Former M&S boss to help government address youth unemployment crisis
Neets report on young people’s prospects ‘traumatic,’ Nick Robinson says
Sir Keir Starmer has appointed Marc Bolland, the former boss of Marks & Spencer, to help tackle the youth unemployment crisis, which has left more than one million young people not in education, employment, or training (NEET).
A recent report led by former Labour health secretary Alan Milburn highlighted the severe economic impact of this issue, costing Britain £125 billion annually, a sum greater than the education budget and almost double the defence budget.
Marc Bolland will serve as the lead non-executive director in the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), with a mandate to convene business leaders to expand opportunities and create clear pathways into employment for 16-24-year-olds.
Bolland, who previously founded and chairs the charity Movement to Work, which has successfully helped over 200,000 unemployed young people into jobs, will also advise Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden on the government’s strategy following the Milburn Review.
The Milburn report warned that without urgent action, the number of NEET young people could rise to 1.25 million by 2031, attributing the crisis to a “whole-system failure” and a lack of entry-level jobs, despite some businesses blaming minimum wage increases.
