What is the Kickstart Scheme?
The government has introduced a new Kickstart Scheme in Great Britain, a £2 billion fund to create hundreds of thousands of high quality 6-month work placements aimed at those aged 16 to 24 who are on Universal Credit and are deemed to be at risk of long term unemployment.
Funding available for each job will cover 100% of the relevant National Minimum Wage for 25 hours a week, plus the associated employer National Insurance contributions and employer minimum automatic enrolment contributions.
Kick Start Intermediary
We’re supporting small and medium sized businesses and charities, who have fewer than 30 jobs to offer, to get involved in the Kickstart Scheme.
What we’ll do as the intermediary
We’ll support a wide range of employers that will make the Kickstart Scheme a success, liaising with local small and medium (SME) sized and sector-specific knowledge businesses to access the Kickstart Scheme by:
Administering the scheme on your behalf, combining applications from multiple organisations to hit the Government’s need for at least 30 placement requests per application. Provide essential employability training needed to align with the scheme’s funding requirements and needs of the young person.
How can we help?
Link with DWP
We will help you to link with DWP to ensure a simple process.
Process Payments
We will help to handle all processing of any payments.
Expertise and Knowledge
We are leading the Kickstart scheme with our expertise and knowledge
6 month Job Placements for Young People
If you are an employer looking to create job placements for young people, you could use the Kickstart Scheme to create new 6-month job placements for young people who are currently on Universal Credit and at risk of long-term unemployment. The job placements should support the participants to develop the skills and experience they need to find work after completing the scheme.
What funding is available?
Funding is available for 100% of the relevant National Minimum Wage for 25 hours a week, plus associated employer National Insurance contributions and employer minimum automatic enrolment contributions. There is also £1,500 per job placement available for setup costs, support and training.
Minimum of 30 placements
Funding is available following a successful application process. Applications must be for a minimum of 30 job placements. If you are unable to offer this many job placements, you can partner with other organisations to reach the minimum number.
Kickstart is not an apprenticeship, but participants may move on to an apprenticeship at any time during, or after their job placement.
Where is Kickstart available?
The Kickstart Scheme is available in England, Scotland and Wales.
Who can apply for funding?
Any organisation, regardless of size, can apply for funding.
The job placements created with Kickstart funding must be new jobs. They must not:
Replace existing or planned vacancies Cause existing employees or contractors to lose or reduce their employmentThe roles you are applying for must be:
A minimum of 25 hours per week, for 6 monthsPaid at least the National Minimum Wage for their age group Should not require people to undertake extensive training before they begin the job placement
Each application should include how you will help the participants to develop their skills and experience, including:
Support to look for long-term work, including career advice and setting goals Support with CV and interview preparations Supporting the participant with basic skills, such as attendance, timekeeping and teamworkOnce a job placement is created, it can be taken up by a second person once the first successful applicant has completed their 6-month term.