As you may be aware, the Government recently announced a new £2 billion Kickstart scheme creating hundreds of thousands of subsidised job placements to help young people into work and support the UK's economic revival.
The scheme is being delivered in response to the biggest global economic, societal and public health shock for decades, and will help young people at risk of long-term unemployment by creating six-month work placements. Kickstart placements will provide valuable experience and training to the individual, while employers will benefit from additional funded resource.
Employers across all sectors and sizes are eligible to apply for Kickstart funding provided they are creating additional roles, not replacing existing vacancies. Those who are able to create at least 30 roles can apply directly for Kickstart funding. For those with less than 30 placements, the Government requires employers to pool their Kickstart roles through approved intermediaries (Gateway organisations). This will ensure the scheme is as inclusive as possible and many more opportunities for young people can be created.
Given young people are particularly vulnerable to the effects of long-term unemployment, it is vital that we support as many employers as possible to access the scheme, and create good quality placements and opportunities to help those most at risk of being left behind by the pandemic.
This work is at the heart of GC’s organisational mission. Therefore, we have not only been working at pace to launch a comprehensive package of support to help businesses access and benefit from the Kickstart scheme but we will also be creating 30 Kickstart placements of our own within the Group.
What is the GC Kickstart offer?
GC is providing three tiers of support to offer a rounded and high-quality experience for both the business and Kickstarter. This includes:
- Being a Gateway organisation - to help as many businesses as possible access the scheme
- On-placement support - such as individual learning plans and careers advice/support
- Employment services - enabling businesses to host placements without having to worry about employment contract and HR-related requirements.
You can find out more about GC Kickstart here - https://gckickstart.co.uk/.
How you can get involved
We have launched a supporting marketing campaign for GC Kickstart and you will start to see more information and content across GC channels over the coming weeks.
I would appreciate it if you could share this information widely with your networks to make them aware of the Kickstart scheme and the help available to them to create additional Kickstart roles. If you would like any specific information about the campaign and how to get more involved, please contact Carla.nuttall@growthco.uk. For more information about the programme itself, please contact fern.goddard@growthco.uk
You can also read our FAQs.