Former Marks & Spencer chief executive Marc Bolland has been appointed as the new lead non-executive director at the Department for Work and Pensions.
As well as leading major retaillers M&S and Morrisons, Bolland is the founder chairman of the charity Movement to Work, which has worked with the DWP to help over 200,000 unemployed young people into work.
In his new role as lead NED at the DWP, Bolland 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. The government last week released Milburn’s interim report, which blamed the lack of an effective cross-government approach for the rising numbers of young people who are not in education, employment or training.
Bolland will be asked to place partnership with business and the third sector at the heart of the government’s approach to tackling the issues raised by Milburn’s review.
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.”
Bolland, whose past experience also includes a spell as chief operating officer at Heineken, said he is “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,” he added.