Former Marks & Spencer chief executive Marc Bolland has been appointed as a government jobs adviser to address the growing youth unemployment crisis in the UK. Bolland, who led the retailer from 2010 to 2016, will chair a summit of business leaders amid warnings that the country risks a 'lost generation' without urgent action.
Around one million 16- to 24-year-olds – one in eight – are currently not in education, employment or training (Neets). An interim report by former health secretary Alan Milburn warned that this figure could rise to 1.25 million by the 2030s without radical intervention. Bolland will serve as lead non-executive director at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), Downing Street announced on Saturday.
Bolland, who also previously led Morrisons, was selected due to his existing work with the DWP through his charity Movement to Work, which has already helped over 200,000 unemployed young people find jobs. The government said he would collaborate with chief executives across sectors to create clear routes into work and tackle the longstanding challenge of youth unemployment.
A central part of Bolland's role will be to work with charities supporting disabled young people to ensure they have access to training and employment opportunities. He will also advise Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden on how to respond to Milburn's findings. McFadden said the appointment sends a 'clear signal' that the government is serious about tackling youth unemployment.
The UK's Neet rate of about 12.5% is significantly higher than in many other developed countries, such as the Netherlands where the figure is around 5%. Milburn's report found that six in ten young people have never had a job, compared with four in ten in 2005, and estimated the economic cost of the crisis at about £125bn. An increasing number of young people are being ruled unfit to work due to health conditions including anxiety, depression and neurodevelopmental disorders.
