Kickstart Community Forum

Part of the Youth Employment 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 the community, register for the next event, or email the team at [email protected]

See also, the Youth Employment Forum page.

What is the Kickstart Scheme?

New instructions for gateway organisations

NEW FAQs for the Kickstart Scheme
Together the community has come together, supported one another by sharing good practice, resources, answering questions and problem solving. If you have a question about Kickstart, you may find it here via the Frequently asked questions. If you do not find an answer to your question please raise it with the team at [email protected].

Latest and most commonly asked questions

Does the grant payment include VAT?

Payment queries clarification

What happens if the placement doesn't work out for either the young person or the employer?

Who do I get in touch with if I have a query about an existing application or grant?

Can ESF participants be referred to the Kickstart Scheme?

You can also view and share the FAQs page directly using the following link https://ersa.org.uk/kickstartfaqs.

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 [email protected].

The next Kickstart Community Forum meeting
5 May, 10am - 12pm
Approved gateways, existing employers and employers interested in taking advantage of the Kickstart Scheme can register in advance here.

Agenda items

Positive news stories
Kickstart Community Forum members are encouraged to share progress and good practice
Finance/payments update
Q&A with DWP
Updates and outstanding queries

Contribute to a future agenda, or tell us who you want to hear from by emailing the ERSA Team via [email protected]

Next forum dates are 2 June, 7 July, 4 August, 1 September, 6 October, 3 November and 1 December 2021 all at 10am - 12pm.

Full details, latest updates can be found at gov.uk.

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

ERSA writes open letter to the chancellor calling for extension to Kickstart
The Kickstart scheme should be extended beyond December 2021, ideally to the end of 2022, and the scheme’s eligibility requirements widened to help support more young people. see ERSA's open letter on behalf of the Kickstart Community Forum to the chancellor supporting this in FE News here

More support for an extension to the Scheme

Five reasons to extend Kickstart from the Youth Employment Group

Extend Kickstart scheme deadline by six months - CBI President

What good looks like for the Kickstart Scheme

Our eight core principles for the Kickstart Scheme, read more
Call for Job Opportunity Guarantee
Good Youth Employment Charter And 1000 Opportunities Campaign Launched September 2020 Read more
GMCA on The GM Young Person’s Guarantee
London Councils, boroughs and the Greater London Authority have drafted a short guide for promoting high-quality placements through the Kickstart scheme, read more.
The TUC have called for Kickstart to deliver: Good quality jobs with training built in; Additional jobs of real value to the community; The programme must be based on equality from the start and Employers should top up wages read more

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 and further support for employers and gateways. Do check latest versions, through official sources like gov.uk, your DWP Kickstart District Account Manager, 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 officially through DWP

Gateway remittance advice example

Vacancy template (word document)

Kickstart Scheme – Grant Offer Letter for Gateways

Variation Template - Grant Agreement Addition Gateway (word document)

The Kickstart Vacancy Template – A completion guide

Kickstart Account Managers - not currently available

Mencap presentation – making Kickstart inclusive

Mencap – application process

Mencap – Kickstart scheme outline

Mencap is a learning disability charity and Kickstart gateway organisation

Arriva - Example of travel voucher schemes