A look at the UK’s new Kickstart Scheme

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the UK government created multiple schemes and initiatives to help the UK economy, our companies and workers stay afloat. One of these initiatives is the new Kickstart Scheme, which focuses on minimising long-term employment within the younger working population. 

Here are the key details about the Kickstart Scheme and how it can help:

The Focus

The Kickstart Scheme is aimed towards employers across the UK who create new job placements for 16 - 24-year-olds that are at risk of experiencing long-term unemployment due to COVID-19. 

Job placements will focus on providing employability skills such as commercial experience, transferable skills and references to help young people achieve and sustain employment after their 6-month Kickstart role. 

The Facts

• The scheme offers £1500 at the beginning of each job placement plus an additional £300 to cover initial administration costs. 
• Each job placement will be fully funded for 25 hours of work per week for 6 months and covers the national minimum wage, employers' contributions to national insurance and employer enrolment contributions.
• The scheme is eligible for companies of all sizes and young people between the ages of 16 - 24 who are currently on Universal Credit.
• Kickstart job placements can be within any industry allowing young people to gain relevant experience
• You can start your Kickstart job placement anytime between November 2020 and December 2021.

How can you get involved?

Young People - There are two paths to get a new kickstart job placement after being on Universal Credit. 

Firstly you can apply directly to roles through online job boards such as Indeed, here you can look out for roles that specify the kickstart schemes criteria. 

Second, you can discuss the approach with your work coach during Universal meetings to get more details. For additional information, please see here.

Employers - Your application for the Kickstart scheme depends upon how many job placements you will be creating and filling.

If you are applying for 29 placements or less, then you will need to use a Kickstart gateway to place the application on your behalf. There are gateways across the UK, Scotland and Wales and can be a range of different organisations, trading body charities. You can find a list of Gateways here that can assist you.
For employers that will be applying for 30 placements or more and can be completed through gov.uk here. As an employer applying directly, you will be subject to more checks and need to provide information directly to the DWP and government bodies.

Looking for the perfect Kickstart position? We have a whole host of potential roles here on Hirecracker! Just take a look at our jobs page!