Ex-M&S chief Stuart Machin to lead UK government youth-jobs strategy
The UK government has appointed former Marks & Spencer chief executive Stuart Machin to lead its youth-unemployment strategy. The role comes as the NEET share (young people not in education, employment or training) climbs to 13 percent. Machin will coordinate sector-education partnerships and deliver recommendations ahead of the autumn budget.
BBC BusinessThe UK government has named former Marks & Spencer chief executive Stuart Machin to lead the country's youth-unemployment strategy. According to BBC Business, Machin will coordinate a 'youth opportunity framework' programme inside the Department for Work and Pensions. Announcing the move, Secretary of State Liz Kendall said youth unemployment is now at its highest level in five years.
Office for National Statistics data show the share of NEETs (young people not in education, employment or training) has reached 13 percent, equivalent to roughly 920,000 individuals. Machin said he will publish a five-year roadmap drawing on the digital-transformation and vocational-training programmes he led at M&S. CBI director-general Rain Newton-Smith and TUC general secretary Paul Nowak both told the BBC the appointment was 'a sensible step to close the sector-education gap'.
Machin will deliver his recommendations ahead of the autumn budget. Doubling apprenticeship places, expanding digital-skills academies and restructuring regional jobcentres are central to the agenda. Shadow business secretary Helen Whately said the programme 'will remain limited unless backed by broader tax reform'. This article is not career or investment advice.
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