- Marc Bolland appointed Lead Non-Executive Director at DWP, tasked with convening business leaders to help address the number of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET).
- Bolland – whose charity Movement to Work has helped over 200,000 unemployed young people into work – will help drive delivery of the Government’s Youth Guarantee to ensure every young person can earn or learn.
- Appointment confirmed after interim findings of the Government-commissioned Alan Milburn review which set out the scale and complexity of the youth unemployment crisis.
Former Marks & Spencer Chief Executive Marc Bolland has been tasked with convening CEOs across sectors to help implement Youth Guarantee reforms, bringing the voice of businesses into policy delivery. This will help create opportunity for young people and tackle the crisis of one million not in employment, education or training (NEET).
As well as leading major companies including Marks & Spencer, Morrisons supermarkets and Heineken, Marc is founder chairman of the charity Movement to Work, which working with the DWP has helped over 200,000 unemployed young people into work.
In his new role as Lead Non-Executive Director at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), Marc will convene leading Chief Executives across sectors to help expand opportunity, create clear routes into work and tackle the long-standing challenge of youth unemployment.
He will also advise Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden on the Government’s response to the Alan Milburn Review, which has just released its interim report. In this role he will be asked to place partnership with business and the third sector at the heart of the Government’s approach.
Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said
The number of young people not in education, employment or training is a serious challenge that has been allowed to persist for too long. That is why I asked Alan Milburn to look hard at the underlying causes and what it will take to fix them.
Marc Bolland’s appointment sends a clear signal that we are serious about tackling that challenge. His track record in business and through Movement to Work make him uniquely placed to bring employers together and open up real opportunities for young people who need them most.
I’ve also commissioned senior officials in my department to look at how we go even further in the support we provide young people – particularly young people with health conditions. And I’ve asked that that be done together with employers, charities, disabled people’s organisations and young people themselves.
Marc’s role will
- Turbo-charge delivery of the Government’s Youth Guarantee, helping ensure 1 million young people, including those with a disability or health condition, have access to employment, training or education – backed by £2.5 billion investment.
- Convene employers to business support for youth employment, alongside disabled people’s organisations, charities and young people
- Advise the Secretary of State on the Government’s response to the Milburn review – putting partnership with business and the third sector and disabled people’s organisations at the heart of Government’s response.
Marc Bolland said
As founder and chairman of Movement to Work we have, in close cooperation with DWP, brought over 200,000 NEETs into work and I am honoured and passionate to join the DWP now.
I believe the Government is serious about tackling this generational crisis of youth unemployment, and I know that working hand in hand with business to support young people gives them the best possible chance of success.
Marc brings experience at the most senior levels of business, having served as Chief Executive of Marks & Spencer plc, Chief Executive of Morrisons supermarkets, and Chief Operating Officer at Heineken.
He also brings a deep passion for improving young people’s lives through work, as demonstrated in his role as founding chairman of Movement to Work, a charity that offers free support to businesses to create youth employability programmes. The organisation has so far delivered more than 200,000 opportunities for 16 to 30-year-olds facing barriers to work.
Marc will help bring business into solving this national crisis – with some employers already stepping in to be part of the solution.
Severn Trent is the latest major employer to back the Government’s Youth Guarantee, which aims to give every young person the chance to earn or learn. Other supporters include the Premier League, Channel 4, Royal Shakespeare Company and Pinewood Studios.
The Government has commissioned Alan Milburn to look into the root causes of youth inactivity and identify what more can be done to support young people into work and learning. Last week, Alan Milburn published his interim findings which highlighted calls for a system reset to support more young people into work.
The report found that, without urgent action, the number of young people who are NEET – not in education, employment, or training – will rise from 1-in-8 to 1-in-6 young people within five years, representing 1.25 million young lives.
The government is prioritising early intervention, ensuring young people are supported before they reach crisis point, identifying and supporting children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), speech delays, and behavioural risks as early as possible to improve long-term outcomes.
Marc is the latest major figure from the world of business brought in by the department to utilise their extensive experience and expertise. Last year, former John Lewis boss Sir Charlie Mayfield was asked to lead the Keep Britain Working Review which, with the support of employers, has been looking at ways to help people return to or stay in work.
Additional information
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Marc Bolland is founder chairman of Movement to Work, a registered charity offering free support to businesses to create youth employability programmes. It has delivered more than 200,000 opportunities for 16 to 30-year-olds facing barriers to work.
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The Youth Guarantee aims to ensure every young person aged 18 to 21 has access to employment, training or education.
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Alan Milburn was commissioned by the Secretary of State to conduct an independent review into youth inactivity. Final recommendations for fundamental system reform will follow later this year.
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Sir Charlie Mayfield’s Keep Britain Working review has gained the support of some 150 organisations employing 1.5million people across 24 sectors, 10 mayoral and strategic authorities and all nations of the UK Keep Britain Working Final report – GOV.UK