Kick start your January with the Kick start scheme
The government launched the Kick Start scheme last July for young people aged 16-26 on Universal credit to have the opportunity to work for 6 months with an employer.
The scheme provides funding to create new job placements and covers:
- 100% of the National Minimum Wage for 25 hours per week for 6 months
- Associated employer National Insurance contributions
- Employer Minimum Automatic enrolment contributions
Employers can spread the start date of the job placements until the end of December 2021. This means that if you are looking to join the Kick Start Scheme this year, joining as early as possible will ensure that you can have the full experience, whether that is working for a company or seeing the benefits a new employee brings to your company.
The Scheme is open to all businesses whether you can provide 30 or more job or less, with the Kick Start Gateway. Each job placement is there to help young people become more employable and give them the valuable work skills for them to get into the work force. Employers can get extra support which includes: Helping to look for long-term work and career advice for the new employee, support with CV and interview preparations, developing skills in the workplace.
So far, there has been more than 19,000 work placements created because of this scheme. One person on the scheme said: ‘the Kickstart program as a “route to getting young people valuable paid work experience at a time when job opportunities are few and far between”. “Kickstart gets to the heart of one of the biggest problems that arises from economic crises – the risk of long-term youth unemployment,” – seaside success stories.
Overall, the scheme aims to provide 250,000 work placements with chancellor Rishi Sunak saying: ‘This isn’t just about kickstarting our country’s economy – it is an opportunity to kickstart the careers of thousands of young people who could otherwise be left behind as a result of the pandemic.
‘The scheme will open the door to a brighter future for a new generation and ensure the UK bounces back stronger as a country.’ – This is Money.
If you are a young person looking to be part of this scheme you can talk to your Job Centre work coach about opportunities in your area. They will also be able to provide help with getting access to training and other support services you may need.
For employers, going to the Kick Start scheme on the governments website will allow you to find out more information about what you can provide and what benefits it will bring to your company.
