Sir Keir Starmer has hired the former boss of Marks & Spencer to help tackle the youth unemployment crisis, which has left more than 1 million not in work, education or training.
The shocking extent of the problem was laid bare this week in a report which showed it was costing Britain £125bn a year – more than it spends on education and almost double the defence budget.
The bombshell review led by former Labour health secretary Alan Milburn warned that Britain is in danger of creating a “lost generation” unless it takes serious action to tackle the issue.
Now, Marc Bolland has been appointed lead non-executive director in the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), and will be tasked with convening business leaders to help address the number of 16-24-year-olds not in education, employment or training (NEET).
Mr Bolland – whose charity Movement to Work has helped over 200,000 unemployed young people into work – 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”, the government said.
He will also advise work and pensions secretary Pat McFadden on the government’s response to the Milburn Review.
“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”, Mr McFadden said.
He added: “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.”
Mr 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.”
The growing NEET crisis is the consequence of a “whole-system failure”, said Mr Milburn, that has resulted in a lack of entry-level jobs for young people.
He warned that without urgent action, the number of young people who are NEET will rise by 2031 from one in eight to one in six, affecting 1.25 million young people.
Sir Keir described Mr Milburn’s report as “sobering”, and said he “will not allow a lost generation”.
But businesses have criticised the Labour government for making it more difficult to create new jobs for young people, with some blaming the increases in minimum wage and national insurance contributions for businesses.
Mr Milburn said on Thursday that the government must “minimise the risks for the employer” and “maximise their incentives” to bring more young people into the workforce.
But he said the rise in minimum wage “is not the root cause of the problem”, adding that the crisis has “no easy solutions”.
