs and Peers for a birthday celebration.
In a linen-draped long room overlooking the river Thames, we discussed how far we’ve come, and talked about how the road ahead looks for education and skills. We were also joined by apprentices and employers from the BBC, Tesco, The British Army, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and (aptly) the House of Commons. They came to demonstrate their own particular roads ahead in apprenticeships and technical and vocational pathways, some of the progressive routes Edge has been pleased to support over the last two decades. (So impressed were some MPs after seeing and talking to our excellent guests, that they left saying how much they’d like to hire an apprentice themselves.)
Edge Chief Executive Alice Gardner said, “When Edge began its journey in 2004, we faced an uphill battle. Technical and vocational education was often seen as the poorer relation and relegated to the sidelines of our education system. Today, that perception is changing:
- 81% of the public now believe that technical and vocational qualifications are just as valuable as academic ones.
- 82% want to see more encouragement in schools and colleges for young people to explore technical or vocational options.
- 90% think education should focus more on teaching young people skills that will be useful for life; and 88% for the workplace."
Alice Gardner, Chief Executive, Edge Foundation"These figures aren't just statistics; they represent a seismic shift in public opinion, one that Edge has been instrumental in driving. It’s time now, that policymakers – on all sides of both Houses – catch up."
Conversations in the room soon turned to the challenges facing the sector right now - the need to drive up supply of work-based opportunities for young people underpinning the Government’s Youth Guarantee, the scope and ambition of the Curriculum and Assessment Review, and the seismic potential of Skills Engand, given the right powers. Munira Wilson MP, the Liberal Democrats Education Spokesperson and our kind sponsor for the afternoon, welcomed the Government's moves to increase flexibility in the apprenticeship levy, aligning with her calls for a Skills and Training Levy, but expressed hopes to “ringfence some into a social mobility levy” to safeguard opportunities for the most disadvantaged.
Former Schools Minister and longstanding Conservative MP Damian Hinds noted that there is much more work ahead to address inequalities in accessing work experience opportunities. His words captured the rigour, resilience and work-readiness that technical and vocational education and training instil: “You learn the hard way, but if you turn up day after day, they give you the money!” Lord Jim Knight, a former Skills Minister under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, recalled a time when he daren't mention the “v-word” in the Department for Education and reflected on the difference Edge Foundation has made in its first 20 years.
We are very grateful that the conversation has evolved and, as our Chief Executive Alice Gardner said, we hope to hear much more dialogue that values and respects technical pathways - matched by actions - over the next two decades.
