Giving a voice to the employment support sector

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Kickstart Community Forum

This community forum brings together employers, gateways, change makers, commissioners and others interested in getting Kickstart right for young people. If you would like to contribute to this community page, please email the ERSA team at events@ersa.org.uk.

ERSA will deliver a special briefing for Kickstart Community Forum members on Friday 29 January at 10am to update on the recent changes to the scheme. DWP have provided some FAQs that relate to the announcement. Join the meeting via the ERSA Kickstart Community Chat or email us at events@ersa.org.uk. 

What makes a good Kickstart placement?

London Councils, boroughs and the Greater London Authority have drafted a short guide for promoting high-quality placements through the Kickstart scheme,

Employment Support Sector: Rising to the youth employment challenge

Monday 22 February, 9am – 5.30pm
Online 

This one day conference will take place online bringing together commissioners, policy experts and delivery organisations involved in the youth offer. Join us and feed into recommendations for government and others to influence future policy, funding and implementation decisions. 

Kickstart Community Forum - open to non members

11 February, 10am - 12pm 

Find past Kickstart events and updates on ERSA's YouTube Channel

About the Kickstart Scheme

The Kickstart Scheme provides funding to create new job placements for 16 to 24 year olds on Universal Credit who are at risk of long term unemployment. Employers of all sizes can apply for funding which covers:

Employers can spread the start date of the job placements up until the end of December 2021.

A Kickstart Scheme application must be for a minimum of 30 job placements. If a single employer cannot provide this many job placements, they can find a Kickstart gateway, such as a local authority, charity or trade body for help applying.

Further funding is available for training and support so that young people on the scheme can get a job in the future.

Shared resources

Please note, resources shared here, particularly DWP templates may not be the most up to date are intended to act as a guide to aid applications. Do check, through official sources like gov.uk, your DWP Kickstart representative or your gateway organisation. Please help the ERSA Team by informing us if something is out of date or missing and we will endeavour to correct.

Note: the following documents have been provided by our Kickstart community, not offically through DWP

  • DWP Vacancy Template (word document)
  • DWP Vacancy Template (excel document)
  • DWP Kickstart Scheme – Grant Offer Letter for Gateways
  • DWP Variation Template - Grant Agreement Addition Gateway (word document)
  • The Kickstart Vacancy Template – A completion guide
  • Kickstart Account Managers - awaiting this list from DWP

Thank you to ERSA members and the Kickstart Community for providing the following resources

  • Mencap presentation – making Kickstart inclusive
  • Mencap – application process
  • Mencap – Kickstart scheme outline

  • Arriva - Example of travel voucher schemes

Related content and announcements


 

Useful links

Catch up with previous events on .

Join the conversation

The Kickstart Community Forum is open to all organisations interested in making the scheme work. If you would like to contribute to the community page by sharing resources like templates, links to services or solutions, have an idea for a blog or future agenda item that would be of interest please get in touch with the ERSA Team via .

Kickstart positive news stories
Share your links and press releases with ERSA to be included here and through other ERSA channels to  promote your offer and celebrate success!

21 January 2021, EN:Able Communities get 2021 off to a Kickstart

18 January 2021, Keyline joins Kickstart employment scheme

18 January 2021, BACT joins Kickstart initiative to help young people into work

15 January 2021, Clarion Housing Group leads consortium that will create more than 800 new ‘Kickstart’ jobs for young people

15 December 2020, Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce

16 September 2020, Prevista are supporting the Kickstart Scheme

Contact the ERSA Team
events@ersa.org.uk
policy@ersa.org.uk
membership@ersa.rg.uk