Ruth Anderson, Vice Chairman at KPMG has been appointed a Trustee to The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (the DofE), a youth charity which supports young people from all over the UK.

DofE works with young people aged 14-24 from all walks of life. There are 275,000 young people doing a DofE programme at any one time, of which 30,000 come from disadvantaged backgrounds. One outcome of the programme is that the young people develop core employability skills which are required both in the work place and in day to day life.

Ruth has been a leading member of the DofE’s Women in Business Group since its inception. The Women in Business is a small group of women business leaders, chaired by HRH The Countess of Wessex who get together to help the charity. Ruth has supported events, introduced contacts, and helped to shape the direction of the group and the charity.

Ruth Anderson, Vice Chairman at KPMG comments:

“Over a quarter of a million young people in the UK are working towards a Bronze, Silver or Gold Award andwhen I talk to any of them I hear aboutthe tremendous sense of achievement and increased self-confidence they get from completing their DofE Award. More than 30,000 are excluded and vulnerable young people, including young offenders,long-term unemployed, young carers and those who live in areas of high deprivation. At KPMG we are actively engaged in supporting young people from disadvantaged backgrounds so my work with the DofE is consistent with KPMG's own aims and values.”

The charity supports young people as they work through a personal development programme in three stages. Research conducted by DofE shows young people achieving a Gold Award gain key employability skills. For example, the majority of young people who achieve a Gold Award will develop their confidence (85%) and team-working skills (83%). Almost four in five of young people improve on their leadership skills and 78% on their decision making skills.