Recruiter Sarah Anderson has been appointed to the new government UK Commission for Employment and Skills (CES).

Anderson, who is currently on the board of Networkers International and is a consultant for specialist catering employment business - the Mayday Group, joins 19 other commissioners from the private, public and third sectors, and from trade unions.

The CES officially begins work in April 2008 and will have a major say in advising ministers on the future of the skills system and whether workplace training becomes mandatory for employers in 2010.

The appointments were approved by prime minister Gordon Brown and other senior cabinet ministers. They are for up to three years. CES chief executive Chris Humphries had previously said the commissioners needed to be passionate business leaders.

Peter Hain, work and pensions secretary, said: "This is an impressive board bringing together a range of individuals with an outstanding track record of delivery in their fields. They will be driving change, helping to deliver economic competitiveness, social justice, and opportunity for all."

The full list of commissioners is:
-  Jeremy Anderson, head of financial services, KPMG
-  Sarah Anderson, owner, Mayday Group
-  David Brennan, chief executive, AstraZeneca
-  Stephen Carter, group chief executive, Brunswick Group
-  Murray Coleman, chief executive, Bovis Lend Lease UK
-  Philip Green, chief executive, United Utilities
-  Larry Hirst, chief executive, IBM UK & Ireland
-  Chris Hyman, chief executive, Serco
-  Julie Kenny, managing director, Pyronix
-  Richard Lambert, director-general, CBI
-  Charles Mayfield, chairman, John Lewis Partnership
-  Alan Gilbert, president and vice-chancellor, Manchester University
-  Ioan Morgan, principal, Warwickshire College
-  Sir Robert Kerslake, chief executive, Sheffield City Council
-  Valerie Todd, managing director group services, Transport for London
-  Brendan Barber, general secretary, TUC
-  Dave Prentis, general secretary, Unison
-  Grahame Smith, general secretary, Scottish TUC
-  Lord Victor Adebowale, chief executive, Turning Point
-  Liz Sayce, chief executive, RADAR

Anderson is also a member of the CBI Employment Policy Committee and the London Employers' Coalition on New Deal. As a founder member of the Coalition, she led work on lone parent issues. She is a past member of the Small Business Council and a member of the Council for Excellence on Management and Leadership (CEML) and chaired its SME Working Group.

The establishment of the UK Commission for Employment and Skills was a key recommendation of the Leitch Review in December 2006.