The NEET crisis

Edge met Minister for Skills, Baroness Jacqui Smith recently to update her on the Apprenticeships Work and Small Business Summer campaigns and she filmed an endorsement of Small Business Summer.

Rosie Clayton gives an overview of place-based education in the UK and wonders if Andy Burnham's Manchester view of education will translate to a national outlook, in the light of the Young people and work: interim report led by Alan Milburn.

In this episode of our "Insights from the Edge" podcast, we looked at the findings of the interim report from the Milburn Review with a particular lens on what young people themselves are telling us. With Olly Newton, Ayesha Baloch and Lauren Mistry.

The reasons behind the current NEET crisis are varied and complex. Elaine Lilley MBE, Chair of Edge Foundation's Board of Trustees, argues that the links between education and business must be restored.

Led by Amazing Apprenticeships, Small Business Summer helps young people in years 7 to 13 find out about the small businesses in their local community and understand the huge benefits of being an apprentice in a smaller organisation.

The White Paper, provided detail on the Government’s plan to build a world-leading skills system which meets the needs of employers and supports innovation and research.

We were pleased to see the Government commit to guaranteeing a job or training place for every 18 to 21-year-old on long-term benefits, strengthening their Youth Guarantee promise.

Apprenticeships Work is an Edge campaign to encourage more small businesses to take on apprentices. SMEs are the backbone of our economy and our communities, but often struggle to engage with the apprenticeship system.

Young people are now more interested in apprenticeships than ever before, but the system for finding and applying for apprenticeships is failing to keep pace. Our policy report tries to understand how to make apprenticeships work much more effectively, especially for SMEs.

SMEs are the backbone of the UK economy, but their participation in apprenticeships has been in sustained decline. Our policy report explores how we can increase apprenticeship opportunities in SMEs through brokerage services.

Evidence from raising the participation age in England. Eleven years ago, the Raising of the Participation Age placed a duty on young people to remain in learning (although not confined to staying on at school) until their 18th birthday. Does it work? A research report.

An Edge research report found that students generally valued the coherence of T Levels, which aligned their learning with specific career paths. The student voice is invaluable in understanding the real impact of T Levels.