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.