Beatrice Barleon
Head of Policy and Public Affairs, EngineeringUK
After having worked in the charity sector for over 13 years in a range of policy, campaigning and public affairs functions she joined EngineeringUK in February 2020. Since then she has led the team to develop expertise in the pathways into engineering and technology and led the development of a series of reports on careers provision, T Levels and apprenticeships. She also brings previous experience in a range of policy areas from women’s representation in politics to improving employment opportunities for disabled people, including access to apprenticeships. Beatrice is passionate about improving education, employment and skills opportunities for all.
The Milburn review, enrichment framework, National Apprenticeships Week and more
From our work on post 16 pathways and the Milburn Review, to supporting the Enrichment Framework, the first few months of 2026 have been full of momentum. National Apprenticeships Week added even more energy, and plans for our next Scotland roundtable are already taking shape. In this blog, I’ll recap the policy team’s key moments so far in 2026 and share what we’re looking forward to next.
Hitting the ground running in 2026
Consultation on post-16 pathways
The government’s flagship Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper, published last October, proposed wide-ranging reforms to the post-16 qualifications landscape. These included the introduction of V Levels and two new pathways at Level 2, which the Department for Education subsequently launched a consultation on.
Our policy team worked with the National Engineering Policy Centre (NEPC) on a response to this consultation, submitted in January. In it, we argued that some simplification and greater consistency in post-16 vocational qualifications could help ensure that they are well recognised. However, variety in qualifications’ size and content can be important to meet learners’ and employers’ needs.
Milburn review of NEETs
With the number of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) growing at a concerning pace, former minister Alan Milburn’s review comes at a vital moment. As part of the review, we submitted evidence to the Department for Work and Pensions last month.
In our submission, we explained that many young people struggle to access the support they need to stay in education or work. We called for a more inclusive curriculum, better careers advice and wider access to meaningful work experience, especially in STEM. Furthermore, we highlighted our concerns that recent policies like foundation apprenticeships will not be enough to address the decline in Level 2 apprenticeships, limiting young people’s opportunities.
Select Committee report on skills for transport manufacturing
Last month, the House of Commons Transport Select Committee published the final report of its inquiry into skills for transporting manufacturing, which we previously submitted evidence to. It made a series of recommendations on education and skills, including changes to the apprenticeship system.
We were delighted to see EngineeringUK’s evidence quoted on a range of points, including the importance of boosting uptake of STEM subjects at GCSE level to addressing skills shortages. Given the ongoing work of the Gender Pathways Collective, it was also great to see us quoted on the urgent need to address diversity challenges in manufacturing.
Curriculum review and enrichment framework
We continue to keep a close eye on the curriculum review – both in England and Scotland. We have been working with the National Climate Education Action Plan stakeholder group, the Gender Pathways Collective and the National Engineering Policy Centre to develop some clear recommendations for this next step of the curriculum development.
Behind the scenes, we have also been collaborating with sector partners and Department for Education officials to ensure that STEM is explicitly included in the government’s new enrichment framework for England. The new framework was first set out in the Curriculum and Assessment review last year, with all schools and colleges in England required to follow it in the future. We co-ordinated a joint letter on behalf of over 30 organisations to the Schools Minister late last year asking for clarity on where STEM would fit in the five areas of the new framework. We’ve been supporting government officials on how we can ensure that the framework enables more schools to offer extracurricular STEM activities.
With regards to the Scottish curriculum review – we have now published the insights from our roundtable event with Education Scotland and industry representatives from across engineering and tech, which we held in December last year.
National Apprenticeships Week
Last month, we celebrated National Apprenticeship Week 2026. To mark the occasion, I wrote a piece for New Civil Engineer, reflecting on the role of apprenticeships in ensuring a skilled, diverse and thriving engineering and technology workforce.
As in previous years, it was great to see the government unveil a series of policy announcements to boost apprenticeships for young people over the week. These included plans to pilot ‘a university clearance-style system’ where applicants who don’t secure their top choice apprenticeship will be re-directed to similar opportunities in their area. We also welcomed the DfE’s plans to create up to thousands more apprenticeships and T Level work placements in construction roles as part of its school buildings programme.
Read the New Civil Engineer article
Looking ahead
Cross-border apprenticeships roundtable
We are doing some work on practical ways that Scottish Government and Westminster could support smoother interaction between the two distinct apprenticeship systems. As part of this project, we will be convening an online workshop over the coming weeks, bringing together government, sector bodies and employers.
The workshop will explore how differences between the Scottish and English apprenticeship systems can create challenges for cross border engineering and technology employers. It will also encourage participants to explore practical measures that governments and agencies could take to help employers navigate both systems more easily.
Get in touch for more information
Gender pathways into engineering & technology
EngineeringUK is one of the leading members of the Gender Pathways Collective and has been working with nearly 50 other organisations to achieve a step change in the number of girls on pathways into engineering and technology careers. To help drive this work forward, we will be working with partners on a white paper which will include key recommendations to government emerging from the Collective’s work. Watch out for further news on this!
Find out more about our Policy and Public Affairs team’s work
