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 FE 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.